Review: "Ecstasy" by Mary Sharratt

What an absorbing historical fiction novel about a titillating woman who was ahead of her time. At the tender age of 22, Alma Maria married Gustav Mahler. He was a celebrated conductor of many famous symphonies and a legendary composer. He was also a typical man of the era who had his own thoughts on how a wife should behave and support her husband. This is the story of her married life with this demanding man and her struggles to squash her creative talent to conform to his ideals. This struggle brings her to the brink of insanity only to emerge as a celebrated, famous composer.

Alma Mahler is a very complicated individual and the author does a wonderful job of bringing her larger-than-life emotions and proclivities to life. Ms. Sharratt thoroughly develops Alma’s character, with all its flaws. She does not sugar coat her controversial life to make Alma more likable. The story is told in the third person which allows you to view the plot as a bystander and judge her actions for yourself.

I really enjoyed this book. I knew nothing about either of the Mahlers and it brought them to life for me. Their married life was filled with amazing highs and plummeting lows. The author doesn’t allow you to get bogged down in the mundane aspects of everyday living so the whole novel is page turning. The story does deal with adult situations, so I would recommend this for the mature reader.