Lucrezia Borgia : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars
Review: I found this book to be very intellectually written. There are several, repeated references to Classical Literature and Art that I wouldn't have fully understood without the 4 Latin classes I had. And there are frequent sentences in Latin or Greek, usually translated but not always. In the beginning of the book, the author uses some of the most beautiful, interesting and original metaphors I've ever read: "I'd a vision of a colossal Cesare-an entire gold-leafed page in an illuminated manuscript-astride a lapis horizon, driving the hard, ink-black iron of his intellect into the palms of a prostrate and thorn-crowned world." So much of his descriptive paragraphs fit so well with the subject being discussed that it makes for an almost poetic feel. Also, he attempts to explain how some of the most horrible rumors about Lucrezia were not exactly true, but were understandable (particularly where her brother was involved) without turning her into this completely misunderstood saint whose enemies conspired to destroy for all history.

That's the highlights of the book. On the downside, in some sections, the action seemed somewhat rushed which makes the story a bit confusing. And towards the end, the language gets so graphic and unnecessarily vulgar that it's difficult to enjoy. Maybe Mr.Faunce did that intentionally to show the different frame of mind of young, idealistic Lucrezia and older, worldy Lucrezia. But regardless, I don't think it works well. The writing at the beginning is pretty; at the end, it's rather tasteless and trashy. And on occasion (but not often) his screenwriting seems to take over and the action becomes over-dramatized, as if some kind of B-rated action movie.

All in all, I'm glad I did read the book, if only for the beginning. I would recommend it unless you're offended by repeated profanites or if you're squeamish about gore.

Rating:
Summary: More a victim than villain
Review: I was fortunate to have this book with me on a weekend when I could give it the full attention it requires, as it is chock full of lurid whimsy, historical detail and more new vocabulary than I'd confronted in a while! Since the reputation of Lucrezia Borgia is certainly more notorious than the woman, herself, it was fascinating to get a glimpse (however much fictional license was admittedly taken) of a more human/inhuman person. The time period, chain of global events and relgious history are all of great interest to buffs such as myself and author Faunce vividly colors his characters, their crimes and the world in which they exist. I was happily surprised by all the twists and turns...both fictitious and actual.

This work is reminiscent of Maragaret George's fantastic THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HENRY VIII and I recommend it to anyone interested in an absorbing read about the infamous Borgia family.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific, surprising read!
Review: I was skeptical when I bought this book, because I had read Mario Puzo's THE FAMILY, which is about the Borgias, and had liked it very much. However, John Faunce paints a much bolder, more entertaining vision of the Borgia's Vatican court. Obviously, I knew the work of a living writer has an advantage over a posthumous, cobbled-together book, even if it is by a great novelist. Still, I was really blown away by Faunce's powers of description, sly humor and snappy dialogue.

It's also notable that this is a novel written by a male writer, told in the voice of a young woman. I was also skeptical about this aspect of the book, but again was won over by the skillful writing. Faunce's Lucrezia is passionate, complicated and very intelligent, but also self-deprecating and knowledgeable about her own flaws and those of her family (and they are some mighty big flaws). Her relationship with her father is portrayed very realistically, and her romances with her husbands are believable in a way that I don't normally find in historical novels of today. The author also has a great eye for detail that makes the setting come to life in an almost cinematic way.

Overall this is a very entertaining, fast-paced and well-crafted read. It did not disappoint at all. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE
Review: If I could give this book less than one star, I would, and gladly. I can't say enough about the vulgarity, lack of intelligence, or overdoing of discombobulated quotes shown in this book. I do not mind reading a book that takes a little license with a character, but the vulgarity and (this is a word I almost always shy away from) blasphemy used in this book are ridiculous! Even being a person who doesn't regularly attend church, the blasphemy of the main character imagining Jesus Christ in sexual acts, very explicitly, is something that entirely disgusts! The fact that this is the first book by a writer who is otherwise a screenwriter should have tipped me off, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and was proven wrong. This author needs to stick to bad screenplays, and readers need not waste their time with this horrifying example of bad writing.

Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE
Review: If I could give this book less than one star, I would, and gladly. I can't say enough about the vulgarity, lack of intelligence, or overdoing of discombobulated quotes shown in this book. I do not mind reading a book that takes a little license with a character, but the vulgarity and (this is a word I almost always shy away from) blasphemy used in this book are ridiculous! Even being a person who doesn't regularly attend church, the blasphemy of the main character imagining Jesus Christ in sexual acts, very explicitly, is something that entirely disgusts! The fact that this is the first book by a writer who is otherwise a screenwriter should have tipped me off, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and was proven wrong. This author needs to stick to bad screenplays, and readers need not waste their time with this horrifying example of bad writing.

Rating:
Summary: Lucrezia Borgia
Review: John Faunce has written a clever and in many respects realistic depiction of a highly controversial historic figure. Through his book one could learn an estimable degree about Latin, the Borgias, the political climate of the high Renaissance, literature, and disfunctional families. His pen has turned Lucrezia into an inspirational yet human figure. I think that she would weep for its truth, and smile for its humanity. John Faunce's writing is analytical and his sequence is seamless. Read the book!

Rating:
Summary: A creative re-telling
Review: Lucrezia Borgia is one of those historical characters about whom so little is known, historians and novelists can take lots of poetic license. Lucrezia was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia and his mistress; when Rodrigo was elected Pope the mistress was banished but Lucrezia and her golden brother Cesare were installed at the Papal court. Italy at the time was a muddle of warring city states and shifting alliances, and the Pope was no different from any other powerful ruler of the time, except that he had the power of of forgiveness of sins and excommunication. Now known as Alexander VI, the Borgia pope did not hesitate to use all means at his disposal--spiritual threats, Papal wealth, his children--to engage in a constant struggle to extend his realm. Whether Lucrezia was an active participant or a mere pawn in this exercise has been a subject of fierce debate, but Faunce takes the more sympathetic view. His Lucrezia is beautiful and smart, but her fatal flaw is her inability to disentangle herself emotionally from her brother and father. Given many chances to kill her evil brother, each time she hesitates; she refuses to acknowledge the obvious about her father, that he is the mastermind behind his son's barbaric exploits. Faunce's Lucrezia struggles to understand God's will in the midst of the bloody turmoil of Italy at the time.
Faunce freely plays with historical facts to create a blameless Lucrezia--she is faithful to her husbands, even loving two of the three of them; she murders only at the direction of her father; she is innocent of charges of incest. The one time she kills with intent, Faunce makes us feel it is totally justified.
I found this book fascinating in its historical detail, its picture of an unbelievably cruel and bloody world, in its portrait of the papacy. But the book also has an overwrought quality--the constant references to the Greek and Roman classics, allusions to ancient philosophers, footnotes that do little to clarify a thought. And the tortured vocabulary and sentence structure at times just get in the way. But the novel--and but for the barebones names and dates, pure fiction it is--is entertaining and a fast read.

Rating:
Summary: Is There A Copyeditor In The House?
Review: Please don't let this author write again without one!

The book is riddled with spelling and grammar errors (even my seventh-grade daughter knows that you don't seize a horse's "reigns"), but it's the anachronisms that really set my teeth on edge. I'm not an expert in 14th-century language, but I'm willing to bet that the words "spiffy" and "sappy" weren't in common use at that time. And how Lucrezia could refer to someone's utterance as a "malapropism" when the literary character on whose name the term is based didn't exist until the 1800s is beyond me.

What ultimately made this book unreadable for me, though, was the tortured prose. An example: "...these notions became an obsessive sequence of water buckets that I was throwing on my passion's wildfire." This isn't even necessarily the worst example-just the one that occurs on the page where I finally had to give up trying to wade through the book.

Rating:
Summary: Is There A Copyeditor In The House?
Review: What is more fascinating than a sinning Pope? Perhaps their children - the very definition of dysfunctional families. It doen't take long to realize that Lucrezia is mearly a 'thing' and a doll to play with to both her father, Pope Alexander VI,and her brother, but is Alexander and her brother Cesare Borgia truely capable of love for her, or only love for what she can bring them? The unraveling relationship between these three people and their roles in the Vatican and Rome are absolutley scandalous, but by the end of the book, you'll find yourself cheering for Lucrezia, and her neice, Little Lucrezia, and wishing you were there to witness the greusome deaths of Alexander and Cesare. Although at times the wording is a bit lofty and the Greek a little confusing, the comparision of the Holy Papacy to the Pagan Ancient Greece has a subtle irony and humor, and Lucrezia's life amazing, showing a strong woman faced with remakable circumstances. Definately a keeper, but lend it to a friend to read to!