In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant
Book: 22
Title: In the Company of the Courtesan
Author: Sarah Dunant
Genre: Historical fiction
One-sentence summary: A courtesan and her pimp dwarf (no, really) flee from the sack of Rome in 1527 and attempt to build a new life for themselves in Venice.
Why did you get this book? I'd read Sarah Dunant before, and rarely been disappointed.
Do you like the cover? It's all right. Pretty standard for historical fiction: a piece of period art, the title in raised gilt lettering with wildly curlicued capitals. Whatever.
Did you enjoy the book? I did, though it was a tiny bit slow for my tastes and I will say that Dunant doesn't really have a flair for historical fiction. She ought to stick with contemporary mysteries, which she excels at. This... I don't know, it didn't make me *feel* 16th-century Venice, you know? In a lot of ways this is like a knockoff Slammerkin, but Donoghue is much, much better at immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and smells (!) of her chosen time period. Plus, her characterization is better. Anyway, if you're going to read Dunant, pick one of her contemporary mysteries.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, and yes.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? I don't really think so. This was a pretty good read, but I suspect it will not be a terribly memorable one.
Scale of 1 to 10: 7
Number of pages: 368
Total pages for the year: 6974
Title: In the Company of the Courtesan
Author: Sarah Dunant
Genre: Historical fiction
One-sentence summary: A courtesan and her pimp dwarf (no, really) flee from the sack of Rome in 1527 and attempt to build a new life for themselves in Venice.
Why did you get this book? I'd read Sarah Dunant before, and rarely been disappointed.
Do you like the cover? It's all right. Pretty standard for historical fiction: a piece of period art, the title in raised gilt lettering with wildly curlicued capitals. Whatever.
Did you enjoy the book? I did, though it was a tiny bit slow for my tastes and I will say that Dunant doesn't really have a flair for historical fiction. She ought to stick with contemporary mysteries, which she excels at. This... I don't know, it didn't make me *feel* 16th-century Venice, you know? In a lot of ways this is like a knockoff Slammerkin, but Donoghue is much, much better at immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and smells (!) of her chosen time period. Plus, her characterization is better. Anyway, if you're going to read Dunant, pick one of her contemporary mysteries.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, and yes.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? I don't really think so. This was a pretty good read, but I suspect it will not be a terribly memorable one.
Scale of 1 to 10: 7
Number of pages: 368
Total pages for the year: 6974
