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Title: Too much pseudo-psychoanalysis
Review: A generally interesting, and presumably authoritative, narrative of Beethoven's life and music is too often de-railed by whole chapters of amateurish, armchair Freudian psychoanalysis. It is further side-tracked by the long-winded pursuit or trivia [for example, an entire chapter (40 pages) of stuffy prose evaluates alternative theories on "who was his `immortal beloved'" -- who cares? her identity is irrelevant].The New York Times Book Review may think this is "a landmark of Beethovian scholarship and interpretation", but in my view, the narrative frequently suffers from a rather pompous style of pseudo-academic writing. A good edit is clearly warranted. Not really recommended.
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