The End of Romance: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and the Mystery of the Violin - Softcover

BARZMAN, Norma

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560258136 ISBN 13: 9781560258131

Publisher: Nation Books, 2006

Synopsis

Norma Barzman is a blacklisted writer living in Southern France. Henry Myers is her beloved cousin, a former member of the Algonquin circle who has found his writing talent diminished with age, and is living an isolated life in New York City. When Norma invites Henry to Italy to realize their mutual dream of traveling together to Cremona to write about the mysterious origins of violin making, neither one could have anticipated the explosive consequences of their journey. But their adventure opens a Pandora's box of long-suppressed emotions, family secrets, and forces each to reassess their feelings towards each other, and themselves. As Norma recognizes her growing emotional independence, both from Henry and her over-bearing husband Ben, she gains the confidence to delve into the suppressed history of Cremona whose sun-bleached walls hide dangerous secrets, intrigue, and the shameful history of anti-Semitism in Italy. Combining the romance of Frances Haye's Under the Tuscan Sun with the historical depth of a Sebastian Falks novel, The End of Romance is an iridescent book that explores and illuminates the enduring mysteries of love and music.

About this title

About the Author

Norma Barzman is a screenwriter and novelist who lives in Beverly Hills. She is the author of the celebrated memoir THE RED AND THE BLACKLIST. She had the great honor of being attacked by Ann Coulter in her book TREASON. She has worked for the Los Angeles Examiner, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She was the wife of blacklisted screenwriter Ben Barzman.

From Publishers Weekly

Barzman's latest takes place during 10 days in Cremona and Venice, Italy, in 1973-10 days she happened to leave out of her previous memoir, The Red and the Blacklist. Now in her 80s, Barzman isn't afraid to tell it like it is: "I'm not going to let shame or anything else stop me. In Cremona in 1973, everything came together to free me of my romantic view of love, work, politics-of life itself." In many ways, the book is a juicy mystery: What are the secret origins of violin-making in Cremona? The mystery, or the "plot" if this were a novel, is cleverly used to propel Barzman's self-discovery, the real stuff of memoir. Her journey involves confronting anti-Semitism, dealing with her sometimes-ambivalent feelings for her blacklisted screenwriter husband and committing adultery with a man 20 years her junior. Barzman must also come to terms with the real nature of her love-hate relationship with her writer cousin, Henry Myers. It's a bumpy ride with moments of over-the-top melodrama, but Barzman's calculated distance and perspective make for an engrossing read.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Nation Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1560258136
• ISBN 13: 9781560258131
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304