Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of Diva in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my personal collection.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Published: January 23, 2024
Summary:
New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.
In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic, and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: Raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.
When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.
In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive, and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph.
My thoughts:
I was first drawn to this book because of the author and because Jacqueline Kennedy was mentioned…but little did I know just how much I would come to love this deep dive into the world of opera singer Maria Callas’s life. I honestly had never heard of her before reading this book and am so glad I picked this one up…and of course, I knew I would be in good hands with Daisy Goodwin writing it!
This book paints such a vivid picture of Callas’s life, from how her mother used her and often exploited her for her own gains, to her love affair with Aristotle Onassis that ends quite abruptly when he meets and then decides to marry Jacqueline Kennedy. I felt that for not knowing anything about Callas, I walked away with such a good picture about her from this book – the research that Goodwin did to write this one is quite evident.
While I did have the print book on hand, I did listen to this one and I have to say, if you have the chance to do so, I highly recommend it. Not only does the narrator, Lorelei King, do a phenomenal job bringing this book to life, but there are also clips of Maria Callas singing throughout the audiobook and that was just so amazing to hear.
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