Synopsis:
A tale about a deal with the devil and a feel-good romance. In 1900 romantic Vienna, a young composer, Anton Becker was fighting to be the best. But the stuffed shirts of tradition considered his radical music ‘barbaric and loony.’ In truth it was brilliant, but only to discerning ears, such as those of Lisa von Schelling, the off-limits love of his life. And also, to the ears of the Prince of Darkness, who was desperate to upgrade the cringingly awful music of hell. The heavenly angel Ludwig van Beethoven gets involved, and so does a gargoyle angel from hell, Villi, who, back when he was human, had been a cruel-hearted music critic.
Favorite Lines:
“Sir, your taste in music must be in the tongue of your shoes.”
“Everything this lunatic had just said made perfect sense. But then nightmares always seemed to make sense.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
Set during the 19th century in Vienna, Austria, this story follows Anton Becker as he discovers and explores his passion for composing music. I found this to be a beautifully written story full of laughter and love that brings to light the relatable hardships we all might face as we progress through life. I thought this flowed very well and really captured what a struggling musician might do to succeed. The plot was fantastic and I especially enjoyed the highlights of the forces of darkness and light engaging each other in a battle of wills. I could definitely see this being an animated movie in the future!
I was surprised that there were complementary illustrations and I loved them! It made sense once I found out that Calvert used to be (might still be) an illustrator. He has contributed to many projects including Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians. The illustrations truly reminded me of fantasia-esque story.
Summary:
Overall, if you like coming of age stories full of fun, laughter, love, and life lessons and would enjoy illustrations to compliment a story, then this book could be for you. Happy reading!
Likely Story 