“Mozart’s Ghost”, by Julia Cameron is a supernatural romance novel set in New York City. It was published in 2008. The main character is a woman named Anna who lives, in a New York City apartment building, upstairs from a man named Edward. Edward is a professional pianist studying a number of composer’s works for an important upcoming competition. Among those composers works is that of Mozart. Edward practices night and day for the competition, which irritates Anna. She is a professional medium (also a substitute teacher by day) who meets with her clients in the building. Because of Edward’s practicing, she is having a difficult time hearing what those who have passed to the other side have to say. Then, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begins contacting her. His strong, larger-than-life, personality and sudden appearances at awkward moments grates on her. He encourages her to go for a relationship with Edward. Also, he loves Edward’s music, saying that Edward plays Mozart’s music the way he himself would play it. He wants to give Edward a few suggestions that will help him win the competition, and wants Anna to relay them to Edward. This request creates a big problem for Anna. She feels that most people think mediums are strange. Also, she has lost a few boyfriends when they found out she was a medium. Because she and Edward have realized an attraction to one another, it is difficult for her to tell Edward about Mozart’s message. She feels the cost could be her relationship with Edward. Meanwhile, she has been practicing appearing normal so that Edward will not even suspect she is a medium.
There are some other interesting characters in the book such as Anna’s twin brother, Alex, who befriends Edward. Anna also has a few friends, a homosexual male friend named Harold who is the principal of a school Anna is subbing at, a bi-sexual guy friend who is interested in Anna, and a female friend who has sort of a disastrous dating life.
I’m glad I read this novel. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. It turned out to be interesting, even though I didn’t care for the beginning. At first, the writing didn’t seem to flow well, and I thought the letters Edward wrote to the couple who is financing his career seemed like something a child would do. I was thinking, you’ve got to be kidding. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on reading. Then suddenly, the writing got a lot better and I wanted to read the book, though I’m not sure I ever loved the letter part of it. I think Cameron portrayed the work of a medium very well. Something, however, that really bothered me in the novel was how the town of Ann Arbor, Michigan was described as being conservative and not open to mediums. This is not true. Ann Arbor is known for being a metaphysically progressive town. If Cameron had selected almost any other town in Michigan, that would have perhaps made sense, but this does not. Also, the other thing I wondered about is why Edward would be interested in Anna. She does not seem very likable. I am also wondering if the character of Anna is based upon a real life friend of the author, Sonia Choquette. Choquette, who lives in Chicago, is a medium and a bestselling author. In her autobiography, “Floor Sample: A Creative Memoir”, Cameron says that she befriended Choquette, helping her with her writing. The physical description of Anna seems to match that of Choquette. I wouldn’t be surprised if the character of Anna wasn’t loosely based on her.
Some people describe “Mozart’s Ghost” as a predictable but enjoyable “light romance”. I think this is true. I also agree with others that it would make a good film, though I would hope that if “Mozart’s Ghost” does get made into a film, that Ann Arbor gets a truer-to-life description of the forward-thinking town that it really is.
Review written by Karin Olsen
There are some other interesting characters in the book such as Anna’s twin brother, Alex, who befriends Edward. Anna also has a few friends, a homosexual male friend named Harold who is the principal of a school Anna is subbing at, a bi-sexual guy friend who is interested in Anna, and a female friend who has sort of a disastrous dating life.
I’m glad I read this novel. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. It turned out to be interesting, even though I didn’t care for the beginning. At first, the writing didn’t seem to flow well, and I thought the letters Edward wrote to the couple who is financing his career seemed like something a child would do. I was thinking, you’ve got to be kidding. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on reading. Then suddenly, the writing got a lot better and I wanted to read the book, though I’m not sure I ever loved the letter part of it. I think Cameron portrayed the work of a medium very well. Something, however, that really bothered me in the novel was how the town of Ann Arbor, Michigan was described as being conservative and not open to mediums. This is not true. Ann Arbor is known for being a metaphysically progressive town. If Cameron had selected almost any other town in Michigan, that would have perhaps made sense, but this does not. Also, the other thing I wondered about is why Edward would be interested in Anna. She does not seem very likable. I am also wondering if the character of Anna is based upon a real life friend of the author, Sonia Choquette. Choquette, who lives in Chicago, is a medium and a bestselling author. In her autobiography, “Floor Sample: A Creative Memoir”, Cameron says that she befriended Choquette, helping her with her writing. The physical description of Anna seems to match that of Choquette. I wouldn’t be surprised if the character of Anna wasn’t loosely based on her.
Some people describe “Mozart’s Ghost” as a predictable but enjoyable “light romance”. I think this is true. I also agree with others that it would make a good film, though I would hope that if “Mozart’s Ghost” does get made into a film, that Ann Arbor gets a truer-to-life description of the forward-thinking town that it really is.
Review written by Karin Olsen
