Reviews

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

saberchild's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

4.0

Deliciously dark and weird. Plenty of like "what the fuck :D" moments. Romance novel that respected the surrounding plot. Modern themes but not in a jarring way - the characters all felt believable. Good moral greyness in a few of them. Really glad I read this after reading Pentiment hehe.

mad_lane's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

bethsponz's review against another edition

3.0

Ok, maybe more like 3.5 stars. I did not like the ending and it didn't follow along with her character's ambition at all. I did enjoy most of the story but found many parts quite boring.

vamprine2024's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

wrentheblurry's review against another edition

I finished Part I, realized I wasn't enjoying myself, and then skimmed some of the other sections. The characters are well developed, and the lead girl has an intriguing personality. I didn't care about the political and military problems with their town and elsewhere, the abundance of religious issues, or what was going to happen to the characters. When that happens, it's time to quit reading and move on to something else.

Still, Dunant has talent as a writer, and I am open to trying another of her titles.

clamduncan's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

eschoen96's review against another edition

4.0

A little slow in the middle, but the last half of the book is absolutely worth it.

erboe501's review against another edition

2.0

I read this book for a class on historical fiction portrayals of women. We talked about how historical fiction in the popular consciousness is derided as "feminine" and generally not good literature. The Birth of Venus, a successful historical fiction novel, has aspects of this "feminine" genre: the female protagonist, concern with romance, and steamy scenes. Our heroine is spunky, rebellious, and most probably not what any teenager in Renaissance Florence would have been like. Dunant couldn't write without her 21st-century sensibilities permeating the writing. Yet our heroine's ending isn't really a feminist triumph. There are also very bizarre, not very believable scenes that explore the heroine's sexuality.

In class we concluded that there were many problems with the novel (it would have been a better story without the last few chapters), but its popularity and the effort to give voice to figures silenced in history books is laudable.

burgerai's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

Started slow and then hooked me

jesshekman's review against another edition

5.0

This is the book that got me started on historical fiction. It has the most interesting prologue ever. This is one of my all time favorites.