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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully-written, tragic tale of a young woman. Interesting use of the historical tradition of marriage portraits alongside themes of ownership, abuse and perception of women and their bodies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My first O’Farrell, and overall a very enjoyable read. There’s an easiness to her storytelling, though it took me a little while to warm up to the deliberate pacing (everything goes at a trot rather than a gallop). While the story itself is extremely simple, O’Farrell writes the protagonist Lucrezia with real tenderness; the downright brutality of women’s lives in the Renaissance is juxtaposed with Lucrezia’s resourcefulness and refusal to give up. The side characters are rather broadly drawn, and they tend towards stock types: the villainous husband is only ever villainous; the conniving sisters-in-law are only ever conniving. There’s an older chambermaid whose gruffness hides - surprise! - a tender heart. I also think the whole thing could have been shorter by 50 pages or so - there’s sometimes the feeling that O’Farrell is treading water rather than propelling us forward. Nonetheless: this is a well-written and absorbing novel.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
People keep comparing to Hamnet but they shouldn't. It very much has its own voice and has a very different feel to the Booker Prize winner.
I found this story of a young womans path in life unnerving, fascinating, sad, and very powerful. A story of the powerlessness of being a woman in 16th Century Italy, where women are a commodity to be sold for their dowry in the hope they will produce the next male heir.
The scene with the tiger is just wonderful and the sad overpowering feeling of doom is with you every step of the way. Powerful intimate story telling.
The wonderful Maggie O'Farrell is a master story teller.
Easily 5/5
I found this story of a young womans path in life unnerving, fascinating, sad, and very powerful. A story of the powerlessness of being a woman in 16th Century Italy, where women are a commodity to be sold for their dowry in the hope they will produce the next male heir.
The scene with the tiger is just wonderful and the sad overpowering feeling of doom is with you every step of the way. Powerful intimate story telling.
The wonderful Maggie O'Farrell is a master story teller.
Easily 5/5
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
After having read so much fantasy novels lately I wanted to dip my toes into a different story
I am a big fan of Italian History and the Medici usually tell a compelling story
This book was overall just middle of the road
I expected a lot more court intrigue as that is what I think of when I hear the name Medici
I hadn’t really heard too much of Lucrezia Medici and well for good reason, given that there isn’t much of a story there
I will say I liked O’Farrells writing a lot and I stuck with the book till the end just to know for sure how it ends
I like the way she concluded the book I won’t lie
But this isn’t a great book to me either, it lacked substance for me
Which given who the story is about is no surprise
Just something to keep in mind when going into this book
I am a big fan of Italian History and the Medici usually tell a compelling story
This book was overall just middle of the road
I expected a lot more court intrigue as that is what I think of when I hear the name Medici
I hadn’t really heard too much of Lucrezia Medici and well for good reason, given that there isn’t much of a story there
I will say I liked O’Farrells writing a lot and I stuck with the book till the end just to know for sure how it ends
I like the way she concluded the book I won’t lie
But this isn’t a great book to me either, it lacked substance for me
Which given who the story is about is no surprise
Just something to keep in mind when going into this book
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes