The Birth Of Venus

I always enjoy my weekly virtual newsletter from NYTimes. I get book reviews and essays and articles on current literary phenomena. This morning, I got up with an aim to get started on a critique of a peer's 60-page novel excerpt (while pushing away fears of completing my own short story in time for next week's workshop). Opening up my inbox, I read a little of the newsletter and found a review of the latest historical novel. It's actually more of a historical romance in the vein of Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The Birth Of Venus has a lovely book jacket and an equally picturesque but politically-charged story setting - Florence, Italy, 15th Century. Alessandra Cecchi is married at 16 and then left to pursue her own interests with a secret artist lover. Given the title, I'm tempted to believe Sandro Botticelli. The review gives up little clues. However, I'm drawn to this book simply because of the time period - the height of the Renaissance when scores of artists filled the world with beauty, the peak of Savaranola's power (the forceful Dominican monk who eventually burned at the stake in Piazza Signoria) - and of course the setting.

I read the words "Medici", "cloth merchant", "Ghirlandaio" and I knew that this book was going on to my wish list or straight to my shopping cart at Amazon. (It's in the cart, folks.) Next moment, my heart's all bunched up and I'm near to sobbing, "Someone, please take me to Florence, let me go back! Take me back to Florence!"

Hysterics aside, here's the excellent book review by Valerie Martin. You might have to register with The New York Times online, but it's free and you might as well sign up for the same Sunday Book Review newsletter I get, anyway. More moments of literary joy to you!

Posted by Monoceros at March 6, 2004 9:09 AM