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A review by saareman
My Tango with Barbara Strozzi by Russell Hoban
3.0
Barbara Strozzi Redux
A review of the Bloomsbury Paperbacks eBook (June 18, 2012) of the Bloomsbury Publications Ltd. hardcover original (2007).
I decided to do some re-reads of my Russell Hobans after GR friend Berengaria's recent reviews of Riddley Walker (2 stars) and My Tango with Barbara Strozzi (3 stars). Hoban (1925-2011) was an American-English author whose most popular works are his Frances the Badger (1960-2010) series for children. Of his novels for adults, the post-apocalyptic Riddley Walker is the best known, followed by [b:Turtle Diary|33095794|Turtle Diary|Russell Hoban|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479847708l/33095794._SY75_.jpg|2443560] (1975) which was adapted as the same-titled film (1985) starring Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson. I read a considerable number of Hoban's works in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. I did write a memorial for one of my copies of Turtle Diary when it was damaged due to a water leak.
I'm unlikely to change my opinion of Riddley Walker (5 stars), but I do have to agree with Berengaria about My Tango... which is only moderately amusing in its fantasy world of unlikely coincidences, where sometime novelist Phil Ockerman has various on and off encounters with dance partner Bertha Strunk, a lookalike for the baroque-era composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677).
My Tango... is a a late work, and certain nods to the reader do make you think that Hoban is borrowing several aspects from his own life for its plot. There is the American ex-patriot who has lived in England for several years (as Hoban did after 1969), there is the failed marriage to a first wife (as Hoban had with [a:Lillian Hoban|81605|Lillian Hoban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346908872p2/81605.jpg], the illustrator for many of the Frances books) and the deprecatory comments about his novel (although Ockerman has apparently published only a single book called Hope of a Tree, compared to the prolific Hoban).
It still merited a 3-star like from me.
Soundtrack
Various tango recordings are mentioned in the novel, one of the first being the classic La Cumparsita performed by Juan D’Arienzo y su Orquesta Tipica, which you can see and hear on YouTube here.
You can listen to a selection of Barbara Strozzi's works at a YouTube playlist which begins here.
A review of the Bloomsbury Paperbacks eBook (June 18, 2012) of the Bloomsbury Publications Ltd. hardcover original (2007).
I decided to do some re-reads of my Russell Hobans after GR friend Berengaria's recent reviews of Riddley Walker (2 stars) and My Tango with Barbara Strozzi (3 stars). Hoban (1925-2011) was an American-English author whose most popular works are his Frances the Badger (1960-2010) series for children. Of his novels for adults, the post-apocalyptic Riddley Walker is the best known, followed by [b:Turtle Diary|33095794|Turtle Diary|Russell Hoban|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479847708l/33095794._SY75_.jpg|2443560] (1975) which was adapted as the same-titled film (1985) starring Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson. I read a considerable number of Hoban's works in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. I did write a memorial for one of my copies of Turtle Diary when it was damaged due to a water leak.
I'm unlikely to change my opinion of Riddley Walker (5 stars), but I do have to agree with Berengaria about My Tango... which is only moderately amusing in its fantasy world of unlikely coincidences, where sometime novelist Phil Ockerman has various on and off encounters with dance partner Bertha Strunk, a lookalike for the baroque-era composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677).
My Tango... is a a late work, and certain nods to the reader do make you think that Hoban is borrowing several aspects from his own life for its plot. There is the American ex-patriot who has lived in England for several years (as Hoban did after 1969), there is the failed marriage to a first wife (as Hoban had with [a:Lillian Hoban|81605|Lillian Hoban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346908872p2/81605.jpg], the illustrator for many of the Frances books) and the deprecatory comments about his novel (although Ockerman has apparently published only a single book called Hope of a Tree, compared to the prolific Hoban).
It still merited a 3-star like from me.
Soundtrack
Various tango recordings are mentioned in the novel, one of the first being the classic La Cumparsita performed by Juan D’Arienzo y su Orquesta Tipica, which you can see and hear on YouTube here.
You can listen to a selection of Barbara Strozzi's works at a YouTube playlist which begins here.