Very good idea to set in past and present but the idea just seemed to fizzle out at the end, and I didn't like the promiscuity of some of the characters. I liked the atmosphere conveyed of Italy at the time of Monteverdi, and about the politics of a modern university, and comparison with the patronage of the past. I gave it 4 stars because I liked the idea of the book and the writing was good, but mainly didn't like how it turned out.