“Family. The greatest loyalty after God in the world.”
Blood & Beauty is everything a good historical novel should be. The book is well-written and well-researched, with a clear storyline that sweeps the reader through Alexander VI’s early papacy and its effect on the Borgia family.
It is 1492, and a new pope has been elected: the Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia, now Pope Alexander VI. Cheerful, generous, and full of love for life. The new Pope stirs up controversy in all he does. With his lovely mistress, Giulia Farnase and his children Juan, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Jofre - chastity is not one of Alexander’s virtues, he sets about founding a lasting dynasty. His children become chess pieces, placed strategically to advance the family: Cesare is raised to a Cardinal to further his father’s interests within the church while his siblings are married to key political allies to produce Borgia heirs. But the path to power is fraught with peril, especially when men as dangerous as Cesare Borgia plot and scheme, and no one man or woman, child or adult can remain innocent for long.
Dunant doesn’t focus on a particular member of the Borgia family. Although most of the book is told from the point of view of Alexander VI, Cesare, and Lucrezia, the book is less about the experiences of individual people as the overall impact of this family on the Italian world. That said, there are some poignant moments for each character. Cesare resented the swaggering Juan who is shown here as the Pope’s favorite son; Cesare had a brief affair with the wife of his younger brother Jofré; she for her part then had one with her husband’s brother Juan. Then Juan is murdered. He had made many enemies, and there is no certainty who organized his murder; but, both then and since, Cesare or Jofré are rumored to be behind it. Dunant leaves the question open. Cesare was the main beneficiary of his death. Rumour also has it that Cesare and his sister Lucrezia had an incestuous relationship. In Dunant’s novel the brother and sister are certainly shown as being devoted to each other, Cesare erotically so; but she does not let it go as far as actual incest.
Cesare’s character is excellently described. The notorious Cesare begins as a sympathetic character, he never wanted to be in the Church, but he has no control over this aspect of his life, but as the years pass, and his cold and calculating nature is revealed, it becomes harder and harder to like him, but he remains a fascinating character with complex motivations for what he does He was the model for Macchiavelli’s Prince: controlling his passionate nature, ambitious, calculating, ruthless, fearsome, brave, eventually shedding his cardinal’s robes so he could take the more congenial role as a warrior. A great success he makes of it, too, and telling of it is vivid.
Lucrezia’s growth from an innocent child to a mature woman is especially touching. Before she’s twenty, Lucrezia has gone through two husbands, each one lost to better serve the needs of the Borgias as they pursue yet another marriage alliance. More than her siblings, Lucrezia is a pawn of the family, but though happiness with a husband remains elusive, she gains political power unusual for a woman of her age and rank, and though I feel sorry for her, it’s also satisfying to see her governing kingdoms by herself.
Both the major and the minor characters and their feelings come very much alive. We learn a good deal about the political and diplomatic history of Italy during this horrendously complicated time, though that requires a certain amount of concentration and hard work, at least from a conscientious reader.
With rich, vibrant prose and beautiful descriptions that bring turn-of-the-century Italy to life in its full Renaissance splendor, “Blood & Beauty” is a difficult book to put down.
My Rating
✬✬✬✬✬
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 1:55 PM
The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 3:59 AM
As a reader and lover of fictional history, I try to select both male and female writers that offer mature and creative approaches to the genre. Melanie Benjamin has provided a most refreshing treatment of perhaps the world’s most famous man and the woman who lived in the shadow of his fame.
The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin is a fictional version of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s life, focusing on the years she was married to Charles Lindbergh. It was a very turbulent forty-five years, for both the Lindbergh’s and the world in general.
Anne Morrow was a shy college senior when she was introduced to the heroic, world-renowned aviator in 1927. After a quick courtship and marriage, the newlyweds traveled the globe by air. Charles taught Ann how to fly and she became the first licensed female glider pilot in the country, and an expert radio operator and navigator. Together, the first couple of the air set several aviation records.
They had it all, until the 1932 kidnapping and murder of their firstborn child, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. Following the conviction and execution of the kidnapper, the Lindberghs fled to Europe where they lived in self-imposed, heartbroken exile for a number of years. It was during this time that Charles became an “isolationist” with extremely controversial ideas that many believed were anti-Semitic. The hero was no more.
Running away did little to heal the grief of the bereaved parents. The marriage slowly splintered apart and never fully recovered. Once back in America, both became celebrated authors and their images were somewhat rehabilitated. Anne focused on raising their five children, while Charles traveled the world for “work.” Charles Lindbergh was an expert pilot with unwavering bravery, but he was not necessarily a good man. His family suffered because of his “greatness.” The characteristics that enabled him to make history also kept him from being the man his family needed.
The role and character of Anne Morrow Lindberg is most interesting as it blossoms into its own maturity. No one can read this book and not come away with a new understanding of the times and challenges that faced the Lindbergs. But also, no one can finish this wonderful work and not be touched by the personal sacrifice, loyalty, generosity, and support of Anne to Charles.
This beautifully written novel paints a glamorous and complicated picture of a vagabond couple who was hunted by the press and who paid the ultimate price for their fame and fortune, without ever recovering their hearts or their glory.
My Rating
✬✬✬✬✬
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 8:29 AM
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 5:44 AM
“The sons of York will destroy each other, one brother destroying another, uncles devouring nephews, fathers beheading sons. They are a house which has to have blood, and they will shed their own if they have no other enemy.”
The White Queen is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner and former Lancaster supporter, who married the newly crowned Edward IV from the house of York. They married in secret, for love, and kept it quiet for a time because marriages during that time among nobles were arranged for political alliances. Told mostly in the first person from Elizabeth’s point of view, the book starts in 1463 when Elizabeth first meets Edward until 1485 when Edward’s brother Richard III holds the throne.
History has not dealt kindly with Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of Plantagenet King Edward IV, and mother of the princes murdered in the Tower of London. She has been seen as a woman who used her undoubted beauty to influence the king and get important, rich positions for her extended and extensive family.
Philippa Gregory shows us a different woman - one whose family loyalty and sense of honor drive her to negotiate difficult times with perception, grace, and humor. We see a woman of integrity and grace who grows into her role as queen as she fights her own battles and her heartaches. I liked that she was never portrayed as a victim in the book, even though she was often at the mercy of the men surrounding her.
In the book, a lot of Elizabeth’s power is derived from the magical abilities she and her mother, Jacquetta inherited from their ancestor, the water goddess Melusina. The two of them were rumored to be witches, so I thought it was clever of Gregory to weave these magical threads into a book.
There are so many scenes where brother is pitted against brother for control, and the characters involved have no idea whom they can and can not trust. It was a great, suspenseful ride for the reader too! I also thoroughly enjoyed how Ms. Gregory used facts to tell the story while also embellishing the mysteries and holes in the characters’ lives to make a very readable story.
The White Queen even includes depictions of battle scenes, some violence. While I admit, Gregory broke the first-person viewpoint to write these scenes with little explanation, this can be overlooked because of the realistic and impeccable quality of the scenes themselves. Gregory’s depiction of war is flawless, easy to understand, and adds a new dimension to her writing that some readers will embrace, and others will shun.
Overall, it is a convoluted tale of long ago monarchy that reflects the universal, timeless emotions all of us have struggled with, jealousy, anger, betrayal, fear, and love. Gregory brings the War of the Roses alive, with its struggles for power and cruel disregard for human life, while also introducing a thread of magic and a hint of witchcraft. It’s Gregory’s ability to delve into the human heart and mind that makes her books so irresistible, and The White Queen is no exception.
My Rating
✬✬✬✬✬
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 9:31 AM
January Book Wrap Up
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 7:48 AM
The King's Daughter. A Novel of the First Tudor Queen by Sandra Worth (✬✬✬✬)
Although history doesn’t reveal much about Elizabeth of York, Sandra Worth has crafted a novel that delves deep into the past, from Edward IV to Richard III and Henry VII. Steeped in solitude and personal loss, Elizabeth of York is a tragic figure, “daughter of a king, sister to a king, wed to a king and mother of a king”.
I enjoyed the writing style of the book which has an intimate feeling because it is narrated by Elizabeth of York, the story flow, and the exceptionally detailed historical events. However, the book is very biased making almost a saint out of Richard III, telling hard to believe stories about the disappearance of the princes from the tower and making feeble excuses about so many of his actions such as usurping the crown. Also, the characters in the book are so black and white, either they are evil or good. The characters and events are described so vividly, and I learned so much about the reign of Henry VII.
Tides of War by Steven Pressfield (✬✬✬✬)
Brilliant historical fiction, obviously heavily researched combined with excellent storytelling. Glimpses of Socrates and early democracy give the book an intellectual aspect often not found in a war novel.
Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd (✬✬✬✬✬)
Mr. Rutherford has done an amazing job of following the descendants of a handful of families based around Salisbury, England through time. Starting around 9000bc and progressing to 1980 and creating vignettes at important points in England's history showing how those historical events impacted the families at each point in time. Simply put, this book was magnificent.
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (✬✬✬)
The concept of this book was interesting and fostered an understanding of the lengths people go while living with amnesia; however, while the repetitive information and situations help to place the reader into Flora’s shoes, it was rather frustrating to keep getting stuck in a loop of past actions and lack any appreciable forward progress. I wasn’t too keen on the one memory that stuck with Flora and drove her to finally take some independent action in her life because although kissing a boy for the first time can be memorable, this reduces Flora to a cliché and she was such an intriguing character otherwise.
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (✬✬✬✬)
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a complex story that is written as if it takes place in the late nineteenth century but is more probably in the future. It’s contained in a very narrow timeline that keeps repeating and you must pay attention to keep the storyline straight so you can appreciate the richness of the mystery. Well written and clever, this novel is well worth the read.
The World According to Garp by John Irving (✬✬✬✬)
John Irving is a spectacular writer and has a style that is gripping and unpredictable. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was always impressed at his ability to flawlessly weave storylines together. I was also very entertained by how highly imaginative and original a lot of his characters are in this novel. It is a solid effort all around.
The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker (✬✬✬✬)
This spellbinding story of friendship and perseverance kept me riveted. The strength that Marietta exhibits throughout the story is inspiring and gives an interesting perspective on women of this time period. The city of Venice—with its extraordinary customs, political intrigue, and Carnival—serves as an exquisite stage, and I love how the author has woven the culture of Venice into the story itself.
Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt (✬✬✬)
This book did not do justice to Alma as portraying her as a female composer in a man’s world. Rather, it pays more attention to Alma’s love life than her accomplishments. I thought most of the characters were flat and lacking in depth. Despite these flaws, the novel was very well-written and heavily researched.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (✬✬✬)
Since it was a true story and there were things I enjoyed reading about, I felt bored throughout the book. Was glad when I finally reached the end. I understand why she felt the need to do this, but I felt the writing of the story and the story itself drug on way too long. A lot of the things were just not that interesting.
The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict (✬✬✬)
In the Other Einstein, I have lingering doubts as to the storyline that is provided by Marie Benedict. She uses the generally accepted reality of women being relegated to a second class life. One deprived of education and work opportunities. Mrs. Einstein is portrayed as a victim of these circumstances. Her physical disability is also used to point out the way people viewed others as unacceptable. In Ms. Benedict’s story, Mr. Einstein is portrayed as a selfish and dishonorable person. It was an interesting read and I would recommend it. The reader can decide just how much is probable and how much is conjecture.
Lady of the Roses by Sandra Worth (✬✬✬✬)
Sandra Worth’s Lady of the Roses tells the historically factual story of Lady Isobel, heiress of a Lancastrian house, and her love for and marriage to Sir John Neville, Yorkist son of her family’s political enemy. Anyone familiar with the War of the Roses will recognize that this was an unusual situation; this was a love match that was allowed despite political misgivings, and it flourished throughout a tempestuous period when family loyalties were of the utmost importance. Ms. Worth has taken the facts and brought them to life and given us insight into probable motivations and actions.
Worth has a gifted way of taking English history and not only bringing it to life but giving it a sense of immediacy and relevance. This is a gem of a historical novel and a rare look at crucial events in England’s history from someone who lived through them. Ms. Worth continues to give us quality historical fiction that is accessible and enlightening.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 6:25 AM
