Klarinet Archive - Posting 000534.txt from 2004/07

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] Review: "The Mozart Forgeries" by Dan Leeson
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:15:31 -0400

Apparently I have the pleasure of posting the 2nd review of Dan's book;
but perhaps since the 1st review was not authored by a Klarinet
subscriber, I can claim a 'first' of sorts.

=========================

There are two sorts of 'positive' review. On sort amounts to: "If
you're going to read something, this book is better than most". The
other sort is: "In addition to enjoying this book, you will profit by
reading it, and therefore you should make an effort to buy it and read
it."

My opinion is the latter.

"The Mozart Forgeries" is not just fluff or escapism. Unless you're
already well-educated about musical history and the problems of *really*
knowing what you're listening to at a concert (and where the music might
actually have come from), you will have a better understanding after
reading this book.

And if you are one of those who already know all about such things, I
feel safe in guaranteeing that you will enjoy the 'caper' aspect of Dan
Leeson's book and the 'insider humor'.

And if it happens that you have read Dan Leeson's posts here on Klarinet
for a few years, you will receive an extra measure of spice and reward
when you see Dan's personality (concerning pizza, the 'cigarette
machine', and so forth) surface in the book from time to time.

Dan has announced that he doesn't want anyone to discuss the plot
on-line and thereby destroy the suspense --- so I won't. Suffice it to
say that while the story line is decidedly a 'caper', as the cover
announces, it is not just a layer of fluff that allows Dan to give his
historical or technical expositions about music manuscripts. The story
line *does* involve some convenient coincidences, but as Sir Richard
Burton wrote nearly two centuries ago in his notes to "1001 Arabian
Nights":

> Nothing can be more improbable than this detail,
> but upon such abnormal situations almost all
> stories, even in our most modern "society novels",
> depend and the cause is clear --- without them
> there would be no story. And the modern will,
> perhaps, suggest that "the truth was withheld for
> a higher purpose, for the working out of certain
> ends".

There is one detail of the story line which adds great charm to the
whole story, but which is not reasonable given the remainder of the
tale. I will be interested to hear --- eventually --- if other readers
spot the same difficulty. But since it *does* add to the story, I
forgive you, Dan.

To the best of my memory, I have never seen chapter titles used to pique
the reader, as Dan does in this book. My hat is off to Dan for this
detail.

As a measurement of this book, its characters 'come to life', but they
do so without Dan describing them physically (so far as I can remember).
You will *not* read cliches such as: "The man was tall and bony, his
shirt was frayed cuffs, and the black goatee on his chin belied his
low-class upbringing...." Instead, you will read how he and his
partner in crime earned their pin money by stomping on.... well, never
mind, you can read it for yourself.

Thank you for writing the book, Dan.

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