Book review: Singer’s memoir documents life with disability
July 24th, 2008
Review of Thomas Quasthoff’s The Voice
By Carolyn See in the Washington Post:
Internationally acclaimed German concert baritone Thomas Quasthoff writes a memoir about his childhood and rise to fame that is “at once jaunty and “pedantic.” Quasthoff was one of thousands of children born with deformities after their mothers took the drug thalidomide some fifty years ago.
Novelist Carolyn See describes the Quasthoff narrative as an unsympathetic, invigorating portrayal of his intense childhood in a body cast, his close relationship with his brother, and the prejudice he encountered along the way to success.
The author refuses to give value to suffering. He saves his attention for art and fun and work, which makes this book a joy to read.
Writing in Newsday, reviewer Justin Davidson says Quasthoff’s tale is uplifting “only in the narrowest sense” because his experiences can’t be generalized to others with disabilities who don’t share his talent.
“I am not here to assuage the guilt of a society that equips certain office buildings with special entrances but otherwise punishes the physically incapacitated with constant disrespect,” Quasthoff writes. “What good are my experiences for someone with a thalidomide disability if he cannot sing? … No good at all.”
Previous post, including a video performance by Quasthoff, is here.
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