Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Virago Press Ltd (2004), Edition: New Ed, Paperback, 432 pages
Description
From its first arresting sentence, Sarah Dunant's magnificent novel embroils the reader in the coming-of-age story of Alessandra Cecchi, a fourteen-year-old girl with a strong will and a passion for painting. The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain's most innovative writers of literary suspense. Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family's Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter's abilities. But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra's parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola's reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra's married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member anterastilis
I'm...not sure. I wish I could nail down how I felt abou this book. It was good, certainly...but I don't think it was as good as it COULD have been.
Let's start with the good: when I picked the book up, I thought "oh no...yet another historical novel about a woman who mysteriously has 20th century
Sarah Dunant did a remarkable job of creating a situation in which Alessandra can lead an extraordinary life in an oppressive time. It didn't seem outlandish, and it didn't happen because Alessandra was an "unusual soul out of her time". She was definitely a Renaissance woman. Like any woman of the Middle Ages, she had very little control over her life. She worked within her circumstances without losing character. I really appreciated that about her character.
What bugged me about the book is that it could have been so much better. It isn't a long book, typical bestseller-trade-size-391-page-book with book group questions in the back.
I prefer my historic novels a bit more dense. Dunant has an incredible story to tell, with excellent characters and the ability to evoke Renaissance Florence in its beauty and its grit. But she barely seemed to scratch the surface. It felt like Renaissance Historical Fiction Lite. I wanted more, so much more than I got. I wanted several pages about the process of mixing plaster to create frescoes, not just one paragraph. Minor characters needed to be fleshed out, time zipped by in places where I knew something important was happening and I just wasn't hearing about it. It could have been so good.
I do understand that not everyone is interested in reading a novel that describes things in such detail or devotes so much time to characterization of minor players, but I think I'm finally starting to narrow down what I like in a book. Historical Novels: must be dense. I think that people who like Historical Novels but don't want to sit down with War and Peace would enjoy this book. I think the only reasons that I couldn't get into it were my own personal needs for minutiae and information.
Let's start with the good: when I picked the book up, I thought "oh no...yet another historical novel about a woman who mysteriously has 20th century
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sensibilities living an extraordinary life in an oppressive time." Yeah, I haven't heard that before. It's an old song...but what is a historical novelist to do when writing about women? "Alessandra was born, she grew up and got married, delegated tasks to the slaves, had some kids, and died, all without ever leaving her fathers house or her husbands house"?Sarah Dunant did a remarkable job of creating a situation in which Alessandra can lead an extraordinary life in an oppressive time. It didn't seem outlandish, and it didn't happen because Alessandra was an "unusual soul out of her time". She was definitely a Renaissance woman. Like any woman of the Middle Ages, she had very little control over her life. She worked within her circumstances without losing character. I really appreciated that about her character.
What bugged me about the book is that it could have been so much better. It isn't a long book, typical bestseller-trade-size-391-page-book with book group questions in the back.
I prefer my historic novels a bit more dense. Dunant has an incredible story to tell, with excellent characters and the ability to evoke Renaissance Florence in its beauty and its grit. But she barely seemed to scratch the surface. It felt like Renaissance Historical Fiction Lite. I wanted more, so much more than I got. I wanted several pages about the process of mixing plaster to create frescoes, not just one paragraph. Minor characters needed to be fleshed out, time zipped by in places where I knew something important was happening and I just wasn't hearing about it. It could have been so good.
I do understand that not everyone is interested in reading a novel that describes things in such detail or devotes so much time to characterization of minor players, but I think I'm finally starting to narrow down what I like in a book. Historical Novels: must be dense. I think that people who like Historical Novels but don't want to sit down with War and Peace would enjoy this book. I think the only reasons that I couldn't get into it were my own personal needs for minutiae and information.
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LibraryThing member riofriotex
I really liked this book! It’s set in the late 1400s/early 1500s in Florence, Italy, just around the time Lorenzo de Medici dies and Savaranola, a fundamentalist monk, tries to take over the city. The main character is a young woman, Alessandra, who wants to be a painter. The book begins just
The audiobook is abridged, but well read by British actress Jenny Sterlin, despite her accent/
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after her death, at which an intriguing discovery made me want to read the rest of the book to find out what happened. Alessandra tells the rest of the story, which has romance, mystery, intrigue and sex. A few years ago I read Irving Stone’s "The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo", which helped make the settings and people in Dunant’s novel more real to me. It also provided a suggestion for what Allesandra’s unnamed painter (hired by her wealthy family to paint their chapel) was doing when he snuck out of the house in the evenings (not what you probably think!).The audiobook is abridged, but well read by British actress Jenny Sterlin, despite her accent/
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LibraryThing member jolerie
The Birth of Venus is as beautiful as it is violent. It is journey of one woman's quest and struggle to be more than life would allow her. It is her story of love, and betrayal, passion, and destruction. As indicative of the patron goddess of physical love and the seeking of knowledge, Venus,
A precocious daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant in the vibrant city of Florence, Alessandra, being the youngest of 4 siblings, learns from an early age, that she does not embody the typical qualities that are commended for a woman of her stature - meek and mildness. Rather she is talented and tenacious, daring and bold in both thoughts and manners. Despite her numerous attempts to expand the boundaries that imprison her, she is faced with a choice to gain her freedom through marriage to a man or marriage to God. In the end, she will eventually be married to both, one by force, the other through choice.
The Birth of Venus is a luscious story set amidst the beauty of ancient Florence. The texture, taste, and sounds of the time are brought alive through Dunant's exquisite detail to the arts that existed at the time. As detailed as the setting of the story, Dunant is even more explicit in her explorations of love, and human nature. There are love scenes within the book that border on being vulgar and gratuitous, and yet at the same time, they reflect the power and passion of the time. The paintings and sculptures are just one outlet for that expression of love - the other being represented in their relationship with one another. I was mesmerized by story that Dunant weaved, both the tragedy and the triumph, both seen in the people and the stages in which they played out their lives.
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Alessandra learns to embrace the essence of womanhood while balancing an immense desire to reach beyond her own limited world through the arts and creativity. A precocious daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant in the vibrant city of Florence, Alessandra, being the youngest of 4 siblings, learns from an early age, that she does not embody the typical qualities that are commended for a woman of her stature - meek and mildness. Rather she is talented and tenacious, daring and bold in both thoughts and manners. Despite her numerous attempts to expand the boundaries that imprison her, she is faced with a choice to gain her freedom through marriage to a man or marriage to God. In the end, she will eventually be married to both, one by force, the other through choice.
The Birth of Venus is a luscious story set amidst the beauty of ancient Florence. The texture, taste, and sounds of the time are brought alive through Dunant's exquisite detail to the arts that existed at the time. As detailed as the setting of the story, Dunant is even more explicit in her explorations of love, and human nature. There are love scenes within the book that border on being vulgar and gratuitous, and yet at the same time, they reflect the power and passion of the time. The paintings and sculptures are just one outlet for that expression of love - the other being represented in their relationship with one another. I was mesmerized by story that Dunant weaved, both the tragedy and the triumph, both seen in the people and the stages in which they played out their lives.
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LibraryThing member frederick0t6
I had the good fortune to not only but read this novel while I was in Florence and that added much to my enjoyment of it. This novel tells the story of a fictional young woman artist, living in Florence during the Renaissance.
This is representative of a certain kind of historical fiction (tracing a
This is representative of a certain kind of historical fiction (tracing a
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vague ancestry to Jane Austen, perhaps) where the author has hunted for an unusually accomplished or capable woman who then goes on to break the conventions of her time. As historical fiction, I certainly regard it as quite well done. At times, one can be bothered by the inevitably Whiggish thrust of the plot (i.e. this woman artist may start out as frustrated, but she breaks free and accomplishes all her dreams). In a sense, it can come across as none too subtle feminist preaching. Given that I'm entirely sympathetic to that view, I can tolerate it. Show Less
LibraryThing member break
I enjoyed more of the historical and less the fictional side of Sarah Dunant's historical fiction : “The Birth of Venus”. The history she writes about is of late 15th century Florence. I learned more of the Medici's patronage and period, although I was somewhat familiar with it. What was
The book's fiction contained too much coincidences and was too steamy for my prude taste. It follows the life Alessandra, from girlhood, through love with a painter and his art, through unsatisfying marriage, to becoming a nun for most of her life. She just happens to be related to the Medicis, she just happens to meet and fall in love in the era's most famous artist as a young man, she just happens to be at the center of political events in the active phase of her life. That's a bit too much of “happens to be” for a fictional character. I understand that for writing historical fictional it can be useful if the protagonist is close to the center of the well-known historical events. But for that type of book it is better to write about a real person. If you want to write a zeitgeist novel though it is better to focus on a fictional figure and concentrate the period's characteristics on her life. Combining the two kinds of historical fiction rarely comes out as a coherent and authentic story.
Therefore I recommend the book for its depiction of history, but as a story it left me cold.
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totally new for me is the four year period between 1494 and 1498, when the city was under the influence of a purist priest by the name of Girolamo Savonarola. Under his rule the city's population was forced to live a more puritan life. My favorite part of the book pertain to his rise, clash with the pope and eventually fall, but more importantly how his religious ideas and anti-corruption fight took a hold in the city. All of that was fascinating and better than fiction. Finally I know where the expression “bonfire of vanities” came from.The book's fiction contained too much coincidences and was too steamy for my prude taste. It follows the life Alessandra, from girlhood, through love with a painter and his art, through unsatisfying marriage, to becoming a nun for most of her life. She just happens to be related to the Medicis, she just happens to meet and fall in love in the era's most famous artist as a young man, she just happens to be at the center of political events in the active phase of her life. That's a bit too much of “happens to be” for a fictional character. I understand that for writing historical fictional it can be useful if the protagonist is close to the center of the well-known historical events. But for that type of book it is better to write about a real person. If you want to write a zeitgeist novel though it is better to focus on a fictional figure and concentrate the period's characteristics on her life. Combining the two kinds of historical fiction rarely comes out as a coherent and authentic story.
Therefore I recommend the book for its depiction of history, but as a story it left me cold.
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LibraryThing member Nickelini
I bought this book based on the title, as Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus' is one of my all-time favourite paintings. Set in Renaissance Florence, I expected Botticelli and his paintings to play a key role in this novel. While there is indeed a painting in this story, the novel has nothing to do
To further my disappointment, Dunant is a terrible writer. Her prose is flat, and she changes tense within the same paragraph. This story had so much promise, but what could have been interesting was made boring. And worse, her main character is blatantly anachronistic. Thoroughly modern, she thinks and acts just like a 21st-century woman.
This is an excellent example of poorly written historical fiction.
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with the painting it steals its name from, and nothing really to do with Botticelli. To further my disappointment, Dunant is a terrible writer. Her prose is flat, and she changes tense within the same paragraph. This story had so much promise, but what could have been interesting was made boring. And worse, her main character is blatantly anachronistic. Thoroughly modern, she thinks and acts just like a 21st-century woman.
This is an excellent example of poorly written historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member upstairsgirl
The Birth of Venus is, in spite of its aspirations, a light, quick read. Dunant's prose is good, and the story itself is interesting. However, her plotting suffers from several weaknesses. The forces driving the action - the heroine and her brother's mutual enmity, and the potential consequences of
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the impending invasion of Florence - are under-explained and under-developed. In particular, the heroine is forced to choose between getting married or entering a convent, in order to protect her virtue from the invading hordes; why she or anyone else presumes that marriage will offer her greater intellectual freedom than the convent - to which she repairs after the end of her marriage and at which she enjoys an astonishing level of personal, intellectual, and artistic freedom - goes completely unexplained; the question of why there was no option to enter the convent without actually taking vows - not uncommon for women of the higher classes - is not even raised. Although Dunant clearly intends this to be a historical novel, some of her historical details seem shaky, and her attempts to cram actual historical figures into the novel feel, for the most part, forced, ham-handed, and unnecessary. The story could have stood just fine on its own without them, but Dunant clearly views them as the gems she's been holding back through the entire novel. Not an unenjoyable read, but not great fiction, either. Show Less
LibraryThing member xicanti
A young girl in Renaissance Florence must choose between her artistic aspirations and society's demands.
The first hundred pages of this book annoyed the bloody hell out of me. Dunant flits between past and present tense, seemingly at random. She starts off in past tense. She quickly shifts to
And then, about a hundred pages in, she stops doing it. Bam. Suddenly the entire book is in the past tense, with occasional present-tense references to the other characters. (Not all of these make sense in context, but they're not as jarring as the back and forth was).
I've got to say, it was quite readable from thereon out. Dunant's prose is smooth and straightforward when she's not playing dodgy games with tense, and I appreciated the way she developed the historical setting. I do love Renaissance Italy, and it was nice to be back there. I felt that Dunant did a good job of capturing just what it would have felt like to be a young woman in Savonarola's Florence. I also enjoyed all the artistic references, though I must say I was expecting more of them in a book named after one of the most famous paintings in Western art.
So it wasn't a bad book after those first hundred pages, but I didn't find it particularly compelling. I never came to feel for Alessandra, and I felt like Dunant could have done a lot more with the rest of the characters. She introduces some really interesting scenarios, then fails to do much with them. I'd have loved some more insight into everything that passed between Alessandra and Cristoforo, in particular; it's a shame that Dunant mostly glosses over their relationship. The romance, too, fell flat for me, and I was disappointed with the way the murder subplot was resolved.
So that's that. It's a readable book with a nicely developed setting, but the rest of it leaves something to be desired. If you'd like to take a short jaunt through Renaissance Florence, it's worth borrowing from the library, but I wouldn't say it's one to buy.
(A longer version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
The first hundred pages of this book annoyed the bloody hell out of me. Dunant flits between past and present tense, seemingly at random. She starts off in past tense. She quickly shifts to
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present tense and stays there for quite some time before switching back to past tense in the middle of a paragraph. Repeat x22. (Which is probably an exaggeration, but you get my drift).And then, about a hundred pages in, she stops doing it. Bam. Suddenly the entire book is in the past tense, with occasional present-tense references to the other characters. (Not all of these make sense in context, but they're not as jarring as the back and forth was).
I've got to say, it was quite readable from thereon out. Dunant's prose is smooth and straightforward when she's not playing dodgy games with tense, and I appreciated the way she developed the historical setting. I do love Renaissance Italy, and it was nice to be back there. I felt that Dunant did a good job of capturing just what it would have felt like to be a young woman in Savonarola's Florence. I also enjoyed all the artistic references, though I must say I was expecting more of them in a book named after one of the most famous paintings in Western art.
So it wasn't a bad book after those first hundred pages, but I didn't find it particularly compelling. I never came to feel for Alessandra, and I felt like Dunant could have done a lot more with the rest of the characters. She introduces some really interesting scenarios, then fails to do much with them. I'd have loved some more insight into everything that passed between Alessandra and Cristoforo, in particular; it's a shame that Dunant mostly glosses over their relationship. The romance, too, fell flat for me, and I was disappointed with the way the murder subplot was resolved.
So that's that. It's a readable book with a nicely developed setting, but the rest of it leaves something to be desired. If you'd like to take a short jaunt through Renaissance Florence, it's worth borrowing from the library, but I wouldn't say it's one to buy.
(A longer version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
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LibraryThing member nbmars
In a startling beginning, Sister Lucrezia of the convent of Santa Vitella outside Florence, Italy has died, having requested previously that her body not be touched, and that she be buried in her habit. Because of an outbreak of plague in a nearby village however, the nuns deem it necessary to rule
Sister Lucrezia, formerly Alessandra Cecchi, is a resident of late 15th-early 16th century Florence. We follow her life from age 14 until her death. From girlhood, Alessandra wanted to be an artist, but roles for women at that time were quite constricted:
"…I am stuck in this house while my parents look for a husband for me. Eventually they will buy one with a good name and I will go to his house, run his household, have his children, and disappear into the fabric of his life like a pale thread of color in a tapestry.”
As soon as Alessandra starts bleeding (and therefore is officially no longer a child), her parents do indeed find her a husband, who is forty-eight. He doesn’t intrigue her like the young painter her parents hired to adorn the family chapel, but Alessandra understands what is possible and what isn’t, and becomes the wife of Cristoforo Langella.
As Alessandra’s life unfolds, simultaneously we learn about the politics of Florence, a city then rapidly falling under the spell of the fire-breathing fanatical Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola. We also get a taste of the artistic excitement in a period graced by Botticelli Donatello, Botticelli, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Brunelleschi, among others. And we learn about the sad situation for women (not to mention gay men), and how Alessandra nevertheless manages to realize love and happiness for a time, memorialized in her skin.
Evaluation: Dunant is a talented writer of historical fiction. Her women are strong characters, and her evocation of Renaissance Florence brings to vivid life the sights and smells and colors of the time. Both this book and Sacred Hearts paint detailed and poignant pictures of what life was like for women at a time when society was in a ferment of change, but women’s options were still limited and often stifling.
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it out as a cause of death, and unrobe the late sister. To their surprise, they find that Lucrezia was a girl with a serpent tattoo, one that runs from her shoulder down to her groin, where the snake’s head has the shape of a man’s face, “the head thrown back, the eyes closed as if in rapture, and the tongue, snake-long still, daring out from his mouth downward toward the opening of Sister Lucrezia’s sex.” The rest of the book looks back to tell her story.Sister Lucrezia, formerly Alessandra Cecchi, is a resident of late 15th-early 16th century Florence. We follow her life from age 14 until her death. From girlhood, Alessandra wanted to be an artist, but roles for women at that time were quite constricted:
"…I am stuck in this house while my parents look for a husband for me. Eventually they will buy one with a good name and I will go to his house, run his household, have his children, and disappear into the fabric of his life like a pale thread of color in a tapestry.”
As soon as Alessandra starts bleeding (and therefore is officially no longer a child), her parents do indeed find her a husband, who is forty-eight. He doesn’t intrigue her like the young painter her parents hired to adorn the family chapel, but Alessandra understands what is possible and what isn’t, and becomes the wife of Cristoforo Langella.
As Alessandra’s life unfolds, simultaneously we learn about the politics of Florence, a city then rapidly falling under the spell of the fire-breathing fanatical Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola. We also get a taste of the artistic excitement in a period graced by Botticelli Donatello, Botticelli, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Brunelleschi, among others. And we learn about the sad situation for women (not to mention gay men), and how Alessandra nevertheless manages to realize love and happiness for a time, memorialized in her skin.
Evaluation: Dunant is a talented writer of historical fiction. Her women are strong characters, and her evocation of Renaissance Florence brings to vivid life the sights and smells and colors of the time. Both this book and Sacred Hearts paint detailed and poignant pictures of what life was like for women at a time when society was in a ferment of change, but women’s options were still limited and often stifling.
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LibraryThing member bolgai
A colleague gave me this book saying that I was going to love it and she was right. Front the very first pages it was obvious that this was not your ordinary historical fiction, it really couldn't be with a nun having a tattoo of a serpent on her torso, and I looked forward to finding out how that
Freedom, independent thought and pursuit of learning are prominent themes in this novel and it was interesting to see them explored in the context of Renaissance Florence. I'd always assumed that with Florence being the cradle of art and learning of that time it was a relatively progressive society where curiosity and education were encouraged for anybody who had the ability to pursue it, but this novel paints a picture of a society where women were not encouraged to pursue much beyond getting married and birthing children, and a passion for learning was considered a shameful shortcoming, one to be kept a secret, a sin even. That was very surprising to me, considering how different was the world of Milan in the same period as portrayed in Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex, with Isabella d'Este openly patronizing artists and collecting art. I could hardly believe both books were set in the same era and in what we know now as the same country.
The story was full of unexpected plot twists, from the problems with Alessandra's marriage to her relationship with the painter, whose name we never find out. They kept the story moving but for me they weren't the most interesting part. Instead I particularly enjoyed Alessandra's passion for art and literature, her willingness to take risks to pursue painting, and the effect that practicing her art has on her. I particularly enjoyed the section where she painted her way through the darkest depression saying that that was how she healed herself. Moreover, it was really fascinating to see such literary erudition in a person so young. I am twice Alessandra's age and I haven't read the Divine Comedy even once, let alone Aristotle or Socrates. Having read a number of novels set in centuries past I'm inclined to believe that this was not unusual for nobility of that time and every time I read about characters such as Alessandra I can't help but be impressed.
What I had trouble with was character development. Majority of secondary characters
were one-dimensional and sometimes even the key traits of main characters weren't all that prominent until they were stated. For example, there is much talk about Alessandra wanting to be free from the constant supervision she had in her parents' house, but I never got that vibe from her until it was expressed for the first time. It actually took me by surprise, I thought she seemed quite content, her antagonistic relationship with her brothers notwithstanding. My favorite characters in this book were Alessandra's mother, her slave Erila, and her husband Cristoforo. They had histories, secrets, and there was an energy about them that made me want to learn more about them. They were also the ones who allowed the humanity of Alessandra's character to be revealed to a greater extent, improving the novel in the process.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of a religious zealot taking hold of Florence with his teachings and the effects this has on the city. This situation and how it changes Alessandra's life and prospects is an interesting commentary on what can happen in a society if a charismatic leader wins over increasingly greater crowds and how the social landscape can change as a result.
This is an intriguing story driven by characters with plenty of secrets and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist.
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came about.Freedom, independent thought and pursuit of learning are prominent themes in this novel and it was interesting to see them explored in the context of Renaissance Florence. I'd always assumed that with Florence being the cradle of art and learning of that time it was a relatively progressive society where curiosity and education were encouraged for anybody who had the ability to pursue it, but this novel paints a picture of a society where women were not encouraged to pursue much beyond getting married and birthing children, and a passion for learning was considered a shameful shortcoming, one to be kept a secret, a sin even. That was very surprising to me, considering how different was the world of Milan in the same period as portrayed in Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex, with Isabella d'Este openly patronizing artists and collecting art. I could hardly believe both books were set in the same era and in what we know now as the same country.
The story was full of unexpected plot twists, from the problems with Alessandra's marriage to her relationship with the painter, whose name we never find out. They kept the story moving but for me they weren't the most interesting part. Instead I particularly enjoyed Alessandra's passion for art and literature, her willingness to take risks to pursue painting, and the effect that practicing her art has on her. I particularly enjoyed the section where she painted her way through the darkest depression saying that that was how she healed herself. Moreover, it was really fascinating to see such literary erudition in a person so young. I am twice Alessandra's age and I haven't read the Divine Comedy even once, let alone Aristotle or Socrates. Having read a number of novels set in centuries past I'm inclined to believe that this was not unusual for nobility of that time and every time I read about characters such as Alessandra I can't help but be impressed.
What I had trouble with was character development. Majority of secondary characters
were one-dimensional and sometimes even the key traits of main characters weren't all that prominent until they were stated. For example, there is much talk about Alessandra wanting to be free from the constant supervision she had in her parents' house, but I never got that vibe from her until it was expressed for the first time. It actually took me by surprise, I thought she seemed quite content, her antagonistic relationship with her brothers notwithstanding. My favorite characters in this book were Alessandra's mother, her slave Erila, and her husband Cristoforo. They had histories, secrets, and there was an energy about them that made me want to learn more about them. They were also the ones who allowed the humanity of Alessandra's character to be revealed to a greater extent, improving the novel in the process.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of a religious zealot taking hold of Florence with his teachings and the effects this has on the city. This situation and how it changes Alessandra's life and prospects is an interesting commentary on what can happen in a society if a charismatic leader wins over increasingly greater crowds and how the social landscape can change as a result.
This is an intriguing story driven by characters with plenty of secrets and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist.
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LibraryThing member caroren
Beautifully written story that brings Renaissance Florence alive.! Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance,
But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art.
The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain’s most innovative writers of literary suspense. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.
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with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities.But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art.
The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain’s most innovative writers of literary suspense. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.
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LibraryThing member Trinity
I think this was an OK book because the premise of the book, the descriptions of Florence and the politics of the Catholic church at the time were very interesting. Unfortunately, the book dragged in many places and I found myself skimming the pages until I got to the next event. Im not one to
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think that stories should always have a happy ending but this book seemed to be over the top depressing. There was always the possibility of something happy in the distance, but the story line never got there. Show Less
LibraryThing member LukeS
Sarah Dunant's "The Birth of Venus" takes place in Savonarola's Florence, and our heroine loves learning, is conversant with the classics, and lives amidst the making of some of the greatest art in history.
This story is told mainly in flashback, but we lead off with the death of an aged nun. When
This is yet another indictment of Church-as-State, and just another chapter in the story of why the separation is so necessary. It is also a very vivid book, well-told, and a highlight of my 2006 reading year. It deserves most of its accolades.
This story is told mainly in flashback, but we lead off with the death of an aged nun. When
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the nun's body is prepared for burial, the shocked sisters find an ornate snake tattoo on her abdomen, the head of which is unmistakably at her private parts. In this woman's past, she is forced into a convent in newly-pious and reactionary Florence under Savonarola. The story encompasses this crucible, and is populated by less-than-stellar male characters. (There are enough men in it, so that if you took the best character of each of them, you might construct one satisfactory man.) This book covers the epochal moments in our heroine's life, from her meeting and relationship with Michelangelo, to her entering the nunnery to escape persecution.This is yet another indictment of Church-as-State, and just another chapter in the story of why the separation is so necessary. It is also a very vivid book, well-told, and a highlight of my 2006 reading year. It deserves most of its accolades.
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LibraryThing member nycbookgirl
The story takes place in 15th century Florence when Italy's decadent ways are starting to become a little too flamboyant for the church. Alessandra Cecchi is the 14-year old daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant who is starting to make that transition from childhood to adulthood. To make things more
I thought this was a good read but it wasn't anything amazing. Maybe because 15th century Italy has been done in so many different ways in many different stories. I do like the interspersion of the Medici family and the fanatical monk Savonarola who tries to clean up the city a little too fervently. I did like Alessandra and loved her spunk. Sometimes some of the characters and their language were, I thought, unnecessarily crude. However, the beginning of the book drew you into the story and while the ending wasn't an impossible happily-ever-after...it did leave you somewhat satisfied.
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difficult, she also has a passion for drawing and painting during a time when women weren't particularly allowed to become artists. Into the Cecchi household comes a young painter from the North who's hired to do the frescoes for the household's chapel. Of course Alessandra is fascinated by the new painter. Alessandra is soon faced with the role of womanhood which in that day and age is either marriage or the convent.I thought this was a good read but it wasn't anything amazing. Maybe because 15th century Italy has been done in so many different ways in many different stories. I do like the interspersion of the Medici family and the fanatical monk Savonarola who tries to clean up the city a little too fervently. I did like Alessandra and loved her spunk. Sometimes some of the characters and their language were, I thought, unnecessarily crude. However, the beginning of the book drew you into the story and while the ending wasn't an impossible happily-ever-after...it did leave you somewhat satisfied.
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LibraryThing member mrn945
Florence was certainly an interesting place to set such a tale, and who wouldn't be fascinated by the Medici reign! The novel placed a young women with modern ideas in the middle of this important time in history. Alessandra is unusual, to say the least. She reads and paints and desires nothing
I loved the idea of the story, and it was certainly romantic. I have one major problem with this novel though - why was it necessary to keep the identity of the painter hidden? I did some searching after I finished reading to see if I could figure out who he was supposed to be but got frustrated. I am assuming that he was made up, which also felt unnecessary. Certainly it would have been possible to place another historical figure in, or at least give him a name!
Anyways, I did feel rather bad for Alessandra. She was so put upon, though I thought she handled the events of her life with remarkable grace considering her young age. I was pleased with the pace of the story, and though I felt that the last years of Alessandra's life was not adequately explained, I did enjoy the novel. So, I would certainly recommend to anyone interested in historical fiction with a romantic edge.
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more than the freedom to do both. Unfortunately, she is trapped quite young in an unfulfilled marriage, where it was inevitable that she would look for affection elsewhere. She finds such emotion from a mysterious painter who is working on her father's chapel.I loved the idea of the story, and it was certainly romantic. I have one major problem with this novel though - why was it necessary to keep the identity of the painter hidden? I did some searching after I finished reading to see if I could figure out who he was supposed to be but got frustrated. I am assuming that he was made up, which also felt unnecessary. Certainly it would have been possible to place another historical figure in, or at least give him a name!
Anyways, I did feel rather bad for Alessandra. She was so put upon, though I thought she handled the events of her life with remarkable grace considering her young age. I was pleased with the pace of the story, and though I felt that the last years of Alessandra's life was not adequately explained, I did enjoy the novel. So, I would certainly recommend to anyone interested in historical fiction with a romantic edge.
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LibraryThing member melydia
This is not a book I would have ordinarily picked up. I'd heard it was kind of like Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, but it's really not at all. Yes, it's about a woman and a painter in Europe, but that's about where the similarity ends. In truth, I have no idea where the title comes
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from, except that it's a famous painting from the same era. Anyway, this is the life story of Alessandra Cecchi, an unusually well-educated Florentine woman in the Renaissance. Her whole life she has dreamed of becoming an artist, but such things are not considered proper for a woman. Though she is irresistibly drawn to a painter hired to paint her family's chapel, her parents marry her off to a much older man. At the same time, the brutally fundamentalist monk Savonarola has come to power, bringing terror to the city under the guise of piety.This is an extremely passionate and graphic book. Everything is described in vivid detail, from the violence to the sex to the art. If you can handle the mental images, this is a marvelously written story. Alessandra is a believable and sympathetic narrator, progressive and intelligent without being anachronistic. The story is compelling, sometimes suspenseful, often thought-provoking. There were times when I had a lot of trouble putting it down. I will definitely be looking up Dunant's other works. Show Less
LibraryThing member LadyAmbrosia
I really tried to like this book, I wanted to like this book as it has been on my to read pile for a long time but it was one I thought sounded really good. Sadly I just could not get into this one and while I read the whole thing it really was not one I probably should have finished.
The core
While I can look past mistakes in form and technical aspect of things if the story grips me because this one didn't I tended to find the mistakes in this one easier and it bothered me. I know others have enjoyed the book and I would love for them to perhaps tell me the key to what I am missing here although perhaps I am not missing anything at all, I just did not care for it much. If you like predictable plot, and a lot of art talk this may be a read for you, otherwise I wouldn’t read it.
The core
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things that I look for in a good historical fiction were there. The history was solid and I liked the time period as well as the location. You can not get much better then a story in Florence during the Renaissance after all. I love hearing about all the art of the time, after all some of the finest art came out of that time. However there was just something about this one that I could not get myself to like. I suspect it was the general writing style as it just did not connect well with me. There is also the fact that after the initial introduction (which I enjoyed) most of the book becomes rather predictable.While I can look past mistakes in form and technical aspect of things if the story grips me because this one didn't I tended to find the mistakes in this one easier and it bothered me. I know others have enjoyed the book and I would love for them to perhaps tell me the key to what I am missing here although perhaps I am not missing anything at all, I just did not care for it much. If you like predictable plot, and a lot of art talk this may be a read for you, otherwise I wouldn’t read it.
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LibraryThing member indygo88
I've had several of Dunant's on my shelves for quite some time now, but this is the first I've actually found time to delve into. I loved the beginning of the novel: upon the death of a nun, her convent sisters discover a very detailed tattoo of a snake, with its tail beginning up across her
From there, the story goes back in time to retrace the nun's history. The pace of the novel is a bit slower now, but still intriguing nonetheless. A few minor plot twists are thrown in along the way, and the reader is anxious to know how the main character of Alessandra evolves into the nun at the beginning of the story. I must admit I was doubtful as to the credibility of how Dunant was going to bring this full circle, but I was quite pleased by how she did end up doing so.
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shoulder & its body gradually winding across her chest & leading down to...well, you can probably guess -- where, instead of a snake's head, the head of a man resides. A very gripping and eye-opening beginning to a story.From there, the story goes back in time to retrace the nun's history. The pace of the novel is a bit slower now, but still intriguing nonetheless. A few minor plot twists are thrown in along the way, and the reader is anxious to know how the main character of Alessandra evolves into the nun at the beginning of the story. I must admit I was doubtful as to the credibility of how Dunant was going to bring this full circle, but I was quite pleased by how she did end up doing so.
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LibraryThing member iwriteinbooks
I hate to say it but more often than not, I am underwhelmed by a book when I close it. I don’t, generally, fall in love with stories like I used to. I don’t know if that is a result of reading too much or living too much but regardless of reason, it’s true. I haven’t, for a while, found a
I’d like to say a big “thank you” to Sarah Dunant for breaking my losing streak. I just finished her Birth of Venus and it’s exquisite. Not only is the time period expertly researched but she manages to hit on those emotions that were felt so deeply then and still ring true, today. Themes of sexuality, both general and orientation, are explored in an unabashed, dare I say, naked way that leaves the reader feeling less exposed and more unburdened.
Her tale follows Florentine and budding artist, Alessandra, the youngest daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant, from girlhood to twilight, tripping along through history on her way. As Alessandra is coming of age, Florence is coming to grips with the Medici murders and the rise of crazed Dominican priest, Savonarola. It is a time between flourishing culture and the horrific Bonfire of the Vanities. Michelangelo and Da Vinci are young men, virtually unknown but it is already a culture of beauty and freedom that takes a strong dislike to the pulpit thumping of the man of the hour.
Through the trouble and strife, Alessandra encounters several great figures from history, laying claim to several as lovers and relatives in her wake. To say much more about the actual story woven would do a disservice to Dunant’s beautifully crafted masterpiece. The writing is flawless but not the most impressive part. The overall story itself is the stronger aspect. She is able to capture the tone of the time in a way that makes it parallel in many ways to our own. Closeted heads of state, teen angst, young love, tortured starving artists, corruption, censorship and abuse of power are all intertwined to create a tapestry that, with a few tweaks could take place several hundred years in the future.
As I mentioned before, this is a must read and my new recommendation. If you like art, love, history, sex, violence or any combination thereof, The Birth of Venus is well worth diving in to.
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book that I will recommend around to a large audience on different subjects depending on the person.I’d like to say a big “thank you” to Sarah Dunant for breaking my losing streak. I just finished her Birth of Venus and it’s exquisite. Not only is the time period expertly researched but she manages to hit on those emotions that were felt so deeply then and still ring true, today. Themes of sexuality, both general and orientation, are explored in an unabashed, dare I say, naked way that leaves the reader feeling less exposed and more unburdened.
Her tale follows Florentine and budding artist, Alessandra, the youngest daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant, from girlhood to twilight, tripping along through history on her way. As Alessandra is coming of age, Florence is coming to grips with the Medici murders and the rise of crazed Dominican priest, Savonarola. It is a time between flourishing culture and the horrific Bonfire of the Vanities. Michelangelo and Da Vinci are young men, virtually unknown but it is already a culture of beauty and freedom that takes a strong dislike to the pulpit thumping of the man of the hour.
Through the trouble and strife, Alessandra encounters several great figures from history, laying claim to several as lovers and relatives in her wake. To say much more about the actual story woven would do a disservice to Dunant’s beautifully crafted masterpiece. The writing is flawless but not the most impressive part. The overall story itself is the stronger aspect. She is able to capture the tone of the time in a way that makes it parallel in many ways to our own. Closeted heads of state, teen angst, young love, tortured starving artists, corruption, censorship and abuse of power are all intertwined to create a tapestry that, with a few tweaks could take place several hundred years in the future.
As I mentioned before, this is a must read and my new recommendation. If you like art, love, history, sex, violence or any combination thereof, The Birth of Venus is well worth diving in to.
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LibraryThing member bookishjoxer
Was set in Florence. The characters could have been more developed. It was told from first person point of view. It was pretty good I just think it could have had more. Felt like something was lacking.
LibraryThing member kboucher
My sister gave me this book to read when I went to Florence on vacation. What a great book to read there since you can actually see the places where the story took place.
I enjoyed the story very much, but it did get bogged down a bit.
I enjoyed the story very much, but it did get bogged down a bit.
LibraryThing member cwmlcampbell
This was a fairly good story, but occasionally I found myself getting confused, or anxious for "something", anything to happen. Also, I dislike when writers leave you hanging on an issue, which happens in the end with the main characters daughter. I know I am probably one of very few who didnt
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absolutely love this book, but I was just "okay" to me. Show Less
LibraryThing member suejonesjohnson
The first part of this novel is breathtaking with the description of life in 16th Century Florence with emphasis on Art. About half way through however, the plot gets bogged down with revolution and counter revolution and I found myself skimming rapidly to get to the rather surprising end.
LibraryThing member MeredithYvonne
To be honest this is kind of a crazy story that tries too hard to be sensual, and just ends up being creepy. I had to read this for a book club but wouldn't recommend it normally.
LibraryThing member cherish
This was a good one. I'm a fan. I'm not one for first-person narration, but it still worked. I liked the main character and felt compelled to root for her. The language was simple and the plot kept me reading.
Subjects
Awards
Indies Choice Book Award (Honor Book — Adult Fiction — 2005)
Language
Original publication date
2003-03-06
Physical description
432 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
1844080358 / 9781844080359
Other editions
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Paperback)