Axel Munthe: The Road to San Michele Book

Quite a deep well of information on the somewhat mysterious Dr. Axel Munthe, whose "The Story of San Michele" is intriguing and quite hard to describe! See my review of THAT book for more information.

I ordered Jangfeldt's book because 1) I wanted more insight into Munthe and "The Story of San Michele" and 2) a trip to Capri was in the works and I thought the book might lead to some interesting discoveries there. Can't say I picked up much new or useful info about the island of Capri and the town of Anacapri, but the biography certainly helps one differentiate between the true and false, real or imagined, or the just plain exaggerated in Munthe's "The Story of San Michele."

Jangfeldt is a gentle and respectful biographer, and when (on many occasions) Munthe's behavior is bizarre, his biographer digs for reasons and explanations. Munthe was one strange character, with wildly vacillating temperament, but underneath he was extremely generous to the sick and poor of all sorts, including Lapps in the Arctic Circle, natives of Capri, and victims of natural disasters and epidemics.

When dealing with biographies of writers, I always wonder whether to read their works first or the biography first. In most cases, and certainly this case, better to read the works first. I'm not sure I would have stuck with this if I hadn't already read "The Story of San Michele." Well, I wouldn't even have looked for this if "The Story of San Michele" were not fascinating.

Stream-of-consciousness notes while reading the bio follow this review.

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9/8/18 Looks fascinating. Have reviewed photos and contents. Will begin with intro material and then go to whatever is concerned with Capri.

9/11/18 Lots of details here, some perhaps trivial but all-in-all very revealing -- puts "The Story of San Michele" in a new light. Does not detract -- just clarifies. Still gleaning for Capri info -- on page 241 but probably have read about 20-25 percent of previous pages.

9/15/18 Have read to the end of the book, reading most of the material about the period post-publication "Story of San Michele," since the book became the most important thing in his life. Now, at leisure (?) will return to some of the sections I skipped early in the book. Probably will never read every word -- somehow I don't find the writing and/or translation compelling. Just looking for information.

10/9/18 Visited Villa San Michele last week' worth the trip. Now will review book again to spot info on particular areas.

12.2.18 Despite comment on 9/15 that I wouldn't read every word, I did, up to the point where I read every word the first time. More interesting info about his earlier days than I was expecting. All-in-all, very good idea to read this to get clearer picture of "The Story of San Michele." Am re-reading the last 40 pages or so, then will be finished with this.

1/1/19 Finished