I, Mona Lisa
by Jeanne Kalogridis
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This is the first Jeanne Kalogridis novel I read. I liked I, Mona Lisa so much that it inspired me to pick up The Borgia Bride which I liked even better. That inspired me to pick up The Burning Times, which I hated, but I digress...
I, Mona Lisa opens with the Pazzi conspiracy. You can almost hear the swords clanging together in the great Florentine cathedral, surrounded by priceless Rennaissance art. With this fascinating beginning, we meet the main charactor, Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, th...more
I, Mona Lisa opens with the Pazzi conspiracy. You can almost hear the swords clanging together in the great Florentine cathedral, surrounded by priceless Rennaissance art. With this fascinating beginning, we meet the main charactor, Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, th...more
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Read in April, 2008
I'm thinking I'll have to add Jean Kalogridis to the list of historical fiction authors that I really, really like.
My favorite from her remains The Burning Times, but this did not disappoint.
I am substantially less familiar with Renaissance Italy than I am with Tudor England. However, the Medicis and the Borgias are really beginning to beg further study. This particular novel dealt with (obviously) Mona Lisa and then as a backstory to her personal history the Medici family a...more
My favorite from her remains The Burning Times, but this did not disappoint.
I am substantially less familiar with Renaissance Italy than I am with Tudor England. However, the Medicis and the Borgias are really beginning to beg further study. This particular novel dealt with (obviously) Mona Lisa and then as a backstory to her personal history the Medici family a...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Kelsey by:
Lucky find through Amazon.comrecommends it for: art history lovers, historical fiction gurus, people wanting to read a good love story
One day while perusing some books on Amazon, I came across this book. Despite never having been familiar with the author, the premise of this book intrigued me. I, Mona Lisa tells the story of Lisa (whose last name escapes me), the "real" woman painted in the famous artwork, The Mona Lisa. Using a stream of history in her work, the author is able to paint this story within the time of the Pazzi and Medici family rivalry.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the author's abil...more
What I really enjoyed about this book was the author's abil...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
historical fiction lovers who enjoy art
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars... I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot up (probably 4 to 4.5 stars worth) until maybe the last 50 pages, which led me to reduce my rating a little. The last 50 pages I thought things started to get far-fetched. It was a really intriguing story about 2 generations of the Medici family in Florence, the Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici's, and the religious turmoil in Florence under the influence of the Savonarola. The tension between pol...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
people that love Italy & historical fiction
I, Mona Lisa is the story of Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Jeanne Kalogridis takes the reader back to the late 15th Century Florence during the reign of the Medici's, Florence's nobility. There is political and religious conflict, uprising, love, mystery, and intrigue as there are brutal murders, the Medici's get thrown out of Florence, and the Lisa discovers the truth about her family, her past and her future.
The writing style is easy and fast p...more
The writing style is easy and fast p...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
historical fiction fans, those who like suspenseful murder mysteries
I found this book surprisingly engrossing, albeit in a <Da Vinci Code</i> sort of way, but better.
The story centers around a murder - that of Giuliano de Medici in the late 15th century in Florence - and the subsequent solving of that murder.
(Another good book on this subject is also one I mailed out for bookmooch called April Blood, but that book was more dry and less entertaining that this one - though the fictional details closely resemble the actual ones)
The plo...more
The story centers around a murder - that of Giuliano de Medici in the late 15th century in Florence - and the subsequent solving of that murder.
(Another good book on this subject is also one I mailed out for bookmooch called April Blood, but that book was more dry and less entertaining that this one - though the fictional details closely resemble the actual ones)
The plo...more
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Read in June, 2008
This is our July book club book. So far so good; it's going to Costa Rica with me tomorrow!
Good read from front to back. Having been to Florence multiple times, I could really enjoy the descriptions of the locations of the events, and appreciate the wealth and power of the Medici. Also, having visited Mona Lisa's portrait in the Louvre multiple times as well, I enjoyed the story the author invented to go along with it. Since no one seems to really know who she was, making her Da Vinci's...more
Good read from front to back. Having been to Florence multiple times, I could really enjoy the descriptions of the locations of the events, and appreciate the wealth and power of the Medici. Also, having visited Mona Lisa's portrait in the Louvre multiple times as well, I enjoyed the story the author invented to go along with it. Since no one seems to really know who she was, making her Da Vinci's...more
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Really great book. If you like history, the author does an amazing job taking the historical facts of Renaissance Florence and adding her own motivations and plot twists. The book tells the life story of the person Mona Lisa. Turns out she's pretty much involved with every big name from Renaissance Florence. Not one of those deep, make you re-think your life books, but has a fantastic plot and she does an amazing job conveying a feeling of Florence at that time. I'd recommend this book to anyone...more
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Read in October, 2007
If you want to read one book with an independent female heroine set in renaissance Florence, dealing with art, artists, Savonarola, and The Bonfire of the Vanities, I would recommend The Birth of Venus over this one. But if you've read that one and are looking for something similar, this is a good choice.
It started out pretty slow, but picked up a lot in the last half, with some plot twists that I anticipated and others that were surprises.
It started out pretty slow, but picked up a lot in the last half, with some plot twists that I anticipated and others that were surprises.
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Read in May, 2007
This book is kind of Philippa Gregory-ish for those who like ehr. I like getting really involved in a story & while this book has a great plotline with twists & turns throughout the novel, I wouldn't consider it a literary classic. However, it's a fun read and once you get into the heart of it, it's impossible to put down.
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Read in February, 2008
Though slow at times. I enjoyed the history and the drama in this book, the fictional life of Mona Lisa. Interestingly, there was a recent press release verifying the identity of Lisa as Lisa Gheraridini. This was her identity in the book as well although I know much of the storyline is fictional, Nonetheless, it's a good gross historical account of the times and an interesting "what-if".
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Readers who like historical novels and those interested in art
A Might-have-been story of Mona Lisa. The story delves into both the art world and the dangers and treachery of the political world of the late 1400's in Florence,Italy for they were so intertwined. We read of the Medici's, Michaelangelo, Botticelli, and, of course, Da Vinci. I found it to be a page-turner. If this story were true, we would now know the reason for her half smile.
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Read in December, 2007
This was a super long book, i think it was about 500 pages but length doesn't really matter if the story is good. Most of us know the painting, Mona Lisa, but this historical fiction gives you a treat in finding out that secretive smile of the Mona Lisa. When i was reading this, i felt as if i was watching a movie...hmm i think this book should be made into a movie.
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I did NOT expect to like this book, but instead, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I had read The Birth of Venus and thought, ok, i've had enough of the Medici Family and Florence now. But this is a well-written little piece of fiction, and offers an excellent look at Florence at a time of major changes and fascinating artists. A tough book to put down for me!
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The book started out interestingly, but I think I just hate the way Kalogridis writes dialogue. I tried The Borgia Bride and another (I think the Burning Times?) and I disliked both. For some reason, her writing style won't allow me to sink into the story. I feel like I'm skimming through a somewhat-thought out made-for-t.v. movie.
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This book started off very interesting. Sadly I never got around to finishing it. I'm sure it would not disappoint me if I had completed it, I'll probably get around to reading it again. It incorporates history, mystery, and a lot of the pressures that women in society face.
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I couldn't get into this book the first time I picked it up, but I really liked it the second time I started reading it. I enjoyed the references to Florence since I've been there. Another one of those books that makes me really glad I was born in the modern age that I was.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
girls in search of a little light reading
a fun mystery set in florence in the time of da vinci. has a couple good twists, and a couple foreseeable ones. if i had a beach-reading shelf i'd put it on that too...
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Read in December, 2007
One of the renaissance mystery books that are popular for weaving history and fiction together. Interesting story about the way women were expected to live and the love that binds families, even through lies. Nothing too serious, and not any real surprises.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2007
This is a great historical fiction/mystery! Id does have a couple of spots that might be a little racey. It takes place during the life time of Leonardo Davinci and is about the woman the author believes to be the Mona Lisa. It is definitely a page turner!
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