Herma: A Novel, by Macdonald Harris
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Herma: A Novel, by Macdonald Harris
Free Ebook PDF Online Herma: A Novel, by Macdonald Harris
An ambitious novel by one of America's foremost fiction writers, rediscovered and with an introduction by Michael Chabon.
A delightful literary rediscovery by the National Book Award-nominated Macdonald Harris, HERMA is the colorful, fanciful, and moving story of a willful young opera singer at the turn of the century. As a child in Southern California in the late 1900s, Herma exhibits an incredible talent for vocal mimicry. Her gift will eventually take her from the choir of her country church to the Paris Opera, thanks in no small part to the machinations of her daredevil agent, Fred Hite. It is an opulent rags-to-riches tale full of excitement, sexual intrigue, and decadence, and features cameos by Puccini and Proust, among others. Herma and Fred are glamorous and adventuresome guides to turn of the century San Francisco and Paris, but there's a secret at the heart of their intimate relationship. This twinned hero and heroine pair and the profound connection between them makes HERMA the most ambitious novel in the repertoire of one of America's greatest and most skilled writers. Herma: A Novel, by Macdonald Harris- Amazon Sales Rank: #1433332 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-08
- Released on: 2015-09-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.30" h x 1.80" w x 6.40" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 512 pages
Review “Set in the first decades of the twentieth century, Harris’ teeming novel explores the porous boundaries of gender identity. This inventive work will appeal to readers who are interested in the dual-gender theme. Opera lovers will also be intrigued.” (Booklist)
About the Author Donald Heiney (MacDonald Harris was a pseudonym) was born in 1921 and died in 1993. He is the author of sixteen novels, including The Balloonist and Tenth. In 1982, he received the Award in Literature of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Sciences for the sum of his work.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A brilliant exposition of the transgender phenomenon By John Joss The late, great MacDonald Harris has tackled in this, his 'biggest' book, one of the great Jungian mysteries of the animus and anima, the longing for completion by men and women through meeting their soul mates, their 'other halves.' Herma is a budding opera singer, Fred Hite her agent. Integrate the two names and you discover the book's inner mystery: hermaphrodite. Herma is transformed into Fred (and back) in the Jungian mirror. Harris explores the worlds of opera (Herma's avocation) and flying (Fred's) at a level of insight and authenticity that is profoundly moving and instructive. The `two' yearn for each other, heartbreakingly, yet realize that they can never meet. Here we see an implicit examination of the modern transgender phenomenon, which the world in general is only slowly coming to understand and accept. Yet Harris' treatment of this difficult subject is so subtle and tender that no reader, of any age, could be offended.Harris' revelations of turn-of-the-20th-century Orange County, south of Los Angeles (the author's origins), start the book and introduce us to the young Herma and her idyllic life. We see her learning to sing, first in church, then in opera, brilliantly and with a gift for vocal mimicry. The introduction of some of opera's historical greats, such as Enrico Caruso, is executed with whimsical charm. Herma sails through all this with elegance and grace, and in the process ends up with a dessert named after her that she conceives: Fraise Herma (the metaphor for Peach Melba and Chicken Tetrazzini is no coincidence and Harris executes this conceit with great skill). In the process of describing 1906 San Francisco and Caruso's historically correct presence there, Harris captures the earthquake in terms rarely matched in fiction or reportage. Herma, rendered homeless by the quake, meets the wealthy and fastidious Mr. Ming and is nothing less than . . . enchanting--Mr. Ming proposes marriage but we know that it can never be. When, later in Paris, she meets and attracts Marcel Proust, we acquire insights into the French author's environment and lifestyle that will captivate the reader.Fred, on the other hand, is a rebellious young man not only with an eye for the ladies but with expensive and dangerous habits--financed by his `client's' artistic successes, for which he negotiates with élan. He wins an airplane race over San Francisco Bay that includes tragedy and ends ignominiously for him. But his flight training enables him later to fly in France--including circling the then new Eiffel Tower--and join the Lafayette Escadrille, the American combat squadron that flew in WWI and achieved a great reputation there.The denouement is tragic but powerful. This book is timeless in its appeal and Harris writes meticulously. (Note: I undertook the flying research for this book but except for this 'bias' it has my highest possible recommendation)October 2015: Fast forward to the current republication of this wonderful book by Overlook (New York) and Galileo (Cambridge, England) in exquisite form, with some of the minor linguistic inconsistencies of the original corrected (in France 'rue' and 'avenue' do not bear initial capitalization, for example, and French diacritical marks, especially accents, are an endless trap). Harris is re-vindicated as one of America's great writers and stylists, who researched meticulously and executed brilliantly, long before we had all our nifty on-line tools. Once again, highly recommended. The only discordant note is the self-referential and superficial 'new' introduction by Michael Chabon, a former student of MacDonald Harris at U.C. Irvine. It adds little to our true understanding of the great Harris and seems merely an opportunity for Chabon to tell us what a great writer he (Chabon) is.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating storyline, but lacking meaning By Geoff Crocker It took John Joss’s review for me to realise the obvious that Donald Heiney’s (pseudonym MacDonald Harris) lead bi-gender character ‘Herma – Fred Hite’ stands for hermaphrodite. Having belatedly realised this, I’m not convinced that Heiney achieves a useful portrayal or study of human gender, whether perceived as separate male and female individuals, or seen as integrated within each person.His story is interesting enough, fascinating even, with glimpses of early cultural developments in California fed from Europe, New York and Chicago, grim observations of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, detailed accounts of the skills and challenges of flying early aircraft, the world of opera and music, the beginnings of the first world war in Paris, etc. He includes profiles of leading social personalities in the arts world, specifically Enrico Caruso and Marcel Proust, but as in any historical novel, it’s impossible to tell where the boundary between fact and fiction lies in these characterisations, which makes them somewhat unsatisfactory.Heiney fails to couple his narrative with reflection on the issues of gender and sexuality which he so centrally describes. Perhaps he never intended this. But the way in which gender roles are socially determined, and the extent to which each of us has elements of both gender stereotypes in our personality, are compelling themes. The absence of such reflection leaves Heiney’s novel long without developing meaning, and therefore eventually becoming a little tedious.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Four Stars By michael hampton One of the greats.
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