The Birth of Venus

A Novel

By: Sarah Dunant

Narrated by: Kathe Mazur

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family's Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter's abilities.

But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra's parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola's reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra's married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art.

The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain's most innovative writers of literary suspense. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.

©2004 Sarah Dunant (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Arresting tale of art, love and betrayal....Dunant's vivid, gripping novel gives fresh life to a captivating age of glorious art and political turmoil." (Publishers Weekly)
"Lush and intellectually gripping novel....This is a beautifully written and captivating work." (Booklist)
"The imaginative energy of the enterprise is clearly warmblooded, playful, even reckless....Dunant puts me in mind of a well-fed cat, quick-witted house cat, crouched before the mouse hole of history. She's not that hungry, but she will pounce upon whatever emerges, just for the fun of chasing is all over the house." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Sterlin invokes excitement in hushed tones and invites one to reflect on poignant moments. Both Dunant and Sterlin catch the excitement of this important period in history." (AudioFile)

Romantic story about art and Florence

Didn’t want it to end. Loved the combination of history and art in Florence. Well read.

Like you're in the story

The life and the political history of Florence come alive as you experience Alissandra's life. You feel her lust for independence, thwarted by the confines of her society, and also her frustration to learn and further her passion for painting. Was hard to stop listening so I could go
about my day in this world!

Stay with it.

It took a second try to become absorbed in this story . Initially it seemed strange and slow, not up to the caliber of Sarah Dunant's other books.Ive enjoyed. However she gradually pulls you into the life of Alessandra and her search for a life of meaning and discovery while her world tumults and the arts undergo transformation .

Great Listen

I loved this book from the very beginning till the end. The storyline, as well as the beautiful expression of thought and feeling pulled me inside the life of Alessandra and I could not wait to see what would happen next. I loved the narrrator's reading of the story too. While she did not get overly dramatic, the characters were clearly distinguishable and I could feel the emotions being played out in her tone of voice.
The book tells the story of an Italian girl coming of age during the end of the 15th century in Florence, Italy. She is a regular girl many of us can relate to from our own lives. It made me think of what my life would have been like, had I been born during those times.

Remarkable subject matter -- successful execution

While I agree that the narrator had significant deficiencies, the story was compelling enough to overlook her difficulties with some rather complex characters and dialects. The story is a fantastic brocade of art, history, and substantial character development. All of the characters make decisions that are unrealistic at times based on motives difficult to comprehend, but the story as a whole still holds together well. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning about Italian art in the Medici era from a very different point of view and hearing a remarkable love story at the same time.

Artfully Imagined History - Poetically Crafted

I first read this book in hardcover years ago and it's been a favorite from the very first page. Sarah Dunant has a gift for diving into earlier centuries and drawing those characters into modern comprehension while seducing the reader into a time warp of another place and time - taking them on a historic adventure of art, history, politics, religion, love, strife, and life. Every word is a delicacy to savor. The journey is unforgettable. I love the Audible version. kathe Mazur's narration is sublime.

Great Read!

If you could sum up The Birth of Venus in three words, what would they be?

Good story well told.

Which character – as performed by Kathe Mazur – was your favorite?

Alessandra

Any additional comments?

SPOILER ALERT!
I was pretty sure even before I started listening, the painter would be Michelangelo. It was fun to be right.

Added enjoyment to my vacation in Florence.

I really enjoyed the look into the lives of the flooring time people that can the day of the genius artists.

I was not ready for it to be over!

So good! we'll written and we'll performed. The story of a strong willed woman ahead of her time making her way through a world far from designed for her. I highly recommend :)

Well crafted and informative

Helped me understand the dynamics of the times. Good story line that made me want to continue without stopping. Narrator voice was soothing but I do agree with some readers that everyone, male and female, tended to sound alike and it made me have to listen harder.