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_katiaz_'s review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
detroitbecame's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
makotach's review against another edition
3.0
Nicely written, with a deep longing at its core. Can feel a little aimless at times, but an enjoyable companion nonetheless.
caitlinmchugh24's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended for anyone who enjoys Italian Renaissance historical fiction. This intriguing novel answers a "what if?" question in Michelangelo's life. This short but engaging book has excellent writing, a unique perspective, and an authors note, which is also important in historical fiction. This book is for anyone who has read every other historical fiction book about Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Italian Renaissance.
joannaautumn's review against another edition
4.0
”I know that men are children who chase away their despair with anger, their fear with love; they respond to the void by building castles and temples. They cling to stories, they shove them in front of them like banners; everyone makes some story his own so as to attach himself to the crowd that shares it. You conquer people by telling them of battles, kings, elephants, and marvelous beings; by speaking to them about the happiness they will find beyond death, the bright light that presided over their birth, the angels wheeling around them, the demons menacing them, and love, love, that promise of oblivion and satiety. Tell them about all of that, and they will love you; they will make you the equal of a god.”
⟶ Essentially, nothing really happens in this book. Okay, a few things do happen; a man travels from one place to another with a culture so different than the one left, there is a construction of a bridge, an attempted murder, and a lot of tavern hopping and denying feelings.
On a surface read, this book comes across as a poetic “fanfiction” of a tale of the famous Michelangelo Buonarotti in a love triangle with a poet and a dancer with a lot of beautiful, vivid descriptions of food, painting and sculpture props, along with a lot of walks.
Digging a little deeper, it’s a tale about a man afraid to give in to his feelings, and life, with no fear but never really having the courage to do so. It is also a tale about art, and the relationship between an artist and his art; it’s a tale about love, secrets, and human weakness.
” He couldn’t stand his own face, it was said. It was often said that if he sought perfection of features, beauty in faces, it’s because he himself lacked them completely. Only old age and fame would give him an unparalleled aura, like a kind of patina on an object that started out ugly. Perhaps it’s in this frustration that we can find the energy of his art; in the violence of the era, in the humiliation of artists, in rebellion against nature, in the lure of money, the inextinguishable thirst for advancement and glory that is the most powerful of motivators.”
⟶ Written in interchanging chapters between the third person narration following the famous artist and the first-person narrative of a foreign dancer( these chapters are very lyrical and remind me of some old Arabian poems my friend read me once) this tale manages to engage the reader while at the same time following a set pattern that would usually evoke boredom in me. Understandably, this book isn’t for everyone but I enjoyed it very much and would like to read more from the author in the future.
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Surprisingly good! Review to come.
emiliaclew's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Je l’adorais complètement - un bijoux d’une histoire. Elle s’est vite passée mais a partagé une vision enveloppante d’un temps passé, un temps plein d’arte et intrigue politique.
makennadykstra's review against another edition
3.5
beautiful sweeping artistic. all about building an impossible-to-build bridge. what a metaphor. fav bits were the second-person poetic interludes from mesihi. oh the queer longing!!! this is the closest i can come to reading historical fiction.
sanjastajdohar's review against another edition
4.0
“There is nothing more majestic than a bridge. No poem or story can ever have that strength.”
This was a short and sweet novel about Michelangelo's fictional travel to Istanbul to create and construct a magnificent bridge, ordered by the sultan Bajazet II. It is such a short episode of his life after creating David and Pieta, but before his work in the Sistine Chapel), but, according to the story, it influenced many of his later works and him as a person. It is a story of escape, fear, friendship, betrayal and artistic struggle.
My favorite character is Michelangelo's confidant and guide Mesihi, who is a well-known Ottoman poet. Their relationship in the story is complicated and irrevocably influences both of their futures
.
The short chapters as episodes of Michelangelo's stay and gradual designing of the bridge are interpolated with a mysterious female voice speaking directly to Michelangelo. They all reach a joint culmination at the end of the novel.
The topic of culture clash and culture collaboration between the East and the West is present in this book and described beautifully, though scarcely. I think this reimagination of history could have been a full-fledged novel.
This was a nice book to read between other long and complicated novels, my only regret is that it is actually not true in a sense that the trip never happened, but, according to the afterword, the places and people are genuine.
The title is great and actually it was the title that piqued my imagination. and made me pick up the book. All in all, a nice gem of a book you can read in one sitting.
This was a short and sweet novel about Michelangelo's fictional travel to Istanbul to create and construct a magnificent bridge, ordered by the sultan Bajazet II. It is such a short episode of his life after creating David and Pieta, but before his work in the Sistine Chapel), but, according to the story, it influenced many of his later works and him as a person. It is a story of escape, fear, friendship, betrayal and artistic struggle.
My favorite character is Michelangelo's confidant and guide Mesihi, who is a well-known Ottoman poet. Their relationship in the story is complicated and irrevocably influences both of their futures
.
The short chapters as episodes of Michelangelo's stay and gradual designing of the bridge are interpolated with a mysterious female voice speaking directly to Michelangelo. They all reach a joint culmination at the end of the novel.
The topic of culture clash and culture collaboration between the East and the West is present in this book and described beautifully, though scarcely. I think this reimagination of history could have been a full-fledged novel.
This was a nice book to read between other long and complicated novels, my only regret is that it is actually not true in a sense that the trip never happened, but, according to the afterword, the places and people are genuine.
The title is great and actually it was the title that piqued my imagination. and made me pick up the book. All in all, a nice gem of a book you can read in one sitting.
jwilly19's review against another edition
4.0
Obviously a minor work in Enard’s catalog...but beautifully written and fascinating speculative history. One day I will be brave enough to tackle his more substantial novels.