Here’s the premise: fourteen-year-old Alessandra is the oddball of her fifteenth century Florence family. I can’t talk about the reasons for this without giving away spoilers, so if you don’t want to know anything, don’t read the second half of this review.
And then… if I hadn’t been reading on my Kindle, I’d have hurled the thing across the room. Right up until the very last chapter, I loved it. Do keep in mind that is is a very light read. I will give "The Birth of Venus" 2 stars b/c I did bother to complete it. On the other hand I did very much enjoy Dunant's In the Company of the Courtesan. Here is my review of Stone's book, which I gave 4 stars: Then read "The Agony and the Ecstasy" and make a comparison. If you are looking for a light fiction novel where lead characters just happen to meet all the right people at the right points in time, where all the strings of lfe are neatly tied up, where character portrayal is shallow, go ahead - read "The Birth of Venus". You will learn something there, and the time spent reading will be enjoyable. On completion: If you want to read a book about art during the Italian Renaissence read The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo. Am I learning anything new, to compensate for all my my other disappointments? No! The characters seem as modern day caricatures.
I have no quibbles with that, but the plot is so foreseeable, so predictable. Description of Renaissence Florence is fine. Halfway through the book: I do NOT think this is a wonderful book.
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