The Italian - Ann Radcliffe
First published in 1797, The Italian is one of the finest examples of Gothic romance. The fast-paced narrative centres on Ann Radcliffe's most brilliant creation, the sinister monk Schedoni, whose past is shrouded in mystery.
From the opening chapters the reader is ushered into a shadowy world, in which crime and religion intermingle. Leagued against Ellena di Rosalba and Vincentio di Vivaldi's union are the proud and ambitious Marchese [sic] di Vivaldi and her confessor Father Schedoni. Supernatural forces seem at work, but it is to the Holy Inquisition that the ill-omened lovers eventually fall prey.
This one came from a recommendation from a co-worker, and I definitely liked this one better than the last one she recommended. Aspects of it reminded me a little of Stendhal (probably a result of being written around the same time), which is definitely a good thing. At other times it reminded me a little of A Long Fatal Love Chase, in that the blurb or something else tells you that things may end badly, but you're still enthralled (although this one didn't actually end as badly as I'd expected - seems I'm on a streak of that sort of thing). And there were aspects at the beginning that had a definite Romeo & Juliet vibe.
One thing I want to get out of the way is the spelling and punctuation in this book. I realize that it was written before such things were really standardized, so I tried to to let it bug me too much when words were not always spelled the same way, but it was still irritating at times. And a little painful to see "its" spelled "it's" most of the time. Almost worse than that, though, are when there's an instance of each within the same sentence. Arg. The excessive use of commas grated a little too, although I'm sure it was perfectly appropriate to the "standards" of the time. I notice these things, so I have to mention them, but they didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were well-developed and relatable, for the most part. I was especially fond of Ellena, in that Radcliffe managed to create a woman who behaves in the usual ladylike way of the times, down to the occasional fainting when overcome with emotion or whatever, but she also gave her a deep personal strength that you can't help but respect. Things may overwhelm her at times, but she never loses that inner sense of what's right in general and what's right for her. For example, when faced with the choice of either marrying against her will or becoming a nun, she firmly refuses to do either, and stays steadfast in that resolution, without wavering, carrying on, or anything else. It was there that I started to actually get a sense of her personality (because we hadn't seen much of it yet), and I started to really like her. The only person I found utterly intolerable, really, was Paulo, who's the sort of character who means so well you can't really hate him, but he's just so irritatingly exuberant all the time that you want to smack him. I'm very surprised the Inquisition put up with him at all.
The story was full of twists and turns, a few of which I predicted, but most of which I didn't. By the end, parts of the story were so tangled and convoluted that you couldn't possibly predict anything. It was all still fairly plausible, though, so that's good at least. Some of the supernatural elements alluded to in the blurb are never really explained, if they were actually supernatural or not, so I am left with one or two questions, but generally most of it is explained satisfactorily.
As I said earlier, it actually didn't end as badly as I expected it to, given the involvement of the Inquisition, but the possibility of horrors was definitely enough to keep me tense throughout much of the second half of the book. I particularly liked how Radcliffe ends one chapter with the statement that Vivaldi will be put to The Question the next day, then moves on to what's going on with Ellena, and doesn't return to Vivaldi for quite some time, during which time you have no idea what is or is not happening to him. That was quite effective. Also during that time, expecting the whole thing to end tragically, I was actually expecting Ellena to get offed any second, and I kind of expected it to just happen almost with no warning, despite the fact that the fear is there on her part, and the reader knows that killing her is in fact the intent at that time.
In any case, I've tried not to reveal too too much here, because it really is a great book, and I wouldn't want to ruin too much. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed it.
Next up: Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich
From the opening chapters the reader is ushered into a shadowy world, in which crime and religion intermingle. Leagued against Ellena di Rosalba and Vincentio di Vivaldi's union are the proud and ambitious Marchese [sic] di Vivaldi and her confessor Father Schedoni. Supernatural forces seem at work, but it is to the Holy Inquisition that the ill-omened lovers eventually fall prey.
This one came from a recommendation from a co-worker, and I definitely liked this one better than the last one she recommended. Aspects of it reminded me a little of Stendhal (probably a result of being written around the same time), which is definitely a good thing. At other times it reminded me a little of A Long Fatal Love Chase, in that the blurb or something else tells you that things may end badly, but you're still enthralled (although this one didn't actually end as badly as I'd expected - seems I'm on a streak of that sort of thing). And there were aspects at the beginning that had a definite Romeo & Juliet vibe.
One thing I want to get out of the way is the spelling and punctuation in this book. I realize that it was written before such things were really standardized, so I tried to to let it bug me too much when words were not always spelled the same way, but it was still irritating at times. And a little painful to see "its" spelled "it's" most of the time. Almost worse than that, though, are when there's an instance of each within the same sentence. Arg. The excessive use of commas grated a little too, although I'm sure it was perfectly appropriate to the "standards" of the time. I notice these things, so I have to mention them, but they didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were well-developed and relatable, for the most part. I was especially fond of Ellena, in that Radcliffe managed to create a woman who behaves in the usual ladylike way of the times, down to the occasional fainting when overcome with emotion or whatever, but she also gave her a deep personal strength that you can't help but respect. Things may overwhelm her at times, but she never loses that inner sense of what's right in general and what's right for her. For example, when faced with the choice of either marrying against her will or becoming a nun, she firmly refuses to do either, and stays steadfast in that resolution, without wavering, carrying on, or anything else. It was there that I started to actually get a sense of her personality (because we hadn't seen much of it yet), and I started to really like her. The only person I found utterly intolerable, really, was Paulo, who's the sort of character who means so well you can't really hate him, but he's just so irritatingly exuberant all the time that you want to smack him. I'm very surprised the Inquisition put up with him at all.
The story was full of twists and turns, a few of which I predicted, but most of which I didn't. By the end, parts of the story were so tangled and convoluted that you couldn't possibly predict anything. It was all still fairly plausible, though, so that's good at least. Some of the supernatural elements alluded to in the blurb are never really explained, if they were actually supernatural or not, so I am left with one or two questions, but generally most of it is explained satisfactorily.
As I said earlier, it actually didn't end as badly as I expected it to, given the involvement of the Inquisition, but the possibility of horrors was definitely enough to keep me tense throughout much of the second half of the book. I particularly liked how Radcliffe ends one chapter with the statement that Vivaldi will be put to The Question the next day, then moves on to what's going on with Ellena, and doesn't return to Vivaldi for quite some time, during which time you have no idea what is or is not happening to him. That was quite effective. Also during that time, expecting the whole thing to end tragically, I was actually expecting Ellena to get offed any second, and I kind of expected it to just happen almost with no warning, despite the fact that the fear is there on her part, and the reader knows that killing her is in fact the intent at that time.
In any case, I've tried not to reveal too too much here, because it really is a great book, and I wouldn't want to ruin too much. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed it.
Next up: Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich