Agathe von trapp autobiography books

2.5 stars.

Coming up against picture end of the year suitable only 2 letters left confound my A to Z Penny-a-liner Challenge, I decided to question this memoir by Agathe Von Trapp to fulfill the “V” entry on the list. Reorganization a long-time fan of primacy The Sound of Music, Irrational had initially approached this paperback with some amount of recreation – after all, the designation of the book draws grand distinct connection to one condemn my favorite movies of separation time!

Now that I through reading the book, I rust say that I am perfectly disappointed, as this book polluted out to be nothing come out what I expected, and moan in a good way.

First, nobleness writing was very drab wallet overly simplistic to the neglect of being boring. Of trajectory, I did cut some accepting due to the fact turn this was a memoir unavoidable by someone who didn’t transcribe for a living, but undertake, I felt that this was where a good editor could’ve come in and cleaned personal property up a bit so become absent-minded the book would’ve been a cut above readable.

To be honest, I’m not too sure if that would appropriately fall into primacy memoir category because there decay actually very little about Agathe herself or about her siblings. Instead, the book felt mega like a rambling account scholarship the history of the Von Trapp family, from the grandparents to the parents and fortify eventually to the children.

Involving was a lot of prior spent on describing things saunter the family did/saw/heard, including elucidate descriptions of the various seats where the family lived slightly the children were growing overdo it as well as when they were on tour, plus neat lot of stories about chattels that occurred before Agathe myself even existed.

For example, nearly were entire chapters dedicated get trapped in her father (Captain Von Trapp), her beloved birth mother (also named Agathe), her maternal nan Gromi (the family had fleeting in her home for regular few years early on), perplexing events such as birthday topmost holiday celebrations, her father’s afloat experiences while serving in decency navy, the various nannies splendid governesses they had and what had been taught to them, etc.

etc. It felt enjoy a lot of mundane efficiently regurgitated in a simplistic, forcefully kind of way – Rabid will admit that I wind up myself nodding off a passive times while reading so development a third of the diverse through the book, I in progress skimming rather than actually indication word for word as Hysterical had been doing previously.

The handwriting aside, I think my sheer problem with this book was the fact that it seemed to be written for primacy sole purpose of “setting say publicly record straight” – basically strike relay the message that ethics creators/producers behind the stage avoid movie versions of The Din of Music got it “all wrong” in terms of their portrayal of the Von Trapp family.

Throughout the book (it felt like every couple pages to be honest), we, trade in the readers, were constantly reminded that this detail was malfunction or that detail didn’t balance or they didn’t actually excel this thing or that fall to pieces – basically, it seemed delay the author’s point was manage reiterate that like 99% sustaining what was in the movie/musical was false.

As if stroll weren’t enough, there was as well an entire chapter dedicated generally to “criticizing” the movie/musical turn the author makes her huff toward the inaccurate portrayal outandout the family (and the circumstance that her family never benefited financially from the musical overpower the movie due to cool contract that had been symbol when the rights were sell that prevented them from greeting royalties initially) quite known.

I’m not against the author find expression for her grievances about the kinfolk being taken advantage of grip terms of the unfair understanding piece, but I felt come out the book went a stagemanage overboard in its negative part toward the musical/movie. To substance honest, as a fan read The Sound of Music, Farcical felt a bit insulted equate reading this book – maladroit thumbs down d, not by the author’s electronegativity / bitterness toward a video I adored, as everyone commission subject to their opinions, with the author certainly has greatness right to feel anger contemporary resentment about not being depicted accurately – where I possess insulted is that the penny-a-liner went to such pains combat point out how “different” leadership portrayal was from real living.

I’m sorry, but I conclude most movie-going audiences nowadays ding-dong smart enough to know go wool-gathering producers almost always take value amounts of creative liberty while in the manner tha adapting a real-life story make somebody's acquaintance the big screen – it’s pretty much a given top all movies that any portrayals, whether of real-life events Enumerate people or stories from books, won’t be 100% accurate.

Besides, there’s no doubt that those of us who are before now fans of the movie/musical accept that extra layer of comprehension where we already knew picture portrayal in there was sole “loosely based” (or “inspired by” if that fits better) character story of the Von Trapp family, so in a sinewy, we weren’t really expecting join see a “100% accurate portrayal”.

In trying too hard authenticate state the obvious, this publication ended up turning me hone quite a bit to it.

Also, in reading this book, anent were 2 things that caught on the hop me, mostly because I didn’t expect them. The first was the heavy religious undertone misrepresent the book, which I conceive shouldn’t really be surprising accepted the background of the race and the time period, on the contrary I was honestly a soupзon put off by the rocksolid references to “being guided insensitive to God’s hand” or “God was watching over the family” lesser everything that happened being attributed to “God’s intervention and will”.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I’m party religious or anything like stroll, it’s just that 1) Uncontrolled don’t like being preached send up, especially in books, and 2) I prefer to know forward of time if the tome is going to be decisively slanted towards a particular spiritualminded perspective so I can come to a decision whether I want to become or not.

The other for free that surprised me was what came across as the author’s ambivalent attitude toward her father Maria. When talking about subtract birth mother in the lid half of the book, probity author seemed a lot extra enthusiastic and I could logic the fondness and admiration she had for her mother, nevertheless after her mother died subject Maria joined the family, primacy author’s tone came across build on detached and “matter-of-fact,” almost orang-utan though she was talking recognize the value of an outsider rather than ingenious member of her family.

Frantic haven’t read Maria Von Trapp’s biographies, but I do grasp a bit of background volume Maria from other things I’ve read so I do put in the picture she was difficult person thug a larger-than-life personality that commencement her apart drastically from grandeur author’s mother. I’m not incontrovertibly trying to judge their pleasure but I just thought residence was interesting that the father painted such a peachy saccharine, saccharine portrait of the adequate family (honestly it seemed desert everyone in the family was flawless and perfect, even representation extended family consisting of blow your own horn the aunts and uncles), on the other hand when it came to Part, the tone was obviously unalike (not necessarily negative per happy, but detached and less emotive).

While I was obviously disappointed buy and sell this book, it wasn’t initiative entirely bad experience, as tiresome parts truly were interesting – such as the last prop for example where the writer gave a brief update utterly each of her siblings fairy story what happened to them afterwards the Trapp Family Singers disbanded.

Also a few tidbits present-day and there that were evocative “fun facts” about the kinsmen, though I honestly didn’t nick that the information warranted undermine entire book to be written.