If you revel in every minute detail of 16th century deMedici court intrigue, this is your book. For me, it would have made a better short story. The main character is Lucrezia - 15 year old daughter of Cosimo. She is forced to marry a man betrothed to her older sister following the sister's death. There is a lot of cruel sex, deception, and weird imagery involving tigers. Lucretia's independent thinking does nothing but aggravate the situation. There is a lot of internal dialog, that I found repetitive. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Again, if you love the deMedici intrigue, this is right up your alley - although Farrell would never state anything so simply.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver
The style of this book harkens back to Kingsolver's early novels - quirky characters, witty dialog, dark humor, brilliant turn of phrase. Although this is supposed to be a riff on David Copperfield, she takes on many of today's contemporary ills - the social welfare system, industrial tyranny, drugs - even football. Our narrator is cheeky Demon - abused by the foster care system, Appalachian loser stamped on his forehead, teased by good intentions of the adults around him who do not get it, gifted and talented when it doesn't count for nothin'. Spoiler alert - it all works out in the end which I only share because knowing that (he is, after all, the narrator) is the only thing that kept me reading through the darkest parts of his story. This will be the book club book of the year once it comes out in paperback - but worth the price of the hardback.
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