One of the most moving episodes of [Maria La Divina] is also the moment when the conventions of biography and of the novel collide. . . . What distinguishes the greatest biographical novelists is not only the judicious liberties taken with the biographical record, and the profound respect accorded to what cannot be known, but also the devotion to fiction itself that reverberates in the reader’s imagination.
Maria La Divina
Maria Callas, called La Divina, is widely recognized as the greatest diva who ever lived. Jerome Charyn’s Callas springs to life as the headstrong, mercurial, and charismatic artist who captivated generations of fans, thrilling audiences with her brilliant performances and defiant personality.
Callas, an outsider from an impoverished background, was shunned by the Italian opera houses, but through sheer force of will and the power and range of her voice, she broke through the invisible wall to sing at La Scala and headline at the Metropolitan Opera, forging an unforgettable career. Adored by celebrities and statesmen, the notable and notorious alike, her every movement was shadowed by both music critics and gossip columnists—until, having lost her voice, she died alone in an opulent, mausoleum-like Paris apartment.
In Charyn’s inimitable style, Maria La Divina humanizes the celebrated diva, revealing the mythical artist as a woman who survived hunger, war, and loneliness to reach the heights of acclaim.
Reading Group Choices “Editors’ Picks” selection
Ebook
- ISBN
- 9781954276499
Paperback
- ISBN
- 9781954276482
Jerome Charyn discusses Maria La Divina with Writer’s Digest and at Book Q&As, and recommends further reading in “The Fine Art of Defining a Diva” at Literary Hub.
Preview Maria La Divina at Nerd Daily and What Is That Book About.
Find resources for your book club discussions about Maria La Divina at Reading Group Choices.
Jerome Charyn is the author of more than fifty works of fiction and nonfiction, including Maria La Divina; Ravage & Son; Sergeant Salinger; Cesare: A Novel of War-Torn Berlin; In the Shadow of King Saul: Essays on Silence and Song; Jerzy: A Novel; and A Loaded Gun: Emily Dickinson for the 21st Century. Among other honors, his work has been longlisted for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award and PEN Award for Biography, shortlisted for the Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award, and selected as a finalist for the Firecracker Award and PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Film Culture at the American University of Paris, Charyn has also been named a Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture and received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Manhattan.
visit author page »Praise for Maria La Divina
This vivid portrait of the diva is compelling and dramatic. . . . An excellent choice for biographical fiction and opera fans.
— Booklist
Deftly crafted . . . Maria La Divina once again showcases author Jerome Charyn as a novelist of extraordinary literary ability.
— Midwest Book Review
Preternatural artistic force, persecuted diva, emotionally abused daughter, demanding lover—they all are on display in this reimagined life of the ultimate diva.
— Kirkus Reviews
This is the story of the greatest diva ever to grace the stage—Maria Callas—told as only an aficionado could tell it. Her life story may surprise you—it did me. Read this one if you love opera, if you admire Maria Callas, or if you just like a good biography.
— Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore (Spokane, WA)