Maria: Review

How could I not request “Maria” to review? My mom has frequently told of taking me to see “The Sound of Music” at the theater when I was two, and how I sat rapt through the entire film. I’ve toured sites from the film in Europe twice. Look at the name of my blog! I really enjoy the story of the von Trapps. And I just love the cover of the book! I think it was worth downloading (thanks, NetGalley) for the cover alone.

The book purports to be a fictional novel about Maria von Trapp (“You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music, brings Maria to life as never before”). It opens with Maria von Trapp writing a letter to Oscar Hammerstein, who wrote the music for the film (but first for the play, which preceded the movie). She is upset with changes he made; for instance, making Maria the sympathetic figure and the Captain the harsh one (which she said was opposite to reality) — changing the ages and genders of the children (in reality, there were two boys and five girls, and the oldest was not the movie’s Liesl, but a boy) — the idea that the family escaped the Nazis by hiking the mountains into Switzerland (not likely since Salzburg is nowhere near the Swiss border). There is a Baroness in the story, but she is an employee living in the house and not the woman the Captain is originally planning to marry — that is a Princess. Etc. I understand her frustrations with the changes being made, but honestly, I think this happens with pretty much every big play/movie about someone’s life. It seemed a little weak as the arc to hang an entire story on.

The book also features a series of flashbacks where Maria tells her story, as well as the continuing drama with her now-grown children. There is also a side plot with four fictional young men and women, some of whom work for Hammerstein and play romantic musical chairs with the accompanying drama.

I enjoyed tidbits about the movie/play: the producers’ original name was “The Singing Heart.” This book claims that the pre-nun Maria an atheist, “forced to listen to nonsense about God,” but apparently took to the nunnery in an attempt to escape a harsh upbringing. It was sad that Hammerstein died of stomach cancer not long after the play’s premiere and prior to the movie coming out. “Edelweiss,” according to the book, is the last song he ever wrote. A priest named Father Wasner taught the children music, and accompanied the family to America where he arranged all their pieces.

It was also sad to read that Maria forced the children (the original 7 plus the three she and the Captain had after they married) to perform as singers once they had moved to America, and that this eventually resulted in her estrangement from many of them. I liked this thought of Maria’s: “There is no such thing as forever. Someday soon the children will grow up and not need a governess. But I don’t say these things, because of course no one wishes to imagine a time when their children have all left.” Relatable!

But (and for me it was a huge but), the author states in her note “some of the more unbelievable scenes in this novel … truly happened.” Ummm … some of them? We really are given no insights into which parts of this novel are true and which are fictional. To many people, it may not really matter. But as a big fan of the movie and the von Trapps, it bothers me to read this story, taking it pretty much as fact, and not really knowing whether or not it is. I felt a little like the real Maria, not liking someone messing with my reality when writing my story 🙂

So, I’m not sure who would enjoy this book. If you’re a Sound of Music fan, it may bother you not knowing what’s real in this book and what’s not. You might enjoy it more if you weren’t a Sound of Music fan — but if that was the case, would you care enough to read it? Your call. It left me wanting to reread Maria von Trapp’s autobiography sometime (I read it, but it’s been years ago).