Backstage
Stories of a Writing Life
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Backstage
Narrated by:
Suzanne Toren
Buy Now for £13.49
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Narrated by:
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Suzanne Toren
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By:
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Donna Leon
About this listen
Donna Leon’s memoir, Wandering through Life, gave her legions of fans a colorful tour through her life, from childhood in New Jersey to adventures in China and Iran, to her love of Venice and opera. Nowhere, however, did she discuss her writing life.
In Backstage, Donna reveals her admiration for, and inspiration from, the great crime novelists Ruth Rendell and Ross MacDonald, examining their approach to storytelling as she dissects her favorite books of theirs. She expresses her love for Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and her appreciation for Sir Walter Scott’s generosity of spirit. And she chronicles the amount of research she undertakes to be able to present authentically, through Guido Brunetti and his colleagues, places and characters far from her own experience—from interviewing a diamond dealer in Venice to open up the world of blood diamonds, to meeting, through back channels, a courageous sex worker and women’s rights activist to depict accurately the trafficking of women in Italy. By contrast, the idea and opening scene of one of her novels came to her as she was walking through Venice.
Venice is central in her memory, whether recounting the semi-comic irritation of a noisy elderly neighbor or the origins of the city’s Carnevale. Her teaching career yields memorable tales: helping a young Black boy in a Newark, New Jersey, elementary school; instructing young Iranian pilots in English just before the 1979 Iranian Revolution; and taking her students at a Swiss private high school to the famous Frank Zappa concert in Montreux interrupted by fire.
Throughout, she is as good a storyteller about herself as she is a chronicler of Guido Brunetti’s crime adventures. Listeners will be as caught up in her world as she is in his.
Critic reviews
"Suzanne Toren’s precise articulation and midrange timbre are well suited to the erudition displayed in Donna Leon’s newest essays. Best known for her mysteries featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of Venice, Leon has strong opinions and an interesting background. Toren, an AudioFile Golden Voice narrator, brings attentive pacing and a hint of a smile to Leon’s excellent writing. Whether reflecting on the meaning of the word “loneliness,” pondering the morality of being paid a lot to do little, or writing a mash note to “Dear Guido,” Leon is deep thinking, fierce, and clever. Toren’s audible appreciation for her wit, as well as her intelligence, gentles the sharp edges of the author’s commentary just enough to keep listeners appreciative of this worthwhile collection."
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