Mozart- where did your body go?

The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment, by William Stafford (TPB, 1991, $1.50)

Who would have known there were all those rumors of stuff going on during Mozart's last days! What I like about this author is his refusing to decide what happened. Of course we will never know what really happened, but it is so refreshing that an expert admits it.

So, what are the myths? Let's see-

1. Was he poisoned?- almost certainly not
2. Was he anti-Semitic?- probably not, but maybe?
3. Was he melancholy and self-destructive just before he died? He was certainly exhausted, probably dealing with heart failure brought about by rheumatic fever, and massively in debt.
4. Did he see himself as a genius or a failure?  A failure? How could he thought himself a failure? He had been a child prodigy, and as a young adult, a successful composer and performer. As he got older, though, his works were seen as too old-fashioned. People stopped buying his music. Before he died only 20% of his compositions were in print. Then he died, and people became interested again in his music. Both his widow and his son would be able to live lives of leisure. So as he was dying how did he see himself? We will never know.
5. Did he know he was dying when he composed his last work, the Requiem? Did he really push himself to exhaustion to finish it before he died? Did he hear a rehearsal of Requiem on his last afternoon? - Most likely not, since when he died the work was still not finished.
6. Did the weather get suddenly dark and stormy when he died? - Nope!
7. Was he buried in a pauper's grave? Is that why his grave site is unknown?- Nope. Actually during this time no one had lavish burials. Most of the middle-class were buried in wooden coffins, five to a grave, marked only by a wooden marker. Many times when more burial space was needed, bodies, including Mozart's, were dug up, the bones crushed, and then reburied elsewhere. By that time even his wife didn't know where his remains were. To complicated matters, in 1855 a marker was put up where people thought his body might be. Later, the marker was moved again. (And please don't ask about his supposed skull, and how it ended up separate from his body!) So, to summarize, his was not a pauper's grave, but where it is no one, even now, knows.

How weird is all this? Read more about this in the book, to be found on the new non-fiction table. (9/20)        (L-mu) 

PLEASE HELP OUR STORE!

For those of you who are customers of the Houghton Book Store:

We/I would not be offended if you contacted Houghton College to give them input on whether you think the store should continue. Please leave any comments you have, not for the college itself, but for the Houghton Foundation that owns us.

Also, if you are in the habit of praying, feel free to add both the store and its staff to your list.

Many thanks. And if we do still close, still, many, many thanks!

Sue's memorial. The future of the store.

Sue's memorial service was Friday. There were sure a lot of people there: her cousins from out-of-state, plus people from the college, the bookstore, and her church.

When there was a time to share I spoke about how Sue had pushed me out of my comfort zone. Many of you may not know that it was Sue who got me to blog. She wanted us all to blog, but I was new to computers, and wanted no part of this blogging stuff. I stormed in the next day announcing to all that if I was forced to write a single blog I would no longer work at the store. Somehow, though, by the end of the day I had written two blogs, and the rest, as they say, is history.

You will have noticed that lately we have rarely blogged. Partly, it is because of Sue's death, and partly because the future of the store is uncertain. It turns out that the store is owned by the Houghton Foundation, and they have yet to make the decision to continue the store, or not. You will not be surprised to know that all of us who volunteer at the store hope the Foundation does let us continue.

When I know anything, I will let you know
Karen Sue

John Jakes PBs

7 different John Jakes PBs from the American Bicentennial and the Kent Family Chronicles. The books range in price from $1.25 to $1.50. They are in a box in the paperback fiction section.

Dying for Chocolate!

Just arrived-

12 PB mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson.
One of them is the above book.

"Dying for Chocolate"- that is a pretty good description of me. Even after losing a lot of weight for health reasons, I still allow myself one piece of Chocolate Wave Cake each week at Red Lobster. To think that I never ate chocolate until about 10 years ago! When I was young, I was violently allergic to it. Once I outgrew my allergy I could eat chocolate without getting hives, but in my opinion it tasted horrible. Then I turned 45, and the whole world changed.

These books by Davidson can be found on the floor in front of the mystery section. Sorry, you will have to buy your own chocolate!

Donation of Some Odd Classics

We have just received a large collection of TPB classics. Some of them are the usual ones, like Austin and Dickens, but some are a lot more obscure. For instance, did you know that Carlo Collodi wrote one of the world's most famous children's stories- Pinocchio? Hey, I figured Walt didn't write it, but I had thought it to be an ancient fairy tale. Nope, it was written by an Italian in 1873.

You can't have this copy of Pinocchio till I finish reading it, but the rest of these odd classics can be found on the floor in front of the classics section.

Of course when I call them "odd", it probably shows how ignorant I am, but I bet you won't have heard of all of these gems. Well, Sue probably would have, but her knowledge base was incredible. She had even READ most of the books she talked about. This is my first blog since her death. Life goes on, but she is already greatly missed.

Sue's Funeral

For those wanting to attend Sue's funeral, it will be held on the 14th at 2 pm, at the Reformed Lutheran Church, 111 North Chestnut Street, Rochester, 14604. All are invited to attend.

Sue, we miss you.