[OBK]⋙ Read Gratis The Birth of Venus A Novel Reader Circle Sarah Dunant 9780812968972 Books

The Birth of Venus A Novel Reader Circle Sarah Dunant 9780812968972 Books

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The Birth of Venus A Novel Reader Circle Sarah Dunant 9780812968972 Books

The talented Sarah Dunant sets this wonderful, ambitious novel in Renaissance Florence. Her heroine is the gifted, fourteen-year-old Alessandra.

Her descriptions of Florentine art and artists are first rate and seductive. Dunant lives part-time in Florence, and her love of the city is evident on every page.

I found this book a delight and think you will, too.


Tags : The Birth of Venus: A Novel (Reader's Circle) [Sarah Dunant] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. 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,Sarah Dunant,The Birth of Venus: A Novel (Reader's Circle),Random House Trade Paperbacks,0812968972,Historical,Arranged marriage,Florence (Italy) - History - 1421-1737,Married women,Painters,Savonarola, Girolamo,Teenage girls,Women painters,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,FICTION Romance Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical fiction,historical fiction;italy;art;florence;renaissance;historical;romance;15th century;savonarola;history;painting;women;art history;religion;medici;painters;love;arranged marriage;artists;art fiction;italian renaissance;historical novel;british;homosexuality;literature;marriage;english;21st century;virago;sarah dunant;nuns;europe;16th century;adult;family;coming of age;contemporary;girolamo savonarola;convent;artist;renaissance italy;politics;sexuality;michelangelo;renaissance florence;literary,historical fiction; italy; art; florence; renaissance; historical; romance; 15th century; savonarola; history; painting; women; art history; religion; medici; painters; love; arranged marriage; artists; art fiction; italian renaissance; historical novel; british; homosexuality; literature; marriage; english; 21st century; virago; sarah dunant; nuns; europe; 16th century; adult; family; coming of age; contemporary; girolamo savonarola; convent; artist; renaissance italy; politics; sexuality; michelangelo; renaissance florence; literary

The Birth of Venus A Novel Reader Circle Sarah Dunant 9780812968972 Books Reviews

Sometimes, if you're in the right frame of mind and the author is very good, you can become deeply involved with a character in a book and he or she can become a friend that you may never forget. I feel this way about Alessandra, the main protagonist of this well written and realistic book.

The book is set in the late 1400s through the early 1500s in Florence, Italy, in a time that religious zealots, not necessarily authorized by the Pope, are cleaning up the impure sinners of the time, and even burning some of the beautiful artwork and overly fancy clothing and other luxuries of the wealthy.

Alessandra is a young, intelligent, talented, although not particulary beautiful, young woman who becomes attracted to a very shy painter who is brought to the city to paint religious scenes on the walls and ceilings of one of the churches in Florence. She is young, mischievous, willing to bend some rules to innocently visit the painter. But the relationship is not to be and Alessandra's parents arrange a marriage to an older man who is a close friend of her brother.

So, at the ripe old age of 16, she is married to the wrong man, in love with another, but still very desirous of living a proper religious life.

I won't give away the story, but it is poignant and touching and as I read the last few chapters of the book, I was hit by a wave of emotion and love for this character because of what she has endured in her life and the brave and sacrificing way she handles it.

This is a great book, almost five stars.
This novel is an enchanting read. We experience Florence in the days following the death of one of the Medici through the eyes and mind of Alessandra Cecchi, a young woman of a well-to-do family, whose intellectual leanings make her an oddity in her household. The coming-of-age story is enriched by the detailed background of Florence.

The best aspects of this book are

- The connections between the characters. Some of Alessandra's conversations with her mother, her sister, her husband and her slave Erila, are moving - sometimes light, sometimes profound. You feel love spill out of them. I confess I returned to a number of the later conversations and read them over and over.

- The attitude toward that religious firebrand, the hellfire preaching monk Savonarola. Although Alessandra's life is affected by the city's reaction to this monk, we also sense her interest in other aspects of life, and her ambivalence towards his preaching. It's nice to see that her reaction was neither black nor white but more complex.

- The texture of the description the richness of the colors, the dyes, the cathedral, the clothing, the carving, the pigments that Alessandra mixes herself - these are all enhanced by Alessandra's passion for art.

- The point of view of the intelligent young woman, with the awkwardness associated dancing, menstruation and looking for a husband, encountering many of life's situations for the first time.

The worst aspects of this book are

- There may be problems with some of the historical part of this historical fiction. For example

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo overlapped, but Leonardo was older than Michelangelo and very well known. A passage in the novel implies the reverse.

Also, if the most of the novel's action occurs in 1492 or shortly thereafter, it's hard to see how there could be dyes from the West Indies. Columbus did not return from his initial voyage until 1493.

So, readers may want to check other information against other sources before using the novel as a basis for facts.

- Most of the frame story, although interesting and entertaining, feels retrofitted to the rest of the book. Although a connection is drawn for us, that connection seems strained, and the older Alessandra (as well as the older painter) seem to be completely different characters, whose motives and actions bear little resemblance to the characters of the earlier days. However, the story which takes place earlier is vibrant and passionate.
This is why I like historical fiction. It is enlightening, maddening, frustrating and makes me grateful to be living today. A superior talent in a woman is not only discouraged but denied. Alessandra had to be a strong determined woman to realize her potential as an artist. Sarah Durant paints a vivid picture of life and times in renaissance Florence including an insight into the art world at the time. Readers who enjoy a good story wrapped up in real history will enjoy this book.
Sarah Dunant OWNS the Italian Renaissance novel. I've read all her books to far, and can't wait for the next one. Her eye for detail is excellent. Her story lines are believable. Her characters feel right. She knows her history. I'm always sucked in by the first few pages and read like a demon from then onward. I gave The Birth of Venus to both my children recently. I have also bought Sacred Hearts for them. The only problem with Dunant's works is that there aren't enough of them. Great stuff.
I read this a long time ago and then read it again and loved it just as much the second time! What really struck me was the main character's desire to create art and make color and how as a girl, she just was not given that option-so she created it herself. Also-she finds herself in several unpleasant situations, and the normal accompanying emotions, but always seems to find a way around. When things are revealed at the end, you realize what a clever story the author has crafted on the mysterious beginnings of a certain someone. Fascinating!
The talented Sarah Dunant sets this wonderful, ambitious novel in Renaissance Florence. Her heroine is the gifted, fourteen-year-old Alessandra.

Her descriptions of Florentine art and artists are first rate and seductive. Dunant lives part-time in Florence, and her love of the city is evident on every page.

I found this book a delight and think you will, too.