Devourer of Books

The Book of Fathers by Miklos Vamos

“The Book of Fathers” follows the Csillag family through 400 years and 12 generations from first son to first son.  Each son inherits not only the Book of Fathers, something similar to a journal that has been added to by each man, but the ability to see into the future and the past at certain junctures in his life.  For some, the gift allows them to see the woman they will marry, for others they are able to gain the knowledge of their forefathers without studying, because they can reach into the past for that knowledge.

So the writing and translation were good, but I was really, really bored while reading it, which is a shame, because I was really excited about this book.  Bored enough that I soldiered through a little over half of this 500+ page book and then just couldn’t go any further.  Two main things contributed to my boredom and inability to finish the book:

First, was the format through which the story was told.  Each son was given his own chapter of about 40 pages.  Some of the chapters felt interminable – because 40 pages are pretty long chapters, especially in a book that isn’t a very quick read – but at the same time they were far too short.  How can you tell a man’s entire life in 40 pages?  This resulted in the men’s lives tending to be condensed into him meeting/marrying the mother of his children, something bad happening, and him dying.  This is not to say that every chapter was like this, but by virtue of how the story was structured, that was the general format.  In addition to this being a bit monotonous, I never really got the chance to attach to any of the members of the family, because just as I was starting to get interested in one of them they would die, or otherwise transfer their story to their son.  I should also say, I didn’t think much of the magical realism element of this book, I didn’t really think that much was added to the storyline by the first born sons being able to see into the past and future.

A bigger problem than the format, though, was partly my own deficiency.  This was a translation from Hungarian and I can see how it would be a very interesting book for Hungarians or those who have a good deal of familiarity with Hungarian history.  There was so much happening in the background that I didn’t fully understand because I don’t have a good grasp of Hungarian history at all.  Sure, I could figure out a lot of what was going on, but I think it was meant to be more of a reference to things that happened, looking at the story of a family set against the backdrop of Hungarian history.  If you already know Hungarian history, it could be a very instructive look at how people actually lived through these 400 years, but if you don’t know the basics already, it doesn’t really teach you much about Hungarian history and you miss a lot that other people would pick up on while reading this.

If you’re interested in and informed about Hungarian history, I think this could be a very interesting book, but if you don’t know anything about it already, I really cannot recommend this.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Tony at Blue Dot Literary.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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If you read my review way back in September, it is no secret that I really enjoyed Elizabeth Kostova’s new book, “The Swan Thieves.”

I actually enjoyed it so much, that around Thanksgiving when a bunch of people were reading it, I started to want to do a re-read.  I didn’t think I was going to be able to fit the text in again any time soon, so I decided that I was going to have to get a hold of the audiobook and do an audio reread.  Anna from Hachette was nice enough to drop a copy in the mail for me when they were released.  The timing was perfect, I was just finishing another audiobook and ready for a new one, so I immediately embarked on my voyage back through Marlow and Robert Oliver’s lives.  I’m not going to talk about the story again, because you can go back to my review, linked at the top of the page, if you want to know what I thought about that.  Instead, I want to talk about my experience with the audio.

Most audios I listen to have only one narrator, and that is usually fine.  A good narrator can cover everyone’s voice appropriately anyway.  It is, however, a real treat to listen to an audiobook with a great cast of narrators.  “The Swan Thieves” is one of those books.  I think my favorite of all the narrators was Anne Heche as Kate, but they were all fabulous.  For a book like this that is really told from four very distinct perspectives, the use of four separate narrators really added something invaluable to the experience.  I did appreciate, though, that each narrator stuck to his or her own chapters, no attempting dialog between two of them.  That would have become too awkward with “he said”s and “she exclaimed”s included. There was also some lovely background music that chosen perfectly to complement the book.

All in all, I think the experience of listening to “The Swan Thieves” was equally as enjoyable as reading it.

(Yes, FTC, as I said above, I *did* get this for free)

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Robin Maxwell is the author of many works of historical fiction, including “The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn,” “Signora Da Vinci,” and “O, Juliet.”

The moment I decided to retell the literary masterpiece “Romeo and Juliet” as an historical novel (O, JULIET), I found myself looking for a period and place to set it in, and historical figures with whom I could anchor it in reality.  I’d just finished SIGNORA DA VINCI, which was set in late fifteenth century Florence and peopled with the most astonishing array of individuals — men and women who shaped the Renaissance and, thus the modern world.  One of those characters was Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’ Medici, beloved daughter-in-law of Cosimo de’ Medici (the Godfather of the Italian Renaissance) and mother to Lorenzo “the Magnificent” de’ Medici (under whose patronage the Renaissance came into full flower).

Lucrezia, who came form one of the oldest and most respected Florentine families, brought a touch of nobility to the already immensely wealthy and powerful Medici banking clan.  Not much is known about Lucrezia’s education, thought it must have been a private one (there were no schools for girls) — with various tutors in Greek, Latin, mathematics, religion and philosophy.  Judging from the astute, cultured and open-minded woman she became, she must have been a phenomenal  student.  At a time when women, even wealthy ones, were barely allowed to leave their homes, Lucrezia de’ Medici led a remarkably accomplished life.

First, of course, she was a wife and mother.  Deeply beloved by all, she raised four children to maturity, one of whom (Lorenzo) who became the greatest ruler of his day. Two of her grandsons became pope.  Addressed as “Your Magnificence,” she co-ruled Florence with her ailing husband, Piero (“The Gouty”), and later with Lorenzo.  She was a businesswoman, founding a thermal spa in the countryside and hospitals in four cities.  She was given the unusual right (for a woman) to distribute income from Medici properties to her favorite charities.  Lucrezia invested her own money in building projects, wielded authority over political positions, marital arrangements, and political alliances.  She was one of the most famous patrons of the arts in the fifteenth century, even adopting Andrea Botticelli as her own son (he lived in the Palazzo Medici).

As I observed in SIGNORA DA VINCI, there was a “Shadow Renaissance” going on in Florence beneath the glossy surface of art and architecture that one normally associates with the period.  And living at the center of that world, as Lorenzo’s helpmate, Lucrezia de’ Medici has, to my mind, a “shadow” aspect as well.  Here is a quote from a clergyman in the Church of San Lorenzo, written to her son Lorenzo, weeks after Lucrezia’s death:

“…She advised the most important people as well as the magistrates concerning matters of grave importance.  And the most humble people were admitted to her presence and all of them left happy and content.  But you know all this better than I, as you did nothing without consulting her, as she did nothing without asking your opinion.”

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O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell

If Shakespeare’s most famous lovers had really lived, where would they have been and what would their lives have been like.  In “O, Juliet,” Robin Maxwell attempts to answer this question.

Juliet Capelletti is a young girl living in 15th century Florence.  She is an incredibly lucky girl; the daughter of a merchant, she has been highly educated because of the friendship she struck up with Lucrezia Tornabuoni, the intended bride of Piero de Medici.  Piero’s father, Cosimo de Medici felt it to be very important that his daughter-in-law be well educated, and was convinced to allow her friend to attend lessons with her.  All Juliet’s love of language, especially that of Dante, may come to naught, however.  She is intended to the rather boorish Jacopo Strozzi.  True, the Strozzi’s are the second most powerful family in Florence, but Jacopo’s mother is incredibly controlling and neither she nor Jacopo are inclined to help Juliet feed her intellectual curiosity.  Unfortunately, Juliet’s father needs Jacopo’s partnership for his business, and is determined to cement their alliance by joining their families.

Being promised to an intellectually and emotionally stifling man is bad enough, but at Lucrezia’s betrothal party Juliet meets a handsome young man named Romeo who can quote Dante as well as Juliet.  Even worse, it turns out he is of the Monticecco family, the same family allegedly responsible for sinking Juliet’s father’s latest shipment of cloth.  Romeo actually wants his family to make peace with the Capellettis and the Medicis, even more so after he falls head over heels for Juliet.  Jacopo Stozzi is not blind to the sparks flying between Romeo and Juliet and, although he’s fine with permitting courtly love, he takes certain steps to ensure that Juliet remains, essentially, his property.  And really, you know the rest of the story from there.

“O, Juliet” is the story of Romeo and Juliet set authentically into a backdrop of the Florentine Renaissance.  One thing I really appreciated about “O, Juliet” is that even though this is a story that we pretty much all know backwards and forwards, Maxwell still managed to make it seem ‘fresh.’  I think it was the way she so realistically entwined the two of them in the Italian Renaissance, surrounded by actual historical characters like Lucrezia Tornabuoni, the Strozzis, and the Medicis that really made the story pop and come alive again.  The touch of their mutual admiration for Dante was quite good, it gave them something to fall in love over, as opposed to simply physical attraction, it gave depth to their relationship.

This is how much Maxwell made the story of Romeo and Juliet seem fresh: at some points I actually truly believed that maybe the story of Juliet Capelletti and Romeo Monticecco was not going to end in the same way as that of Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague.

I really enjoyed “O, Juliet.”  Personally I think it is Maxwell’s best book yet.  The prose is good, the storyline is well plotted out.  Some people are going to complain about the poetry that Juliet and Romeo write, as it is not Shakespeare, but it really isn’t meant to be, as they are both simply amateur poets.  This was a fantastic reimagining of the most famous lovers in literary history, and it is a book you don’t want to miss.

Check back tomorrow for a guest post from Robin and perhaps a giveaway…

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book sent to me by the author.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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