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bezzlebob's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
What a way to kick off the year! This has everything I love about historical fiction - three dimensional characters, interesting pacing, riiiiiiiiiich descriptive writing, and layers. I guessed the main plot points in the latter third of the book, and for some people, that would spoil the experience. For me though, I loved feeling vindicated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Infertility
ellieintherye's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 full stars; no rounding!!
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It has everything I want in a good-ass book: great storytelling, whydunnit, history, girl power, beautiful descriptive language, and time to get to know the characters (aka, it's long).
Because I loved this book so much, I want to defend the most common criticisms I've seen of it. It'll save you from my endless gushing (kind of, lol) and will help me think about the book a little more critically too.
Common criticisms I've seen:
The ending is rushed. First, the ending is 2 pages; I get that. But, when we consider that the entire book is a setup for "Lucre's" "death" scene, which we know about from the very beginning... aren't there actually ~400 pages of ending? OK, it's a stretch, but that's my truth!
The history isn't right. Ok! To the folks who say, "just read the wiki articles about these people and you've got it," I have two words for you: historical fiction. You should know what you're getting yourself into before you get into it, no? Generally, I admit, I prefer to read a biography (let's call it the history major in me) instead of historical fiction. But, we all (should) know that history is generally far from objective truth anyway; historical records were largely written by men in power. So take this book with a grain of salt, remember that it's art, and think critically about historical texts you read too! For what it's worth: I'm already planning a trip to Florence to soak up the rest of this setting. I understand this critique in a major way, but also just let us have this one!
There's an excess of description. Boooo. This take is entirely subjective, and I'm taking the exact opposite stance! I definitely don't recommend this book to people who prefer to skim dialogue to get the whole picture — and no judgment! I like that sometimes too, don't we all (See: Daisy Jones and the Six)? But if that's your m.o., The Marriage Portrait is probably not for you! It's not a beach read! O'Farrell's endless setting descriptions truly make this book what it is for me. Lucre is imprisoned in and by her privilege; she was born and raised to breed nobles and act the part. The fact that readers can see her cage(s) so clearly throughout the book is one of the most important aspects of the entire thing.
Anyway, I LOVED THIS BOOK and I will never stop singing its praises!
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It has everything I want in a good-ass book: great storytelling, whydunnit, history, girl power, beautiful descriptive language, and time to get to know the characters (aka, it's long).
Because I loved this book so much, I want to defend the most common criticisms I've seen of it. It'll save you from my endless gushing (kind of, lol) and will help me think about the book a little more critically too.
Common criticisms I've seen:
The ending is rushed. First, the ending is 2 pages; I get that. But, when we consider that the entire book is a setup for "Lucre's" "death" scene, which we know about from the very beginning... aren't there actually ~400 pages of ending? OK, it's a stretch, but that's my truth!
The history isn't right. Ok! To the folks who say, "just read the wiki articles about these people and you've got it," I have two words for you: historical fiction. You should know what you're getting yourself into before you get into it, no? Generally, I admit, I prefer to read a biography (let's call it the history major in me) instead of historical fiction. But, we all (should) know that history is generally far from objective truth anyway; historical records were largely written by men in power. So take this book with a grain of salt, remember that it's art, and think critically about historical texts you read too! For what it's worth: I'm already planning a trip to Florence to soak up the rest of this setting. I understand this critique in a major way, but also just let us have this one!
There's an excess of description. Boooo. This take is entirely subjective, and I'm taking the exact opposite stance! I definitely don't recommend this book to people who prefer to skim dialogue to get the whole picture — and no judgment! I like that sometimes too, don't we all (See: Daisy Jones and the Six)? But if that's your m.o., The Marriage Portrait is probably not for you! It's not a beach read! O'Farrell's endless setting descriptions truly make this book what it is for me. Lucre is imprisoned in and by her privilege; she was born and raised to breed nobles and act the part. The fact that readers can see her cage(s) so clearly throughout the book is one of the most important aspects of the entire thing.
Anyway, I LOVED THIS BOOK and I will never stop singing its praises!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death
dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic relationship
laurakfinnegan's review
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
laurareadsbig's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Murder
kristinamj's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
ktrain3900's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A solid work of fiction, well written, with much lovely imagery and plenty of intrigue, if unevenly paced in places, and with a not wholly satisfying ending I should have seen coming. While I think the framing (the moving between time periods) worked, I did find it hard to place myself back in the right timeline after particularly long chapters. I enjoyed the poetic license in making Lucrezia an artist; I thought it was a skillful bit of character depth and connective tissue. The discomfort of the teenage wife when in bed with her husband was very well written, so much so that, in my opinion, folks who've experience sexual assualt or trauma may not be able to stomach it. The treatment of servants also felt very real, and was thus also hard to handle, as blase as it was. I am glad to be from where and when I am, and I'm as curious as ever to learn more about women from other times and places.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty and Murder
tinyjude's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Another historical fiction novel from O'Farrell that pulls the strings of your heart.
Following a dual timeline, we see Lucrezia, the main protagonist and a big enigma in the real world apart from the fact that she died one year after she had been married to the Duke Alfonso of Ferrara (not suspicious at all; also she was like 15 years old and he doubled her age. Disgusting on so many levels), as she grows up with her family in Florence, being the less-favoured daughter of them all, always deemed as indomitable and worthless of attention or care at any point, as well as her time as a married woman (ehem child ehem) in Ferrara's state, her increasing sense of dread and fear, and her feeling of hopelessness, being trapped into a cage with her days already counted.
It was challenging to read through some of the horrifying things she and the other female characters have to suffer under the rule, command and oppression of the men around them. Whether they were in a economically and socially advantageous situation or were a kind-hearted maid, (we stan Emilia in this house) you couldn't avoid to felt sorry for their fates and lives knowing this was true at that time and, in many senses, still true despite the passage of time. But most of all, my heart stays with Sofia, Emilia and Lucrezia. And mourns and cheers at that bittersweet ending.
I was constantly afraid for Lucrezia safety and majorly concerned by her young age, the societal and marital expectations thrown upon her without almost any guidance or "sweet" lies, but also proud and enthralled by her constant defiance. Every moment in which she stood up for herself silently or loudly. Every time she did not yield to the iron grip of her husband. She is a very complex character for which you simply cannot avoid feeling pity and the need to protect her. And I absolutely adored every moment she relished among her paintings/tavole and instances of freedom.
Although it didn't make me weep like Hamnet, it surely impacted me in other ways that will haunt me for a while.
Following a dual timeline, we see Lucrezia, the main protagonist and a big enigma in the real world apart from the fact that she died one year after she had been married to the Duke Alfonso of Ferrara (not suspicious at all; also she was like 15 years old and he doubled her age. Disgusting on so many levels), as she grows up with her family in Florence, being the less-favoured daughter of them all, always deemed as indomitable and worthless of attention or care at any point, as well as her time as a married woman (ehem child ehem) in Ferrara's state, her increasing sense of dread and fear, and her feeling of hopelessness, being trapped into a cage with her days already counted.
It was challenging to read through some of the horrifying things she and the other female characters have to suffer under the rule, command and oppression of the men around them. Whether they were in a economically and socially advantageous situation or were a kind-hearted maid, (we stan Emilia in this house) you couldn't avoid to felt sorry for their fates and lives knowing this was true at that time and, in many senses, still true despite the passage of time. But most of all, my heart stays with Sofia, Emilia and Lucrezia. And mourns and cheers at that bittersweet ending.
I was constantly afraid for Lucrezia safety and majorly concerned by her young age, the societal and marital expectations thrown upon her without almost any guidance or "sweet" lies, but also proud and enthralled by her constant defiance. Every moment in which she stood up for herself silently or loudly. Every time she did not yield to the iron grip of her husband. She is a very complex character for which you simply cannot avoid feeling pity and the need to protect her. And I absolutely adored every moment she relished among her paintings/tavole and instances of freedom.
Although it didn't make me weep like Hamnet, it surely impacted me in other ways that will haunt me for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Classism, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Infertility
Minor: Animal death
tessa_samuels's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I could not put this book down, it was an absolute page turner. The writing was riveting and beautiful. It captivated so much emotion and information. The book flowed like very few books I’ve ever read. Content warning: animal abuse, sexual violence, emotional and physical abuse. There were huge sections of this book I had to skip. Because it was too dark. There was an entire chapter about a tiger, and an animal menagerie that I had to skip. And I would definitely proceed with caution when reading this book. But I thought it was brilliant and absolutely loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Murder
abbasaurusrex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was close to five stars for me. It was definitely not an upbeat story but the writing was gorgeous (I didn’t think it was overdone as some other reviewers have suggested) and the tension was exquisite. I loved the twist at the end as a hopeful resolution to what was otherwise a very dark story. There are some difficult themes here so read the trigger warnings. Overall I really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Animal death