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In the Company of the Courtesan A Novel Sarah Dunant 9780812974041 Books

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In the Company of the Courtesan A Novel Sarah Dunant 9780812974041 Books

. . . and of our narrator, Bucino Teodoldi, it has also been said, “You are a man who should forget what is wrong with him and celebrate what is right. For there is much to enjoy.” Our setting is 16th Century Rome and Venice. “Venice: the greatest, the loveliest, the oldest, the most just, the most peaceful. Venice – La Serenissima,” city of serenity, but “wherever there is public virtue, there is always private vice.” Fiammetta Bianchini was a highly successful courtesan in Rome, but escapes to Venice with her dwarf pimp Bucino following the invasion of German protestant reformers. Bucino and Fiammetta must try to re-establish their position in a different city, one where “An inflammatory crime in an inflammatory moment calls for a stern response” by the governors of Venice. Dunant is master of the time and place she creates for us, but her greatest achievements are the real and exotic characters who stand around us talking, posing, conspiring, competing, manipulating, even loving, thieving, betraying – yes, behaving like each of us, gloriously entertaining!


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In the Company of the Courtesan A Novel Sarah Dunant 9780812974041 Books Reviews

Dunant has given a fascinating portrait of Venice in the tumultuous sixteenth century. The story is entertaining and the characters are realistic and sensitively drawn. The plot takes a turn at the end that seems forced.
At first I had a great deal of difficulty getting into this book.
The tale tends to be dry and somewhat textbook like.
I read it for a Bookclub and made mysel finish it.
If you like historical novels centered around Venice, then you probably will enjoy this.
The descriptions of Venice, its sunsets, its canals and architecture and women of the evening are beautiful, but I found it just too wordy.
I wanted to find out what happened to the main characters without plodding through all that, but ultimately I did.
Though it is not one of my favorite books, it has merit.
Having lived in the city of Venice for 5 months in college, I found the descriptions of the places in this story very evocative of the unique atmosphere there. Of course, when I was there, things weren't nearly so sinister as they were in the 1500's, but the way in which the narrator's mind is changed over time about his surroundings is characteristic of what many experience when they visit Venice for shorter versus longer periods of time. The changes that the city undergoes with an influx of tourists are also very realistically described.

The plot itself was secondary in my mind, and I often skimmed over some of the more erotic passages in favor of the more interesting relationship between the two main characters who clearly love and depend on one another as family in what otherwise would have been a sad and mean world for both of them, one due to his deformity and the other due to her gender and station into which she was born.
In comparison to The Birth of Venus and Sacred Hearts, I was a little disappointed in this one. Don't get me wrong, I would still encourage anyone who enjoyed Sarah Dunant's other writing to read this one but I was left a little less satisfied with this one as compared to the others. I felt like there were too many loosely tied together ends, that the ending was abrupt and that there were too many unanswered questions with regard to (and without spoiling it for anyone I won't name names) the secondary female character, the reasons behind her behavior and actions, the relationship with Bucino (who, by the way, I adored) and especially concerning the child. I feel like this book may have been rushed somehow and I know that this author could have done better with it. That being said, it is still a worthwhile read. I love Sarah Dunant and hope that she focuses more on writing historical fiction in the future.
More than your usual chick lit Historical romance; tracks through interesting period of history. Story is told from the courtesans companion, a dwarf that I can't not visualize as GOT's Tyrian. From authors note and bibliography well researched. I found the story started fm really well but became harder to track as the book went on
I must admit that when Sarah Dunant writes a novel based on the Renaissance and Italy I am "all over it". She researches the period to an nth degree and her characters are always so well developed. And as an added delight for me, I always learn something. So, am I a prejudiced fan? YES! Highly recommended.
The courtasan, Fiametta, and her dwarf, Bucino, have survived the sack of Rome and have escaped to Venice, taking with them as many gemstones as they can swallow - to be used as money to start over. In Venice, she begins the process of beginning all over again. Through good strategies and prudent spending, she manages to, once again, regain her wealth and position ... in no small thanks to Bucino. The story is as much about Bucino as Fiametta. Set in the time of the artist Titian, the book is a lovely portrayal of the life and times in the Venice of long ago. The author is very skilled using words to"paint" her discriptions,making the story very easy to visualize.
. . . and of our narrator, Bucino Teodoldi, it has also been said, “You are a man who should forget what is wrong with him and celebrate what is right. For there is much to enjoy.” Our setting is 16th Century Rome and Venice. “Venice the greatest, the loveliest, the oldest, the most just, the most peaceful. Venice – La Serenissima,” city of serenity, but “wherever there is public virtue, there is always private vice.” Fiammetta Bianchini was a highly successful courtesan in Rome, but escapes to Venice with her dwarf pimp Bucino following the invasion of German protestant reformers. Bucino and Fiammetta must try to re-establish their position in a different city, one where “An inflammatory crime in an inflammatory moment calls for a stern response” by the governors of Venice. Dunant is master of the time and place she creates for us, but her greatest achievements are the real and exotic characters who stand around us talking, posing, conspiring, competing, manipulating, even loving, thieving, betraying – yes, behaving like each of us, gloriously entertaining!