The Castrato

Pool’s sexually charged story opens with the dramatic aftermath of the castration of 12-year-old Angelo Montegne, an impoverished tanner’s son with an exquisite singing voice in Fiesole, Italy, in 1698. Although Angelo’s father vehemently turns down a priest’s invitation for his son to join the oldest conservatory in Florence (“the price is too high”), Angelo is persuaded by his sister and aunt to accept, after his father’s death. Traumatized by the unexpected castration, he now understands his father’s objection, but it is too late: over the years Angelo becomes one of the conservatory’s rising sopranists and catches the eye of the lecherous Prince de Medici. Pool doesn’t shy away from describing Angelo’s erotic desires (including those for Rosa Scarlatti, defiant daughter of the famous composer), his horror and disgust at his condition, or the sexual encounters between the young men in the conservatory, but she also convincingly depicts the sensory aspects of the lives of the poor and the wealthy in that era. Readers will be swept up into Angelo’s life and rejoice with him at the happy ending. Ages 15–up. (Nov.)