Juliet in Around the World in 80 Books

May 16, 2011 Juliane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-standalone, feature-love-stories, result-recommendable, personal-books-i-am-in-love-with, 2011-books-i-read, favorites

Ich bin mehr als begeistert von diesem Buch!

Zum Inhalt:
Anne Fortier erzählt die Geschichte von Romeo und Julia ganz neu. Denn ursprünglich (laut Fortier) lebten Romeo und Julia wirklich: Im Jahr 1340 unter den Namen Romeo Marescotti und Giulietta Tolomei. In der Stadt Siena soll sich ihre tragische Liebesgeschichte tatsächlich abgespielt haben.
Julia Jacobs erfährt nach dem Tod ihrer Großtante, dass ihre verstorbene Mutter auf den Spuren der wahren Begebenheiten von Romeo und Julia war und dabei Ich bin mehr als begeistert von diesem Buch!

Zum Inhalt:
Anne Fortier erzählt die Geschichte von Romeo und Julia ganz neu. Denn ursprünglich (laut Fortier) lebten Romeo und Julia wirklich: Im Jahr 1340 unter den Namen Romeo Marescotti und Giulietta Tolomei. In der Stadt Siena soll sich ihre tragische Liebesgeschichte tatsächlich abgespielt haben.
Julia Jacobs erfährt nach dem Tod ihrer Großtante, dass ihre verstorbene Mutter auf den Spuren der wahren Begebenheiten von Romeo und Julia war und dabei an die falschen Leute geriet und ermordet wurde. Julia soll in ihre Fußstapfen treten und weiter nach dem Geheimnis suchen, das ihre Mutter ins Verderben geführt hatte.
Sie reist nach Siena. Dort erfährt sie, was wirklich dahinter steckt und was sie selbst damit zu tun hat...

Meine Meinung:
Die Geschichte ist sehr spannend und geheimnisvoll. Die Vergangenheit trifft auf die Gegenwart. Anne Fortier erzählt die Geschichte von Julia und gleichzeitig, in Flashbacks, die wahre Geschichte von Romeo und Giuletta. Mir hat dieser Mix sehr gut gefallen. Beide Erzählstränge waren sehr spannend, man fiebert mit Romeo und Giuletta mit (obwohl man das Ende ihrer Geschichte bereits kennt) und mit Julia Jacobs.
Julia erschien mir zu Beginn etwas gezwungen "anders", durch ihre schräge Vergangenheit, die ich ihr einfach nicht glauben konnte. Es passte nicht zu der Julia, wie wir sie kennenlernen. Dennoch ist mir Julia sehr sympathisch. Sie ist kein verschrecktes Häschen und will es nicht jedem Recht machen.
Die Geschichte ist sehr logisch aufgebaut. Bis zum Schluss steckt "Julia" voller überaschenden Wendungen, die von Zeit zu Zeit die ganze Geschichte, ihre Hintergründe und die Vergangenheit immer klarer werden lassen.
Der Schreibstil ist locker; es ist ein Unterhaltungsroman, der sich leicht lesen lässt. Es gibt keine komplizierten Satzgefüge, sodass man eine Seite viermal lesen müsste, um sie zu verstehen. Auch die Geschichte aus 1340 hat Anne Fortier großteils in die heutige Sprache adaptiert.

Fazit:
Ein gelungener und spannender Unterhaltungsroman, der nie langweilig wird. Die Personen sind durchweg sympathisch. Das Ende ist sehr gelungen und passt perfekt in die Geschichte. Dieser Roman wirft ein ganz neues Licht auf die bekannte Geschichte von Romeo und Julia, die mir in Shakespeares Version nie so richtig gefallen hatten - die Marescotti und Tolomei - Version gefällt mir um einiges besser. Und jetzt spar ich für eine Reise nach Siena ;)

Also: Empfehlenswerter Roman! ...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Kiri rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, z-read-2010-2019

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.           Juliet is a story mainly set in Siena Italy that intertwines two time periods the 1300's and the present via a family mystery and supposed curse. Alternating chapters to define the time periods the story jumps back and forth progressing both story lines until they merge, twisting and turning like an Italian back street to a resolution.
          I found the premise interesting, This is an extrapolation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in terms of moving it backwards slightly in time a           Juliet is a story mainly set in Siena Italy that intertwines two time periods the 1300's and the present via a family mystery and supposed curse. Alternating chapters to define the time periods the story jumps back and forth progressing both story lines until they merge, twisting and turning like an Italian back street to a resolution.
          I found the premise interesting, This is an extrapolation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in terms of moving it backwards slightly in time and spatially to Siena (rather than Verona). While tossing in a modern mystery and some romance. The characters are readily recognizable and yet described in correlating terms for those not familiar with the Bard's work. I was also pleased at the sketching (within context of the storyline) of the play's origins and prior versions before it was re-vamped by Shakespeare.
          Now for the drawbacks. The writing around the 1300's setting is tight, well paced and engaging. However when Ms. Fortier moved her story-line into the present it became clumsy and several of the characters felt very one dimensional. An example of this would be the characterizations of the modern twins. There is no middle ground and neither is particularly like-able as a result. (obviously one isn't designed to be but that isn't the point). Likewise her grasp of the modern portions of the story in terms of setting, pace, and plot do leave something to be desired. Add in that in the modern story line I felt the plot unraveled somewhat about 2/3rds of the way through and the pace slowed.
          This is in direct contrast to her portrayal of Medieval Italy. Her grasp and characterization of not just characters, but setting, and plot pace belie her clumsiness in the modern story line. I was left wondering if the original story had been to tell the 1300's story (a well drawn mystery in itself) and then lightly draw it into the present, only to be told there must be two story lines and have to backtrack fitting the two together.
          Despite these drawbacks this is a fun read and I think will go over well with many readers. I'm giving this a 3.65 overall.
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I would like to thank Goodreads for allowing me to read this as it was an ARC. I also wish Ms. Fortier all the best in her future writing. I look forward to her development as a writer. ...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Kat (A Journey In Reading) rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books, historical-fiction, read-in-2011

“Everything we say is a story. But nothing we say is just a story.”

Who doesn't know the story of Romeo & Juliet?? Once you read this book and learn of the twists, turns, secrets and truths... it will make you wonder if you ever really knew the story at all.

This book is a modern take on Romeo & Juliet. Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Italy after her aunt passes away suddenly. She travels to Italy hoping and expecting to find riches and money. Instead she finds that she ha ...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Astrid Lim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-mystery, historical-fiction, romance, europe, rent

I don't care that much about this book. The heroine (so-called lovely Giulietta, descendant of Juliet from Shakespeare's masterpiece) is not believable, the puzzle and mystery, although interesting from the premise, are not believable, and the whole book felt not believable for me. Weak plot, weak dialogues, weak ending. The only great thing is the setting, beautiful Sienna, and some interesting historical background. ...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: italy, shakespeare, romantic

Wildly implausible (obviously), but Fortier's got a few good things going here, namely her setting and her vivid Palio racing scenes. That said, I just don't really buy into the motivations that much and Julie's relationship to her sister Janice is never well-explained, leaving their interactions persistently irritating and the reader wishing that Janice (who actually has some fire) was the heroine of the piece. ...more

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May 26, 2010 Madeleine rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Totally implausible bit of chick lit. Mysterious Italian love interest, medieval curse, mafioso on motorcycle, family secret, Romeo and Juliet (duh)...etc. Hello, airplane book.

Oh yeah, and the main character is an insulting caricature of a pacifist/anti-war activist.

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Jul 26, 2011 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, romance, historical-fiction, mystery, read-in-2014

I have come to realize that I like historical mysteries! This book was good! I loved the mystery of Sienna's Romeo and Giulietta! I really like when modern characters dig up historical mysteries! ...more

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May 29, 2011 Deedee rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, twins, world-europe-italy, challenge-2011-summer, indie-next-2010, shakespeare-related-romeo-andjuliet

Self-consciously picturesque Italian, plus a very silly American heroine, and highly improbable events. Beach read -- don't ask why, just go with the flow.
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