Conversations with Beethoven
Toward the end of his life, Beethoven was deaf and plagued by illness. In order to communicate with him, family, friends, and acquaintances were required to write their sides of conversations in a notebook, which the great Maestro would read and then shout his replies (he was often asked to lower his voice). In this fictional account, told through notebook entries, the reader is able to obtain a remarkably comprehensive sense of the content of these “conversations.” Despite the one-sided nature of the accounts of the conversations, Beethoven’s replies come through loud and clear.
What develops is an extraordinarily rich portrait of the artist and his struggles with his health, music, family, and friends. Most engrossing is the relationship between Beethoven and his treasured nephew, Karl, who buckles under his uncle’s need for control. As Karl attempts to assert himself and establish a life of his own, Beethoven becomes more cantankerous and manipulative. With his health beginning to decline, Beethoven is bedridden and no longer able to compose. Visited by a host of doctors, he is given additional targets to focus his frustrations on, but is still primarily consumed with his overly protective worries regarding Karl.
At times laugh-out-loud funny and yet surprisingly poignant, Friedman’s novel is truly unlike any other, creating the experience of eavesdropping on the most intimate conversations. Despite the rather lengthy list of “speakers” (Friedman prefaces the book with a guide to the characters), the reader is never overwhelmed or lost. Characters enter and exit conversations, even interrupting each other, yet are still easily understood. A remarkable book, highly recommended.
