2 January 2017

Review #577: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

----Pablo Picasso


Sarah Dunant, the British bestselling novelist, has penned a delectable and extremely tempting historical fiction, The Birth of Venus that is set against the backdrop of the Renaissance Florence and that which revolves around a young 14 year old girl who is not beautiful or skilled like her elder sister, yet her talent and eye for art and mind for translating languages is extraordinary but with the changing times, she is forced into matrimony at a tender age, and little did she knew what fight she is put up for, in the name of honor, respect and womanhood during the Dominican rule in the 15th century Florence.




Synopsis:

Sarah Dunant's gorgeous and mesmerizing novel, Birth of Venus, draws readers into a turbulent 15th-century Florence, a time when the lavish city, steeped in years of Medici family luxury, is suddenly besieged by plague, threat of invasion, and the righteous wrath of a fundamentalist monk. Dunant masterfully blends fact and fiction, seamlessly interweaving Florentine history with the coming-of-age story of a spirited 14-year-old girl. As Florence struggles in Savonarola's grip, a serial killer stalks the streets, the French invaders creep closer, and young Alessandra Cecchi must surrender her "childish" dreams and navigate her way into womanhood. Readers are quickly seduced by the simplicity of her unconventional passions that are more artistic than domestic:
Dancing is one of the many things I should be good at that I am not. Unlike my sister. Plautilla can move across the floor like water and sing a stave of music like a song bird, while I, who can translate both Latin and Greek faster than she or my brothers can read it, have club feet on the dance floor and a voice like a crow. Though I swear if I were to paint the scale I could do it in a flash: shining gold leaf for the top notes falling through ochres and reds into hot purple and deepest blue.
Alessandra's story, though central, is only one part of this multi-faceted and complex historical novel. Dunant paints a fascinating array of women onto her dark canvas, each representing the various fates of early Renaissance women: Alessandra's lovely (if simple) sister Plautilla is interested only in marrying rich and presiding over a household; the brave Erila, Alessandra's North African servant (and willing accomplice) has such a frank understanding of the limitations of her sex that she often escapes them; and Signora Cecchi, Alessandra's beautiful but weary mother tries to encourage yet temper the passions of her wayward daughter. A luminous and lush novel, The Birth of Venus, at its heart, is a mysterious and sensual story with razor-sharp teeth. Like Alessandra, Dunant has a painter's eye--her writing is rich and evocative, luxuriating in colors and textures of the city, the people, and the art of 15th-century Florence. Reminiscent of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, but with sensual splashes of color and the occasional thrill of fear, Dunant's novel is both exciting and enchanting.



Alessandra Cecchi, the 14 year teenage daughter of a reputed merchant is more passionate about painting and translating languages, rather than being interested in womanly dreams like being a mother and a wife and honing off the girly skills to impress the best suitors. And with the arrival of a unknown yet extremely talented young artist in their family home, Alessandra can gradually feel the spasms of attraction and weakness of her young heart, but as Florence comes under the strict Dominican rule of Girolamo Savonarola and the possibility of a war, Alessandra's father make haste to marry off her unwed daughter to a suitable suitor in order to protect her. And the only suitor he managed to get for his young daughter is a very old, prosperous and lonely family friend, Cristoforo. Reluctantly Alessandra says yes to this alliance, and unfortunately she becomes a victim to an ugly truth about her husband that finally spins off her life out of control. So with the support and trust of her servant, Erila, an African slave, Alessandra explores the art, history and the dark secrets of the beautiful and charming city of Florence, all the while finding herself and the desires of her soul.

Maybe its my weakness towards reading historical fiction that led me to this enchanting yet slightly disappointing book, The Birth of Venus where the story line may lack development and reality yet somehow the backdrop allured me to lose myself into the heavy Italian flair layered well with the snippets of Renaissance era. The story is, no doubt, addictive but here and there, the story lacks from depth hence the readers will failed to acquire a clear perspective to contemplate with the story line. Reading this book made me realize that the author has done her research well enough to paint this simple story with so much deep knowledge about Florence during the period of Renaissance.

The author's writing style is classy and emotionally strong enough to make the readers feel its sharpness that will grip the readers completely. The narrative is sometime dull but at times, it will give the readers goosebumps although overall the dialogues are articulate and layered deeply with the flair of the then time period. This story has got many layers but rarely the author explored those layers, instead all the while the focus remained upon the central character and the her adventures and ordeal with the her city and life. The pacing is slow but steady in which the author opens a wide window to the lost and forgotten era of art and strict Catholicism rules in Florence.

The backdrop painted by the author is magnificent and eye catchy with myriad of colors that bring alive the city of Florence vividly. The author captures this fascinating Italian city with its proper historical significance and references in order to make it look properly synced with that era. From the mentality of the folks from that era to the conventional norms in the Churches to the format of art to the life style to the architecture to the spirituality behind the art are all strikingly portrayed with enough details to make the readers visually imagine Florence right before their own eyes.

The characters speak their minds but they lack depth in their developments, hence the readers might fail to connect with the characters from this book. The central character, Alessandra, is a brave and free woman irrespective of her time and era and also her desires and her pain evolves her into a mature woman, who learn to embrace her wretched destiny. The love story is so-so, there is nothing much passionate about it. The other characters, especially the female ones could have given more character and back story to make them look justified in their respective demeanor and struggles.

In a nutshell, for me this was a captivating enough story that engaged and enlightened me about Renaissance art, love and spirituality on the last day of the year!

Verdict: A promising and evocative story of art and religion!

Courtesy: A BookChor find!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info:
Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestseller The Birth of Venus, which has received major worldwide acclaim and In the Company of the Courtesan. With the publication of Sacred Hearts, she rounds out a Renaissance trilogy bringing voice to the lives of three different women in three different historical contexts.
Sarah Dunant’s tireless research has resulted in vivid reconstructions of womens’ secret histories in the characters of a Florentine Noblewoman, a Venetian Courtesan and with Sacred Hearts the spellbinding and fascinating lives of the Sisters of Santa Caterina.
Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions, and Mapping the Edge, all three of which are available as Random House Trade Paperbacks. She has two daughters, and lives in London and Florence.
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback!