Renaissance Read

Well, second time through and I still think I like this book, which must mean something, right? I finally finished it, so let's look at the stats:
Title: The Birth of Venus
Author: Sarah Dunant
Publisher: Random House
Date: 2004
My start date: 3-10-10
My finish date: 3-21-10

Dunant's fascinating tale of coming of age in 15th century Florence draws you in and leaves you rivited. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the conditions surrending my read this time around were such that I initially had trouble warming up to the story, but once it really got going, Dunant's writing takes you straight into the story. Her setting is rich. Renaissance Florence was filled with beauty, art, progress, religion and sin and Dunant makes you feel each sensation as if you were there experiencing it yourself. She is not shy in her descriptions and at times the scenes she writes are almost shocking--although not quite to the degree that I described in our previous read, The Gargoyle, but intense and real nonetheless. Although this story is technically about the young Alessandra Cecchi, Dunant almost makes Florence more a character in itself than a setting. If you were ever curious about this period, this is a great way to live vicariously. Her facts seem to mostly check out (although obviously the main character and her family are not real) and the descriptions of art and traditions are exquisite.

Another great aspect of Dunant's story is the depth of her characters. They are truly complex and it is hard to really hate any of them, even the ones that are technically bad guys, because, as in reality, she writes them very multi-faceted. However, I did at times have trouble believing that Alessandra could really act and behave in the way she did. She was technically said to be around 14 or 15 throughout the novel, although at times I think the numbers might not quite have added up, but if she was supposed to be a very young teen, some of the story seemed a bit much for someone so young. That being said, teenhood in the Renaissance would likely have been a very different thing...

If I had any complaints, they were minor and I can't think of any more at the moment. Read this for the imagery and the setting and you won't go wrong. I have just noticed that Sarah Dunant has several other books listed on Amazon, so I might have to add one or more to my read list. We shall see.

In the meantime, I am about thirty pages from done on my next novel, so check back tomorrow!

Happy Reading!
Sarah