#36 The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Sarah Dunant’s In the Company of a Courtesan was one of my favorite reads of 2008. From the moment I picked it up I was hooked by 
the unique/flawed narrator, the foreign location, and the wonderfully crafted storyline. I had not at that time read The Birth of Venus, which she is better known for. There was a part of me that was terrified that it would not live up to the high stakes set by Courtesan. Recently, I have been in the mood of art fiction and decided it was time to give it a chance. I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations.
The Birth of Venus takes place in Florence in the late 1400s. At this time, the city is going through both political and religious turmoil. Our narrator is an adolescent girl named Alessandra Cecchi, the daughter of a wealthy textile merchant. Alessandra is intelligent and headstrong, wishing nothing more than to be able to paint, but that is not the role that woman play in this society. When a young artist is brought to paint frescoes in her father’s chapel, she can’t help but be drawn to the sulky, strange boy that grew up among monks. But Alessandra will have little time to get to know him. With an invasion forthcoming, it is well known that any unmarried woman will end up as prey to the incoming French. As a result, Alessandra is to be married off to a quiet, learned, older man named Cristoforo Langella, a man with secrets.
There are a lot of layers to The Birth of Venus. On one hand, it’s the story of a young, often bratty girl maturing into a mature woman, and of artistic and intelligent women who do not fit the roles set for them. It’s also a story about the changing role of the church in Florence, especially under the control of conservative priest Girolamo Savonarola. It’s also about a series of murders, and the role of art. Sarah Dunant deals with these multiple plotlines and themes very well, crafting a wonderfully complex world. Alessandra is an interesting heroine, capable of both great kindness, and cruelty. I often wonder what kind of life she would have lived if she were allowed to live, paint, learn, love, and worship as she desired.
The Birth of Venus was a very satisfying read. I suspect that this will not be the last Sarah Dunant book that I read.
Rating: five out of five stars
Length: 397 pages
Source: library sale
TBR Pile: 146 books
Similar Books: For books that focus on the creation of a work of art, try Girl with a Pearling Earring or The Lady and the Unicorn (which I liked less) by Tracey Chevalier, or Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Another historical fiction book about an intelligent young woman growing up in a society where such artistic learning is not encouraged, try Peony in Love ( my review) by Lise See
Other books I've read by this author: In the Company of a Courtesan
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
the unique/flawed narrator, the foreign location, and the wonderfully crafted storyline. I had not at that time read The Birth of Venus, which she is better known for. There was a part of me that was terrified that it would not live up to the high stakes set by Courtesan. Recently, I have been in the mood of art fiction and decided it was time to give it a chance. I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations.
The Birth of Venus takes place in Florence in the late 1400s. At this time, the city is going through both political and religious turmoil. Our narrator is an adolescent girl named Alessandra Cecchi, the daughter of a wealthy textile merchant. Alessandra is intelligent and headstrong, wishing nothing more than to be able to paint, but that is not the role that woman play in this society. When a young artist is brought to paint frescoes in her father’s chapel, she can’t help but be drawn to the sulky, strange boy that grew up among monks. But Alessandra will have little time to get to know him. With an invasion forthcoming, it is well known that any unmarried woman will end up as prey to the incoming French. As a result, Alessandra is to be married off to a quiet, learned, older man named Cristoforo Langella, a man with secrets.
There are a lot of layers to The Birth of Venus. On one hand, it’s the story of a young, often bratty girl maturing into a mature woman, and of artistic and intelligent women who do not fit the roles set for them. It’s also a story about the changing role of the church in Florence, especially under the control of conservative priest Girolamo Savonarola. It’s also about a series of murders, and the role of art. Sarah Dunant deals with these multiple plotlines and themes very well, crafting a wonderfully complex world. Alessandra is an interesting heroine, capable of both great kindness, and cruelty. I often wonder what kind of life she would have lived if she were allowed to live, paint, learn, love, and worship as she desired.
The Birth of Venus was a very satisfying read. I suspect that this will not be the last Sarah Dunant book that I read.
Rating: five out of five stars
Length: 397 pages
Source: library sale
TBR Pile: 146 books
Similar Books: For books that focus on the creation of a work of art, try Girl with a Pearling Earring or The Lady and the Unicorn (which I liked less) by Tracey Chevalier, or Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Another historical fiction book about an intelligent young woman growing up in a society where such artistic learning is not encouraged, try Peony in Love ( my review) by Lise See
Other books I've read by this author: In the Company of a Courtesan
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds