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Book Review
By Lisa N. Johnson
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dunant, Sarah. The Birth of Venus. New York: Random House, 2004.

Cochran Library PR6054 .U45756 B58 2004

Art, love, betrayal, mystery, strong determined women characters and the 15th century city of Florence make Sarah Dunant's novel irresistible. The Birth of Venus weaves turbulent Florentine history at the time of the all-powerful Medici rule with the coming of age story of 14-year-old Alessandra Cecchi.

Florence is under the grip of the plague, the threat of invasion, a local serial killer roaming the streets, and the evil righteousness of fundamentalist monk Savonarola. Seamlessly blending history and fiction, we are drawn into the lives of the Cecchi family.

Alessandra wants to defy convention, refuse an arranged marriage, and become a painter. Her sister’s only desire is to marry well. Their mother tries to encourage, yet temper the plans of her unconventional daughter who cannot sing or dance, but can translate Latin and Greek texts faster than her brothers can read it.

Alessandra's story, though central, is only one part of this multi-faceted and complex historical novel. I should not give away any more of the complex plot. This novel is of special interest to art history, Italian and history majors. Though this novel is not a substitute, it does discuss artists and the techniques of the time in a more amusing way than Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and would make excellent supplementary reading.

I hope to see many members of the Sweet Briar community fighting over this novel in the near future. We also have this title in the audio book edition.