Lucia works as a servant girl in Italy and is engaged to be married. But after the pox disfigures her face, she flees in shame without telling her ...
read full description
reviews
May 07, 2011
In Lucia’s Eyes was a book that I read without really enjoying it or hating it. It is a historical fiction, which is a genre I very much like to read about. I have read many books before with the same idea of genre, but I would not say that this is my favorite one. It’s a love tragedy. In many scenes, it did get to me. Even though, I am talking about the plot in general. It was not a bad book in the end, but a little bit boring and somewhat rushed through. Maybe it would have been better had it
More...
Feb 11, 2011
Elsje
rated it: 
Wat een prachtige voorleesstem heeft Arthur Japin! Hij las me Een schitterend gebrek voor. De eerste CD kon me maar matig boeien (waar gaat dit heen?), maar daarna greep hij me bij mijn kladden en ik merkte dat ik regelmatig langer in de auto bleef zitten om nog maar even een stukje te luistern en ok dan, nog maar even een stukje.
Het verhaal
Een dame woont in het Amsterdam van de 18e eeuw. Zij valt op door haar stijl en doordat zij altijd gesluierd is. Als een van haar vrienden een More...
Het verhaal
Een dame woont in het Amsterdam van de 18e eeuw. Zij valt op door haar stijl en doordat zij altijd gesluierd is. Als een van haar vrienden een More...
Jan 31, 2011
Annaj.
rated it: 
This book had a good story. It was about a little servant girl that fell in love with a man but the man had to leave for a while. At that time Lucia suffers with small pox which leaves out permanent scars on her face. Unable to face her lover (Giacomo), she runs off and wears veil to cover up her face all the time. But the veil made ment to be more curious about Lucia and many men approached to her. She didn't come to an happy ending with her love Giacomo, but she won the heart of Jamieson.
More...
Jan 09, 2009
Karin
rated it: 
The translation into English is great. One of our best Dutch writers imo. We also had a wonderful book club discussion.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 12, 2011
LadyHeather
rated it:
I wouldn’t describe ‘Een schitterend gebrek’ (In Lucia’s Eyes) as an easy read, but it's certainly a book worth reading!
After someone read parts of the book to me years ago (very romantic :) ) I wanted to read it myself. I started reading but my study load (maybe combined with the ‘slow’ start of the book some reviewers talk about) caused me to put it aside and I sort of forgot about it. In the back of my mind I still thought: someday I have to finish that book… and then I saw the (Dut More...
After someone read parts of the book to me years ago (very romantic :) ) I wanted to read it myself. I started reading but my study load (maybe combined with the ‘slow’ start of the book some reviewers talk about) caused me to put it aside and I sort of forgot about it. In the back of my mind I still thought: someday I have to finish that book… and then I saw the (Dut More...
Jul 28, 2011
Jasminka
rated it:
I took with skepticism a book of Casanova's first love Lucia, thinking that it would be easy or foolish read. But I was pleasantly surprised...
This is a moving novel about enduring love, mystique, self-sacrifice, deception, heartbreak, humiliation, about woman who struggle between emotion and reason, sense and instinct, story of innocence and experience. Presented from Lucia's perspective as a legacy to her unborn child, to know what a woman is capable of to survive in the cruel world and More...
This is a moving novel about enduring love, mystique, self-sacrifice, deception, heartbreak, humiliation, about woman who struggle between emotion and reason, sense and instinct, story of innocence and experience. Presented from Lucia's perspective as a legacy to her unborn child, to know what a woman is capable of to survive in the cruel world and More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 22, 2011
Lizza11
rated it:
Dit is het 3e boek wat ik van Arthur Japin gelezen heb (na De Overgave en De zwarte met het witte hart) en deze beviel me toch het minste.
Het verhaal start in Amsterdam, 1758, waar je Lucia leert kennen. Een vrouw waarvan je gaande weg komt te weten dat ze een sluier draagt. Het verhaal is de eerste 75 pagina's erg saai en vaag, omdat je geen idee hebt waar het verhaal nu echt over gaat en ik heb me er echt toe moeten zetten om verder te lezen.
Dan begint het tweede deel: Een schitter More...
Het verhaal start in Amsterdam, 1758, waar je Lucia leert kennen. Een vrouw waarvan je gaande weg komt te weten dat ze een sluier draagt. Het verhaal is de eerste 75 pagina's erg saai en vaag, omdat je geen idee hebt waar het verhaal nu echt over gaat en ik heb me er echt toe moeten zetten om verder te lezen.
Dan begint het tweede deel: Een schitter More...
Feb 05, 2009
Japin (The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi) offers an intriguing story about love, deceit, betrayal, identity, and self-sacrifice. Presented from Lucia's perspective, the story rests on one detail from Casanova's Histoire de ma vie but makes good use of its larger context. Critics agree that Japin's rich historical material, including Lucia's involvement in the era's intellectual, artistic, and philosophical currents, makes the 18th century come alive. They disagree, however, about Lucia: Is she a fl
More...
Aug 20, 2011
Jean Marie
rated it:
I'm not terribly sure how I feel about this book. One on hand I enjoyed it. On the other, I felt it was fluffy and could have been cleaned up a bit in spots.
The translation was awesome, probably one of the best I've read. The characters were intriguing and well developed. The storyline itself was great, I just feel that the execution of it could have been improved. I think that if the story was told as it happened instead of bouncing back in forth through time it would have been mor More...
The translation was awesome, probably one of the best I've read. The characters were intriguing and well developed. The storyline itself was great, I just feel that the execution of it could have been improved. I think that if the story was told as it happened instead of bouncing back in forth through time it would have been mor More...
Jun 05, 2011
Mel
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 07, 2010
Janneke
rated it:
In zijn memoires vermeldt Casanova terloops dat Lucia een van de weinige vrouwen is die hij ooit onrecht heeft aangedaan. Maar hoe? Wat is er werkelijk gebeurd? Waarom deed Lucia afstand van haar geluk? Een schitterend gebrek is haar verhaal, het verslag van een uitzonderlijk leven. Het begint wanneer Lucia, vele jaren later, Casanova in een Amsterdams bordeel bij toeval tegen het lijf loopt. Hij heeft er geen weet van dat zij het is omdat ze haar door de pokken mismaakte gezicht onder een sluie
More...
May 07, 2010
Micha
rated it:
Geen idee wat ik hiervan moest verwachten, heb het op aanraden van iemand gekocht. Ik vond het wel een mooi boek, maar heel... ja... Literair. Taal die stijfjes aanvoelde omdat er zo veel woorden gebruikt worden die je niet dagelijks te horen krijgt. Deels past het ook wel bij de tijd waarin het zich afspeelt, zeker in de dialoog, maar op de een of andere manier maakte het de leeservaring toch afstandelijker.
Toch was het een mooi verhaal, en de tweede helft greep me best wel aan, ma More...
Toch was het een mooi verhaal, en de tweede helft greep me best wel aan, ma More...
May 04, 2008
Shannon
rated it:
My previous read (The House at Riverton) was a good premise moderately executed, while this book is beautifully executed and thought provoking. After ordering In Lucia's Eyes online, I was somewhat concerned to receive it and see that it was a translation from the original in Dutch. While it took a little while to get into this book, I pretty easily became accustomed to the language and the narrator's present day narrative alongside her looks back to her youth. It is not what I would describe
More...
Oct 03, 2011
Anne
rated it:
I loved the story, but it was sad. Not in a very bad way but also not in a way that makes you happy...
On some point I hated the story because the lover of Lucia was so solitary-minded. first I loved him like lucia did. and then I really started to like who Lucia was.
but then she choose a heroic thing to do and I loved her even more. but on the end she was bitter and cynisch, because of all what she would have to go through
She is a person who you wouldn't forget quick. and I lov More...
On some point I hated the story because the lover of Lucia was so solitary-minded. first I loved him like lucia did. and then I really started to like who Lucia was.
but then she choose a heroic thing to do and I loved her even more. but on the end she was bitter and cynisch, because of all what she would have to go through
She is a person who you wouldn't forget quick. and I lov More...
Dec 21, 2010
Fijke
rated it:
I read the original (Dutch) version of this book for my Dutch literature reading list and I loved it. It's one of the few really wonderful works of Dutch literature that are not about World War II. It's romantic and tragic at the same time. The main characters are victims of fate but mostly of their own and each others mistakes.
Oct 25, 2011
Yada
rated it:
Quotes I like:
"A marvelous imperfection!"
"The tangible can be reshaped only by the intangible."
"The obvious thing to do at such a time would be to dig deep within ourselves, but that's the one thing we don't do, because we can't grasp it with our intellect, and nowadays we're frightened of anything we're unable to explain rationally." pg 118
"Reason offers us many possibilities at once. Intuition infallibly choose More...
"A marvelous imperfection!"
"The tangible can be reshaped only by the intangible."
"The obvious thing to do at such a time would be to dig deep within ourselves, but that's the one thing we don't do, because we can't grasp it with our intellect, and nowadays we're frightened of anything we're unable to explain rationally." pg 118
"Reason offers us many possibilities at once. Intuition infallibly choose More...
Apr 14, 2011
Femke
rated it:
Ik vond dit een van de meest indrukwekkende boeken die ik gelezen heb. De schrijfstijl is werkelijk prachtig - zo on-nederlands en poetisch bijna. Ik heb gehuild en gelachen bij dit boek. Een boek over een sterke vrouw, sterke liefde en trots. Prachtig!
Mar 01, 2010
Jan
rated it:
This is a good novel because it makes you think about the relation between reason and feeling(s),about the universal human question:'what is happiness?' As a historical novel it is also very readable. Japin writes about the ideas in the 18th century:the age of Enlightenment, Venice and Amsterdam,the social relations but above all,the human heart.
Sep 04, 2011
Elise
rated it:
I am in love with this book. It's so beautifuly written. I read the original version in dutch. So I have no idea if it's quite the same in English. I love the stile Japin wrote it in. I love the book, altough it's a said story.
Oct 10, 2011
Oriana
rated it:
I have read it in the original language (Dutch - Een schitterend gebrek). After this one I read more of Arthur Japin. He can be a bit long-winded sometimes, but this book was a good introduction for me.
Jan 09, 2009
Megan
rated it:
Amazing book! A beautiful dance of historical fact, eye-opening philosophy, and artful fiction. If you enjoy the careful dance of seduction and the complexities of love, you must read this!
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 10, 2011
naar mijn smaak wat te sentimenteel af en toe, maar mooi geschreven, mooi verhaal en mooie formuleringen van dingen die moeilijk te formuleren zijn(gevoelens). zo dat klinkt zweverig.
Mar 23, 2011
Jade
rated it:
This book felt like it was written about me, just another me living another life. Even my friends said so. Aside from that it was an amazingly beautiful story.
Jul 26, 2010
Ilse
rated it:
Mooi mooi. Speelt zich af rond 1750 in Italie (Venetië) en Amsterdam.
Het ontroerende verhaal van Casanova en Lucia, en hoe hun levens apart zich ontwikkelden.
Het ontroerende verhaal van Casanova en Lucia, en hoe hun levens apart zich ontwikkelden.
Mar 06, 2010
Rudi
rated it:
Well written tragic lovestory against a historical background. Although easily read it is not really dragging you in. Good, but there are better books out there.
Jul 29, 2011
Linda
rated it: 
This was a glorified Harlequin romance. I was bored half way through but with nothing else to read I tortured myself and kept going; it didn't improve.
May 07, 2010
Ludo
rated it:
(luisterboek versie)
In zijn memoires vermeldt Casanova terloops dat Lucia een van de weinige vrouwen is die hij ooit onrecht heeft aangedaan. Maar wat is er werkelijk gebeurd?
Voorgelezen door Arthur Japin zelf.
"Een schitterend gebrek" is een boek over liefde, zelfvertrouwen, kennis en gevoel, en vertelt het levensverhaal van Lucia, dat (niet) toevallig overhoop gegooid wordt door haar ontmoeting met Giacomo (Casanova).
Knap verteld verhaal waarin de More...
In zijn memoires vermeldt Casanova terloops dat Lucia een van de weinige vrouwen is die hij ooit onrecht heeft aangedaan. Maar wat is er werkelijk gebeurd?
Voorgelezen door Arthur Japin zelf.
"Een schitterend gebrek" is een boek over liefde, zelfvertrouwen, kennis en gevoel, en vertelt het levensverhaal van Lucia, dat (niet) toevallig overhoop gegooid wordt door haar ontmoeting met Giacomo (Casanova).
Knap verteld verhaal waarin de More...
May 07, 2010
Amaya
rated it:
Again an excellent book by an excellent author (read in the original Dutch version). I just love the way Arthur Japin develops the caracters in his novels. The farther you are into the story, the more interesting they become. This book about the first love of Cassanova, won the Libris literature prize for a reason. I like better his latest novel (de Overgave; not yet available in English), which I think might be his masterpiece. Having that said, I do hope Japin isn't done with his writing and h
More...
Jan 22, 2009
Amaya
rated it:
Again an excellent book by an excellent author (I read the original Dutch version). I just love the way Arthur Japin develops the caracters in his novels. The farther you are into the story, the more interesting they become. This book about the first love of Cassanova, won the Libris literature prize for a reason. I like his latest novel better(de Overgave; not yet available in English), which I think might be his masterpiece. Having that said, I do hope Japin isn't done with his writing and hop
More...
May 25, 2011
Sanne
rated it:
Amazing book, describes the surroundings like a painting. The story is shocking, different and intriguing. A must read!
