The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel

Alma Halbert Bond is a retired Freudian psychoanalyst whose love of opera and the fabled soprano Maria Callas led her to write this partly fictionalized psycho-autobiography, in the form of a novel. This is an ambitious psychological look at Callas's life, and Bond's claim to authority is in the analytical end, not the historian's craft, but she has done her homework.

Some intense Callas fans have taken Bond fiercely to task for even daring to write a book dealing with their goddess's motivations and feelings. No one can know what goes on in the mind of another, and this sort of psychological analysis--which does not benefit from any first-hand consultation with its subject--can only be educated guesswork at best. Still, many of Bond's educated guesses make sense and help to fill in the puzzle that was Maria Callas. If the first-person narrative sometimes fails to work as planned, Bond's love of her subject shines through, and fans of the great diva should give this book a try. --Sarah Bryan Miller