medievalbookworm's Blog

"Growing up on the streets of medieval Florence, uncommonly handsome Luca Bastardo knows how to survive. His skills come in handy as he goes on to have a lifespan that is absolutely extraordinary, experiencing the transition from medieval to Renaissance Florence; he endures many trials, some harder than others, in his search for his heart’s greatest desire.

This is one chunky historical novel. Not only is it fairly long at over 500 pages, but it also covers a fair span of history. Luca experiences the beginning of the Renaissance and is consistently involved with some of Florence’s most famous faces. I did find it a bit of a stretch that a homeless boy would encounter and befriend so many “famous” people, but I rolled with it and enjoyed guessing who he met before we were told.

The story is very engaging. It moves along, skipping many years when necessary, and with such a long lived character, we lost out on the many boring parts of Luca’s life. In general, I liked him, although he did irritate me at times. There is some magic involved; Luca practices alchemy and obviously his lifespan is not that of any normal human being. So we have to suspend our disbelief to enjoy the book, but as a reader of fantasy, I didn’t mind. I try to take historical fiction with a grain of salt and a bit of fantasy tossed in does help that. To my knowledge, however, the actual history is pretty accurate.

In short, I enjoyed this book and I’d recommend it to other readers of historical fiction."

Located here: http://chikune.com/blog/?p=240

The brothel scenes were definitely the worst for me. I also did really like Luca, but I'm not sure he was the best thing about it for me.

I thought the brothel was the slowest part. I felt like it took a long time for Luca to get through it, but I found the rest of the book to be much better. It wasn't the fastest read, but I did feel it pick up after that.

I was just wondering what everyone's opinion was on the inclusion of these sort of "supernatural" elements. Do you think they added to the story, or would you have preferred them to be left out?

I think that they mostly added to the story. Luca's lifespan entailed us to see Florentine history through his eyes as it changed. It could have been done with a generational saga, but this way also allowed for a lot of character development. I'm not sure about the addition of actual alchemy though or his prophetic dream.

Thoughts?

Ooh, I have Galileo's Daughter. I'll have to dig that out soon to compare.

I read Pillars of the Earth in high school and I loved it back then. I've got the sequel now and I've been meaning to reread the first one, but it's so thick and I've got so many books to read. I'll get to it eventually.

Dars, I've read both Forever Amber and the Crimson Petal and the White. I liked the first, loved the second.

I'm not really a Philippa Gregory fan. She tends to twist history in ways I don't like (The Virgin's Lover, The Constant Princess), and I've always been a little, perhaps irrationally, fond of Anne Boleyn. She writes in an engaging way, but I just don't like what she does with the historical figures. I know, I know, it's fiction, but I know too much!

I love Margaret George, though. Her next book is, according to wikipedia, on Elizabeth I. I can't wait!

I'm going to have to try more Jean Plaidy. I have two of hers on my TBR pile and they're both short, so I'll give one of them a shot soon.

I've so far found Jean Plaidy to be a little too dry. I liked her novel about Elizabeth I, but The Thistle and the Rose was really slow going for me. I have two more of hers sitting around waiting for me to wonder if I was being too impatient with that one.

Actually, I just looked at all the novels I've really loved lately and they seem to be either omniscient 3rd person or male narrators. In general, I do prefer 3rd person, although I couldn't tell you why.

Somewhat recently I read The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - it's set in Renaissance Florence and picks up on some of the events, like Savonarola's crazy religious preaching and the burning of art. It moves on beyond that though. I think I'd actually find it a good read soon after Immortal, see if the city is the same in both books. I find Florence very interesting in terms of its contribution to the Renaissance and the famous Medici dominance; I'd like to visit someday.

I think in part it's because women write most historical novels and women reads most historical novels. Apparently women read the most fiction, too, so that's not entirely surprising. Since the actions of women are less recorded, novelists also have much more freedom to imagine their daily lives and thoughts - so when a novelist chooses a historical main character, it's a lot easier to play with a woman's life than a man's.

I've read several historical novels that are narrated by men. The ones that spring to mind are those written by Bernard Cornwell (who to be honest isn't very good at writing women, but that's his only weak spot) and The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.

I'll be very interested to see other responses to this question.

I'm echoing thanks - I'm very excited to be here!

I'm Meghan, and I'm not a wife or mother yet, but I am engaged to Keith and I'll be a graduate student of medieval studies in just a month. I'm aiming to become a professor of medieval history.

Obviously, I love to read, and blogging has allowed me to share that with many other readers. My blog is located at http://www.chikune.com/blog.

I've got about 150 pages left in Immortal; I don't like discussing books when I haven't finished them, so I think I'll finish today!