Review: Diva by Daisy Goodwin

I received an advanced listening copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Aria
Published: March 2024
Duration: 11 hours, 46 minutes

Synopsis

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…

Like any good Italian, I was diligently taught about opera from a young age and grew up hearing about the greats: Luciano Pavarotti and Maria Callas were ever-present, and recordings of their most famous arias were often heard in my house (fun fact: I still have a few on my phone to listen to on-the-go!). Even though La Divina’s voice was so familiar to me, I realised I actually knew close to nothing of Maria Callas the woman, which is why I was so intrigued by this book!

Let me start by saying that the audiobook experience was truly great: the narrator did a phenomenal job delivering an impressive range of emotions, accents and personalities, and the already magnetic story was enriched by the music scattered throughout. Listening to snippets of the arias mentioned in the book added a certain magic to it and definitely made me go back to re-listen to some of them in full later on. I only listened to the audiobook for this one, but would recommend it wholeheartedly as I just can’t imagine having the same experience without the audio.

Diva is a fictionalised version of Maria Callas’s life and, as such, it is not 100% accurate (it being a novel, as the author’s note also clarifies). Still, it gives a good sense of this woman’s life and her passion for her art, as well as the difficult relationships she navigated throughout her life. The story starts with Maria trying to cope with the news that the man she loves is marrying someone else as her every reaction is scrutinised by the press and high society, ripe for gossip and keen to tear a famous, powerful woman apart. It then proceeds to unravel everything leading up to this point in a series of flashbacks, different timelines intersecting as memories are conjured up.

The cast includes several names I knew very well, as well as others I didn’t know much (or, in some cases, anything!) about. They all came across as very well fleshed out for their role in the story, considering that there is only ever one person at the centre of the stage. Callas is a complex, at times difficult woman, who becomes one with her voice, her talent overshadowing everything else. It was hard, yet deeply touching, to see her struggle to find acceptance and self-worth, delighting in the love audiences bestowed upon her yet constantly dreading the moment her voice might fail her.

The writing flowed naturally for the most part, easily drawing me in and keeping me glued to my headphones, constantly trying to sneak in just a little more time with Callas, even though it came across as a bit simplistic at times. One thing that didn’t always work well for me was that the dialogues at times felt slightly unnatural and as if they were being used only to convey key information. I probably noticed this more on audio than I might have if I’d read this, but it jarred.

A significant part of the book is obviously devoted to Callas’s relationships with her husband and with Onassis and, while they were obviously a central part of her life for so long, I would have liked to see more of her without them. I felt this even more so as the story ends quite soon after the breakup with Onassis, where I would have liked to see more of what she did without him. There was also a tad too much emphasis (which sometimes bordered on repetition) on Callas’s physique and her eating habits, which were of course an important part of her public figure but got pretty tiring pretty quickly, as it seemed to be reading a gossip column more than a novel.

Overall, this was a pleasant and entertaining book, certainly enhanced by the great audio production. The author’s passion for this story is clear and, even though it didn’t fully meet the mark for me, I did feel infected with her enthusiasm by the end and as if I knew the great Diva better than I did before.