The Bells is a novel that is larger than life – starting with a bell so large and loud that people who heard it were forever changed. A young boy lived with his mother who could neither hear nor speak. They lived mainly in the bell tower and she rang the bell morning, noon and night. For some reason the boy was unaffected by the bell – except for one thing. He had an acute sense of hearing. One day the man who turned out to be his father found out that the boy could speak. The boy could ruin him with what he knew so he took him out of the village and threw him in the river. The boy’s father didn’t know that two men (monks) witnessed the incident. When the man left the scene one of the monks quickly saved the boy. They took him back to the abbey with them where it was eventually discovered that he could also sing. That discovery brought life-changing consequences.
The novel moves from a mountain village to an abbey to Vienna’s finest concert hall. I don’t want to reveal any more of the plot because it is such a fascinating story and really should be discovered through reading it yourself.
The Bells is written in three acts – much like a work of music. As I read I couldn’t help thinking this novel would make a wonderful opera. It has heart-breaking drama, humor, and moments that made me want to cheer out loud. Harvell reveals to the reader various aspects of certain musicians in the 1700s. There are historical characters (the composer Gluck, for one) that figure into the story. The author’s note at the end of the book points out more facts and the research behind the book.
If you’re looking for a unique novel I would say read The Bells. I’m glad I did.
You can hear more about the novel here. Diane Rehm interviewed the author in Sept. 2010.
I’m glad you liked THE BELLS so much. It’s in my TBR & I’m looking forward to it!
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Mary, I’m so happy you loved this as I did. Great Review.
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Another one for my wish list, I’ve heard lts of good things about this
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That does sound unique. I must say that I’ve never read a book and thought it would make a wonderful opera, though!
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This sound really good. thanks for your review.
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This sounds like quite a different story. When you mentioned Vienna, I thought you were going to say it was the beginning of the Vienna Choir Boys. Thank you for not giving away too much plot! Great review, enough to really intrigue me. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much.
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I’m glad you liked this one Mary. I’ve been hearing about it quite a bit.
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Beautiful review Mary! This sounds very unique and is one that I’d love to read.
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Mary, that book sounds like a wonderful read. I’ll put it on my list! Thanks again for your wonderful review!
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I’ve wanted to read this since I first started hearing about it. Now, I really want to read it.
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This is the first I’ve heard of it. It sounds truly remarkable though.
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Thanks for bringing this book to my attention. Sounds like a great story.
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It does sound different. i do wonder about that life changing bell now
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A book that would make a good opera sounds very cool!
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A unique novel sounds, well, novel 🙂 I am going to go for this one!
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I have this one on my Christmas wishlist. I definitely want to read it soon.
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I read Diane’s awesome review of this one and thought it sounded great. Now I can add your spectacular review to my thoughts and will definitely read this one in 2011.
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This is one I hadn’t heard of, but it definitely sounds intriguing! Can’t say I’ve ever read a novel that centers around a bell and a small village.
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Noting this one down for a find at my local bookstore.
The stars can be found via Goodreads ( I just copied and pasted my little stars from my ratings tab). Hope that works for you 🙂
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This is a book that I have wanted to read since I first starting seeing reviews of it! Thanks for your review!
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sounds like a fascinating novel! i’m definitely going to check this one out. i haven’t heard of it before i ran across your review of it. thank you!!
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