Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp - Michelle Moran - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Michelle Moran

GENRE: Historical Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: July 30, 2024

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical fiction focussing on Maria von Trapp’s life, leading up to her issues with the Broadway adaptation. Seems mostly faithful to facts, but it is still fiction, so it has the usual fictional garnishes. A great option for ‘The Sound of Music’ fans who want to know the reality of the Von Trapp family, which is not at all as depicted in the movie.

Plot Preview:

1959, New York. Fran Connelly, who works at Oscar Hammerstein’s office, is assigned an important task. She has to calm down the furious Maria Von Trapp, who wants the Broadway team to cull some of the creative edits made to her life story’s stage adaptation. Through their interactions, we learn more about Maria’s childhood, her arrival in the Von Trapp house, and their life together in Austria and later in the USA.

The story comes *mostly* over two timelines, and *mostly* in Maria’s first-person perspective and Fran’s third-person perspective, all written in the present tense.

If you are a fan of ‘The Sound of Music’ and believed everything in it to be true, this book might come as a rude awakening. Thankfully, while I love the movie (or rather, its music), I knew that some of the story was fictionalised. Just how much of the truth had been stretched is something I discovered only recently when I read the first of Maria Von Trapp’sthree memoirs: ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’. In fact, I had read the memoir as a preparatory assignment for this novel; I wanted to see if the factual memoir and the fictional novel worked in harmony.

The memoir, while not being outstanding, taught me much about Maria and the experiences of the Trapp family beyond what was shown in the movie. However, something had kept nagging at me, especially as Maria’s anecdotes seemed to be overly positive. While reading this book, I finally identified what was bugging me so much. As common with memoir writers, Maria Von Trapp had chosen to be sparing with the truth, reporting only as much as would present a picture-perfect enviable image of the family. The other side of the story is not so harmonious [pun intended.] This book has everything that was missing in the memoir - emotions, struggles, complaints, rebellion, mental breakdowns… It’s more human and realistic.

This novel does an exceptional job of presenting a holistic picture, revealing Maria’s personality in all its shades, which comes as a not-so-pleasant revelation. As the writing is in Maria’s first person, it is interesting to see her trying to justify some of her behaviour even when she can see the harm of her actions. Many a time, she is utterly unaware of the damage she has caused, until it is too late. I appreciate how the book didn’t turn Maria into a saint just because she's the titular character and such a beloved cultural icon thanks to the movie.

Of course, Maria’s issues with the changes in the Broadway script are somewhat justified; no one would like so much of a manipulation of their life story when it is meant for public eyes. (Ironic that Maria hated the Broadway producers for taking liberties with her life story when she herself did the same while writing her memoir!) Then again, her approach seems simultaneously naïve and dogmatic. When she signed away the rights to her book to the German production company, she gave up the controlling power. The first German movie that was based on her memoir should have prepared her better.

I found it interesting to learn the reasons of the production team behind the edits. I still don’t think it is right to alter a true story so much, and even change a person’s nature completely. If you remember the movie, it was Maria who was the light-hearted, fun-loving girl while Captain Georg was the ill-humoured disciplinarian. Reality was exactly the opposite. But luckily or unluckily for Maria, the Broadway team made her the angel of the story, and poor Captain Georg will always be known as the grump who changed his colours after finding love.

As regards the writing, the novel does a mostly great job. I loved how this book includes Maria’s childhood struggles and Captain Georg’s life pre-Maria, both of which were missing in her memoir. Maria’s first-person chapters retain her naturally self-confident tone. One minor detail that I truly appreciated was how the author clarified that the swastika is the ancient symbol of the Hindus and was twisted and misused by the Nazis. So many Westerners don’t know this! I also loved how it offered insights into the life of the children. They were a vital part of the Trapp Family Singers, and the novel gives them a voice, something Maria forgot to do in her memoir.

That said, no book can be perfect, and this is no exception. Here are the reasons my rating isn’t higher:

😟 Fran Connelly is fictional, so I wish her personal story (such as her relationship problems or her ambition of becoming an author) had stayed limited.

😟 The single chapter from Oscar Hammerstein's pov didn’t fit in the flow. It should have been eliminated, and its content presented through Fran’s perspective.

😟 The journey was bumpy at the start, with Fran’s 1959 leading to Maria’s 1926 timeline, which went into further flashback to Maria’s 1913 timeline – her childhood. Thankfully, after this chapter, the timelines mostly alternate between 1959 and the 1930s.

😟 The teeny references to Maria’s attraction/desire/strange feelings towards George in the first half of the book. Maria was always clear that there was no attraction towards or romantic relationship with the Captain until their wedding, so these mentions were somewhat annoying, and thankfully disappeared after their marital union. The same goes for the wedding night scene: closed door, but awkward and unbelievable!

😟 A major chunk of the novel is focussed on the part covered by the movie. The later life of the Trapps in the US, where they became the ‘Trapp Family Singers’, gets just the final quarter or so. The US part of Maria’s life should have got equal attention.

In the grand scheme of things, most of these issues are not so prominent as would affect the reading experience. The author’s note and the discussion club questions are the icing on the cake.

In short, this book was everything I hoped it would be, and a bit more. Despite the teeny writing issues, I savoured this reading experience and loved to get some realistic clarity behind the saccharine-sweet story presented by both the movie and Maria’s memoir.

As I have read only one of Maria’s three memoirs, I do not know what family details she might have revealed in the remaining two books. But her first memoir indirectly depicted how dominant and adamant she was, and this novelised version confirms it. After reading the memoir, I wanted to know more about the Trapp kids; after reading this novel, I am a bit sorry for them.

Of course, you might not be fond of reading memoirs, especially when they are unreliable. In that case, this novelised version is perfect for you. I loved how the author stated in her exceptional note (don’t skip it!!!) how a novel cannot be based only on a single autobiography. This book hence combines the content of Maria’s and Agathe’s memoirs and offers a more holistic glimpse of the family’s experiences.

Definitely recommended to historical fiction readers, and fans of The Sound of Music. Keep in mind though, that this is Maria’s story only up to the release of the musical, when she was 55 years old. She passed away when she was 82, so this isn’t her *life* story, but rather, her ‘Sound of Music’ story and a bit more.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing the DRC of “Maria” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night!