Ecstasy: A Novel

The perfectly gorgeous cover of Ecstasy is almost the best thing about this book. It had been on my wishlist for a few months, so when it went on sale, I snatched it up.  I'm a sucker for books about the fin de siecle, Vienna Secession, etc., and this fictional biography of Alma Mahler seemed exactly the sort of thing I'd gobble up like popcorn.  Eh, not so much as it turns out.  Though I've never subscribed to Alma as bitch-goddess, I felt that Sharratt went overboard trying turn her into a long-suffering near saint, who cleaves to her self-involved genius of a husband to the detriment of her own creative drives.  Alma was no saint. But I think I could have forgiven the attempts at rehabilitating Alma's reputation if the narrative hadn't been so wildly over-wrought, reading in some places like a really bad romance novel.  Klimt's kiss awakens her, losing her virginity to Mahler makes her a woman at last. (It's actually unlikely that Mahler was the first. She probably took Alexander von Zemlinsky as a lover well before she met Mahler.) Sex is always a transcendent, earth-shattering experience in this novel, and I found myself muttering, "Oh God, not again!" every time Alma experiences another spiritual awakening.The portrayal of young Alma very nearly made me stop reading.  She comes across as an idiot teen. While this may be accurate, it's not all that interesting.  And even later, as an adult, her bouts of introspection which seem to make up the bulk of the narrative are annoying and repetitive. By the time she met Walter Gropius I was skimming the book, and while I found it odd that it effectively ended with Mahler's death (implying, I thought, that the only truly interesting thing about her was her relationship with him) I have to say that I don't think I could have tolerated fifty more years of transcendent sex, and hand-wringing about her music.

Ecstasy sparkles like the turn-of-the-century Vienna it depicts. A city that pulsed with energy, artistic innovation, and a passion for beauty seems the only possible setting for the story of Alma Schindler Mahler, a complex and fascinating woman unfortunately better known today for her unconventional life than for her talent and passion for music.Yet Alma's gifts often threaten to be her undoing, and this Vienna harbors a pervasive misogyny as well as a disturbing shadow of antisemitism never far from the surface. It's no wonder Alma's life was turbulent. The reader feels the frustrations and the can't-get-there-from-here quality of her quest for art and for love, and we find ourselves admiring her stubborn unwillingness to choose between them.In addition to telling the story of a creative woman ahead of her time, the novel depicts a flawed marriage that was nevertheless enduring and intense.Alma is an unforgettable character, but the secondary characters are also deftly drawn. My personal favorite was Natalie Curtis, the delightfully independent American musicologist whose breeze directness is refreshing. She reminds us that Vienna, despite its rich artistic climate, might not have been quite as modern as its denizens thought.For all her sufferings, there is something ultimately triumphant about Alma's determination to remain true to herself.

Utterly delightful. Sharratt is gifted at creating characters that jump off the page and hook the reader immediately, and her incarnation of the fascinating Alma Mahler is the first one to finally do justice to a brilliant, compelling and complicated woman. An irresistible and wonderfully-written novel that readers won't be able to put down.

Enjoyable book. Story of artists, musicians and painters, around the late 19th and early 20th centuries based on the life of a young woman involved with various artists, in spite of considerable talent of her own.

The protagonist is a 2-dimensional stereotype of a post adolescent woman. The other characters never fully materialize.

Alma deserves a lot better than this wooden account.

Mary brings to life a complex person. I loved Alma, but wanted to strangle her at the same time. Her privileged life, her self absorption, but her genius. Mary brings her to life

Very enjoyable read. Characters were well developed. Well written.