false 28078 24 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: <p> <blockquote>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.</blockquote><p> 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. 815591 book 2003 The Birth of Venus: A Novel total:8170|5:1710|4:3159|3:2440|2:687|1:174| 8170 30054 10548 1078 2 15 false false Mon Sep 03 20:36:06 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 11 19:04:53 -0800 2007 Set during the just-post Medici era in Florence, during the rise and eventual ...more...]]> 5 5 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Tue May 29 01:57:28 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 12:09:10 -0700 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix nor did I read it like I plan to read Book 6 on July 16, but I read it in a day it was that good. I'm just going to address my one major problem with the book before I go on to...more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 10 18:03:07 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 30 09:13:18 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Mar 19 13:22:37 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 15:32:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Fri Jan 09 13:18:44 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 13:20:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 4 false true Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 25 23:43:04 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 17:32:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Thu May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 22 17:37:56 -0800 2008 Thu May 15 12:05:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 3 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 04 18:52:31 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 08 07:37:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 14:33:21 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 23 11:31:49 -0700 2008
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If you choose to read it, skip the Prologue. It gives away the last quarter of the book. (I found this very frustrating.)

The middle of the book is fine. It's basic historical romance stuff with interesting, smart characters.

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If you like historical fiction, it does have a fairly interesting depiction of Renaissan...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 18:51:54 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 08:15:45 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Jul 02 11:47:59 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 02 11:53:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 10:00:18 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 17:25:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false true Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 09:45:05 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 17 18:38:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 24 17:08:56 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 17:28:44 -0700 2009 more...]]>