TITLE: In The Company of the Courtesan
AUTHOR: Sarah Dunant
STARTED: June 13, 2010
FINISHED: June 28, 2010
PAGES: 371
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor's army blew a hold in the wall of God's eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] Dunant's latest historical romp follows the fortunes of a beautiful, flame-haired courtesan, Fiammetta Bianchini, who, after escaping from the 1527 pillage of Rome, sets up shop in Venice. The novel, narrated by Fiammetta's servant, a dwarf, chronicles the pair's horrific scrapes and their dizzying triumphs, which include Fiammetta's becoming Titian's model for his "Venus of Urbino." Along the way, Dunant presents a lively and detailed acccount of the glimmering palaces and murky alleys of Renaissance Venice, and examines the way the city's clerics and prostitutes alike are bound by its peculiar dynamic of opulence and restraint.THOUGHTS: You know, the fact the title of this book was In The Company of The Courtesan, I probably should have known that it would not be told from the courtesan's perspective. The fact that the narrator and main character is the courtesan's dwarve companion should have been more obvious to me. Whoops. That's what I get for not paying attention. Oh well. Dunant's book was still a fun read, but not as engaging as The Birth of Venus.
What I appreciated most about Dunant's work is the way she develops the characters and the setting. For this book to work, the reader has to believe that Fiammetta and Bucino have been together for ages. Dunant throws you into the story and lets the past narrative unfold with the present timeline... and it works. I never felt like the characters were forced together to suit Dunant's needs. The relationship between the main characters was so realistic, I would have no trouble developing a connection to their story. This is the second of Dunant's novels that I have read and, just as with The Birth of Venus, I truly enjoyed spending time with all of the characters in the book.
A prostitute and her dwarf would make for an entertaining story on their own, but Dunant includes characters who surprised me. Some characters who I thought would be cast-offs became major players, and characters set-up to be plot changers disappear off the page without much impact. It doesn't matter what their role in the book was, all of the characters are richly created and none of them seemed forced into the scene.
Dunant also excels at bringing her setting to life. Here, Venice leaps off the page - in all its smelly glory. Dunant writes the true grossness of Venice's lesser neighborhoods with the same detail and vivacity as the glittering homes on the Grand Canal. Dunant's stories often rely on pieces of art as their muse, and she paints a vivid picture in the reader's mind. As with her other works, I would love to see this book handed over to a cinematographer.
If you decide to read this book, I recommend for the writing style and characters. The plot of the story is not overly unique or inventive, but it's a good book nonetheless. Just know one thing, the cover of the this book and the blurb on the book are misleading - the story is so much more complex and compelling than advertised.
RATING: 7/10 [Very Good]
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