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| “Who designed this house?” Annie asked Danielle. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Why don’t you ask them?” she replied as she looked at her parents. ~~~ |
Damian saw a picture of the house when it was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in January of 1938. He was fascinated by the structure and learned that the house was owned by his friend Edgar Kaufmann. He called Edgar and asked him why he didn’t tell him about the house. Though Damian was nineteen years younger than him; they shared most of the same interests. They talked about everything; women, cars, art, and music and this was the first project he was doing he kept away from him. Edgar explained that he wanted to keep it as a surprise and nine years later, Damian and his family were walking on the soil of Fallingwater. Damian was a middle aged hotelier and his wife, Ingrid, was an opera singer. He owned a bohemian hotel in Greenwich Village, five blocks from their apartment. He was sincere and outgoing, and around town, his acquaintances knew that he was deeply proud of the fact he had raised his daughter, Danielle, all by himself while his wife’s golden voice was conquering the hearts of thousands in Paris.
“
What is the name of that song?” he asked.
“Habanera, from Carmen.”
“And what is the name of the song you sang on the first day?”
“Un bel di Vedremo, it means ‘one good day, we will see’.”
“Why don’t you sing that song?”
The words of that song were so light and pleasant, but deep, however when she thought about the message of hope it spoke of, she could see herself in common with the heroine of the song. She opened her mouth and rose her voice and as she sang he remembered the oath he took on her leaving him again. Amid this moment of beauty, the thought of killing his wife was battling to take full control of his mind and heart.
~~~
Fallingwater:
A Love Story
By David Taylor
Reading a book such as Fallingwater is heartbreaking for me. It has spurts of brilliant writing, but it is so totally in need of a complete line edit that most readers will soon become discouraged. From a purely formatting standpoint, the lack of scene breaks is catastrophic in trying to easily follow the story...that, together with the many small proofreading omissions that were not caught makes it even sadder. But the major lack of editing results in an inconsistency in writing that is totally unacceptable to allow a recommendation of the book. Mainly, this is due to the "soap opera" style of writing that results in stilted characters that have not been fully developed to be believable, nor is the story itself, except if you are looking for the melodrama winner of the year...
Basically, the story is that Damian was relegated to the role of parent so that his wife, Ingrid, could tour the world and sing. Their daughter, Danielle, wants nothing to do with her mother, having never felt that she cared enough about her to spend time with her...
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Ingrid glanced at her daughter and said,
“Isn’t this house the loveliest thing
you’ve ever seen?”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Feeling vexed, Ingrid quickly hid her
disappointment with a weak smile.
“I’m glad that my daughter is
a wise young woman,” she said as
she tenderly placed her hand on Danielle’s
shoulder. Danielle rolled her eyes
and took her mother’s hand
off her shoulder. Danielle neither liked nor
respected her mother, who she had
barely known while growing up.
Ingrid had finally decided to
settle down with her family after her
voice had deteriorated and no
opera houses would hire her.
Damian welcomed her with open arms,
but, the same thing could not be
said about Danielle;
even though Ingrid had given her
all the attention a mother could
give to her child.
~~~
|
Now Danielle was having none of the attempts to reunite with her mother and act as if she'd been there for her. Ingrid's voice had been affected by its long use and she's come home, wanting to take her place as mother and wife... Damian happily tried to help pull the family back together and asks his friend to share Fallingwater for their reunion... {and I was thrilled to see the living room as it was then...}
|
begins...
She started humming a song that she used to sing years ago when she was alone in her room, hoping for the return of her mother. The song’s name was ‘Caruso’ by the Italian singer Lucio Dalla. Her voice wasn’t perfect and her Italian was basic. She had learned a little bit of Italian from her best friend Claudia, because she was Italian American. She was aware of the dual imperfections at her attempt to sing the difficult song, but she didn’t really care. All that mattered was the wonderful experience she obtained from singing the song. The powerful ballad always brought comfort to her heart and helped her to be less afraid of the future...
~~~
“HELP, HELP, HELP!” She screamed even though she knew that she might be the only person in the woods. She tripped over a rock and fell right next to a large tree. Closing her eyes, she housed her head with her hands, waiting for her end. A horrible feeling replaced the fear and suspense in her heart. It was a foreign feeling. She was afraid of dying. Then suddenly, she heard the cry of one of the coyotes. It was a panting cry. She moved her hands and slowly opened her eyes. She saw a man standing in the middle of the coyotes, menacing them with his rifle. He was around the same age as her father. The wild animals were intimidated by the man’s imposing figure, but still, they were determined to bring down their enemy.
~~~
Please note that I picked this up as a free book...I did see the book on Amazon with a wide range of reviews...a number referring to the same issues I have noted above. As of this morning I was no longer able to access the book there. Make your own conclusions...I have no answers...
GABixlerReviews
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