Customer Reviews

The Book of Unholy Mischief: A Novel

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's 1498, and the Renaissance is at its height in the city-states of Italy. Savonarola has just been executed in Florence, and Rodrigo Borgia is Pope Alexander VI in Rome. And half of Europe is in a race for dominance across the Atlantic in the New World. Venice is the home for a convergence of cultures in the Mediterranean, allowing its residents to experience foods never before seen in Europe (including the supposedly poisonous "love apple").

Luciano is a homeless Venetian street urchin, forced to live hand-to-mouth and to steal in order to survive. One stolen pomegranate and Luciano finds himself as the apprentice to the chef of the doge, the secular head of Venice. When the doge (not named here, but probably Agostino Barbarigo) poisons a peasant in the palace's dining room, Luciano embarks on a search for a highly-prized book that holds secrets that many powerful people will kill for. But what are those secrets?

Venice comes to life in this vibrant novel. The author has clearly done her research; you feel as though you're walking the streets of the old, decaying city; and the reader never quite shakes off the feeling that danger and evil are luring around each corner.

Food is also described in deep detail in this novel, though the author may have attached too much significance to its impact on the story. There are also a couple of anachronisms (tomatoes weren't introduced to Europe until forty years after this story takes place, and even then they were only used as table decorations until the 18th century). Still, the author has a wonderful way with words and a turn of phrase that's just as magical as the book described within. This is the kind of book that will make you think about it long after you've finished reading the last page. I really hate The Da Vinci Code comparisons, but The Book of Unholy Mischief is much more sophisticated, layered, and intelligent than that book.

I keep thinking about this book, even after I've been done with it for a week or two. It reminded me, in style, of those richly told fables I read growing up. Remember the "Fairy" Books? The Yellow Fairy Book, The Blue Fairy Book, etc.? It also reminded me, visually, of the Golden Compass trilogy. Close your eyes after each "episode" and see it all again - vividly worded! There is intrigue around across every plaza, in every market stall and over every bridge in Venice. Set in 15th Century Venice during the time of the Borgias as Pope and holy terror. We experience the tale through the eyes of a young orphan boy, Luciano. Serendipity (or was it?) plucks him off the streets and into the kitchen of the highest official in the Venetian court to apprentice to his chef. Filled with court intrigue and warmed by the presence of the Maestro Chef and his Dickensian apprentice, this book will have you reaching for an amaretto cookie, a capuccino and maybe even subconsciously muttering Dio! because all is not as it seems in the great palace, especially in the kitchen. In the midst of preparing meals, that may or may not change the course of history, Venice abounds with rumors of alchemy and secret gospels that hold the key to life and death, power and wealth beyond dreams. And does the Maestro's food have anything to do with this? Does is contain secret, forbidden ingredients? Luciano keeps his eyes open and his brain in high gear as he joins in the search with his own ulterior motive - to make a young novice, Francesca with the face of an angel, love him forever. The plot thickens with each new piece of information. Is there a secret society of Guardians, passing the keys of alchemy through history? Who are the Guardians? Are they soldiers? Perhaps. Or, perhaps they are tucked away elsewhere in the palace court? Where do the pages of these unholy gospels with the keys to alchemy reside? A rich, luxurious read. You should curl up with a latte and this beautiful book and let yourself be whisked away to Venice - you'll love the journey.

From the first moment of beginning to read this book I knew it would captivate me, my attention and my imagination. Elle Newmark has written a book which was simply a marvel for me to read. Venice of 1498 is so alive that I could smell the good and the bad aromas described here, I heard the sounds, I felt the pricklings of unease over the actions of evil men. The story is told through the orphan boy Luciano who survives by picking through the garbage left to rot in the gutters. Luciano, Marco and Domingo are the three friends who protect each other and look after each other to the best of their young abilities. All three lives are marked by the political events taking place in Venice and the search for the magic book. Some say there is more than one book and that they contain the formula for a love potion, or perhaps the method for turning lead into gold, or even, the secret of immortality.

When the chef in the palace of the doge of Venice spots Luciano stealing a pomegranate in the market square he is taken from his familiar world of petty thievery into a place of luxury unlike anything he ever knew existed. The main question Luciano has is, why? Why has the maestro chosen him? What does the maestro want him to do? When these questions are asked, the answers don't always satisfy Luciano but he begins to learn, slowly, ever so slowly, that the maestro only wants him to be better than he ever knew he could be.

This book is so richly written that it almost defies description for me. There were times when the preperation of a meal was described so beautifully that I found myself salivating. When the layers of political intrigue in 15th century Italy are revealed in their horrendous cruelty I experienced the horror of men being beastly to men. Times when Luciano would finally comprehend what lesson Chef Ferrero was trying to teach him in the story he told or the food he prepared made me rejoice for that young boy grasping a lesson to hold on to for the remainder of his life.

I loved it all. The food which could be used to influence men from one course of action to another. The search for the mysterious book that meant something different to each person who sought it. The secret group of men who were willing to sacrifice their very lives to protect what had been encoded and handed down within the books for their safekeeping. And through it all, the wonderful evocative prose that put me there, in those streets, in that house, in that kitchen, on that balcony, in that torture chamber. Whether it was a pleasant experience or not doesn't matter. Experience it I did. I highly recommend this book. It is filled with history, pathos, charm, excitement and above all else, a gratitude to the teachers. And the truly exciting part is, this book shows that each of us is or can be a teacher.

This book was previously released under the title "Bones of the Dead" in 2007. I really like this new title and the cover picture of the figs is entirely representative of fresh fruit which would have been available at the street markets in Venice. Both were good decisions from my perspective.

Perhaps I approached "The Book of Unholy Mischief" with expectations that were too high. Only about the first third of the book held my interest as we are introduced to a group of young orphans who are trying to survive the brutal conditions of life on the street in Venice, circa 1498. The kids spend most of their time trying to scrounge or steal their next meal. Without family, money, or education it's a hopeless existence.

Luciano, the protagonist, hits the career lottery one day when Chef Ferrero plucks him from the street and installs him as a kitchen apprentice in the Doge's palace. But the Chef, who has two young daughters, is really looking for a boy he can train to one day take his place in a secret society which call themselves The Guardians.

The Guardians have the self imposed task of preserving all manner of knowledge, from the Gnostic Gospels to celestial physics. Each member of the group inherits a book of knowledge, adds to it through this lifetime, and then passes it on to his successor.

Meanwhile, there are rumors floating around about a secret book of knowledge. Everyone wants to get their hands on it. The Doge believes it contains a charm for eternal youth; the street urchins believe it has an alchemy formula to turn dross into gold; the Pope wants it because he believes it contains lost teachings that could lessen the grip of the Church on the populace; and the average citizen would like to find it just to collect the huge rewards offered by the Doge and the Pope.

It's hard to get interested in the two main characters. They seem shallow. At every opportunity Chef Ferrero is pontificating about something or other as he tries to train Luciano in both cooking and advanced philosophy and science. Luciano comes across as a well meaning, but not too bright 14 year old. The kid is more intent on his impossible love interest, a lovely young cloistered novice; his best friend from the streets, Marco; and a cat named Bernardo. Given his priorities, Luciano makes a lot of aggravating decisions.

"The Book of Unholy Mischief" seems to deal endlessly with food - occasionally the descriptions even sound good. There are seeming inconsistencies between the time period and the things the Chef knows and does. For example, he keeps a vegetable garden full of New World foods like tomatoes and potatoes a scant six years after Columbus' first voyage. OK, but he's also making and serving "Love Apple Soup" to the Doge and his guests. Wouldn't it be worth his life (or at least his job) to be serving his patron experimental dishes with ingredients most of Europe considered poisonous?

Ultimately, I thought the novel contained too many elements that take the reader out of the story. More than once I found myself putting it aside because the bland characters and the time period inconsistencies were too aggravating. It was a struggle to get through the book. Judicious editing could have pruned at least 100 pages and made this a better read.

ISBN 1416590544 - A recipe for The Book of Unholy Mischief: A little Oliver Twist, for the child pickpockets, a bit of The Da Vinci Code, for the secret that could destroy The Church, and way too much Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy, for the really-really-really boring food strewn throughout. Set it during the Renaissance and top with things that just didn't happen during the Renaissance. Viola!

Luciano, as an adult, tells the story of his childhood and his introduction to a secret group whose sole reason for being is to preserve knowledge. One of many children living on the streets of Venice, Luciano has two friends, one cat and a huge crush. He doesn't have enough to eat or a warm place to sleep until he is taken in, inexplicably, by the chef of the doge. He's not aware why he was chosen, but he appreciates the room and board that comes with his apprenticeship and he shares some of his good fortune with his friends on the street while he considers what becoming a chef might mean for his future with the lovely Francesca. When rumors begin to circulate about a mysterious book, all of Venice searches for it, in the hope of claiming one of several large rewards. Many will kill for what they think is in the book; others will gladly give their lives to protect what they know is in it - and Luciano finds himself having to decide where his loyalties lie.

The food references were enough to bore me to sleep, seriously. I get the whole food metaphor thing, but the reader won't really see that tie for a long time - and by then, the food has been overdone and then some. It's an interesting idea, but then it's beaten to death. Newmark actually makes part of this case herself, when she has Luciano trying to create his own recipe: it's the balance of the right ingredients that makes a story great. This is a good story, but it's weighted down, at times, by the food. The language seems wrong for the times, and everyone from the wealthy men to the street tough boys speaks in a very feminine voice, which is disconcerting.

The real faults in the book are factual. The author seems to have done some poor research: (1) tomatoes were not eaten in 1498 and were called "love apples" in America in the 1700s, not in Italy (2) pistols were invented about 1540 (3) the first mention of the Iron Maiden in actual history is 1793 (4) the fork is mentioned in the bible but the author's given the Italians credit for the creation of it circa 1498 (5) Torquemada's call to Venice is questionable since he died in 1498 at the age of 78 - making him likely either too old or too dead to be good at his job anymore (6) there is no Bridge of Sorrows but there is a Bridge of Sighs where the "Bridge of Sorrows" is said to be, connecting the prisons to the Doge's Palace - but it was built in 1600.

I hope Newmark sticks with it and takes another shot at the genre, because she's got the story, she's just got to put the next one together a little better. (the copy I've read is an ARC and details might have changed before it was printed, just FYI)

- AnnaLovesBooks

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark could not hold my interest for long, and I quit half way through. There seems to be a flood of novels being published over the past few years since the Da Vinci Code phenomenon, about lost relics or lost books. Some good, most bad. The book market with this theme is getting flooded and way overdone and that fact alone is making it difficult to find one done well. This novel in my opinion was another bad one. My main disappointment with this novel was that although the story takes place in Renaissance Venice, I did not in any way shape or form feel I was there. Where are the canals and gondolas? Where are the lavish waterfront homes, oppulent costumes, masks, and either vividly portrayed wealthy or peasant characters to pull you in to the narrative. I didnt find any hero, or wicked bad guy to give the story some flair that would help me to turn more pages. The whole first half of the book takes place in a kitchen, and it does not give you any feel of Renaissance history what so ever. Unholy Mischief revolves around the fortunate rescue of a street urchin named Luciano, who is plucked from his orphan gutter and delivered into the hands of a well to do respectable chef to be his apprentice for reasons uknown. I found the first half of the book rather simply written, in a possible destined-for-Disney films manner. In fact it did read like a young adult childrens novel with cartoon like players. I was expecting a much more serious Venetial historical novel and was disappointed in what I actually got. The characters were lifeless, uninteresting, and I didnt find anything about them appealing or endearing enough to keep moving through to the end. Most of the first sections are unecessary flashbacks of the lives of early Luciano and his savior chef, and I couldnt see that these extra passages were going to be overly relevant. In fact I saw them as filler. There is a bit of a mystery that gets introduced, the quest of all the local Venetians to find a lost book of secrets, magic and alchemy, but even that aspect I thought was presented so lightheartedly that I didnt care to finish the book to find out what secrets this mysterious book held. If you enjoy a mindless, silly and light novel, and are not the type of reader to get too hung up in the background detail or historical fact, you might enjoy it more than I. If you are a fan of serious literary historical fiction I believe Unholy Mischief will fall flat for you and leave you wanting of something more sophisticated.

Orphaned street urchins Marco, Domingo and Luciano are desperate, scrappy and still hopeful as they navigate the brutal city streets of Venice. Together they steal food, evade punishment and sleep in alleys.

Then one day Luciano is found by his fairy godfather, a chef for the Venetian ruler or the doge. The chef inexplicably forces Luciano into the doge's palace where he is bathed, clothed and given honest labor in the doge's kitchen. The maestro, Chef Ferrero, introduces him to a life that Luciano has seen only from a distance. For the first time Luciano begins to dream of an existence beyond survival; his own home, a stable income, and a wife, the precious gorgeous Francesca with whom he has fallen in love from afar but who now may be within his grasp.

Infused with yearning and dreams Luciano begins to pick up on some oddities in the doge's household and most disturbingly in his mentor and surrogate father, Chef Ferrero. Many a guest does not survive a meal with the doge. Others do not act like themselves laughing hysterically or becoming easily sidetracked into a hazy rapport that obfuscates the real reasons behind their visit. Luciano sees these things and wonders. And Luciano sees something else. Chef Ferrero is hiding something.

The doge is looking for the secret to immortality. Others, more powerful and more ruthless, are searching for a text that will topple Rome as the center of political power. And behind the scenes there is Chef Ferrero, omnipresent, pulling their strings or heading them off at the pass? Luciano cannot decide.

The first half of the book swept me away as the author sets up the interrelationships and the mystery. I wanted to give this book five stars and I was sure I would. But as soon as the meat of the mystery is revealed I began to doubt the veracity of characters and context a bit more than could be swept under the natural "suspension of disbelief" that a reader grants the creator of a literary work.

The Gnostic Gospels play an important role in the action of the novel and frankly they are not all that. These works were not rejected by Ireneaus and his council because they contained valid truths that would undermine the Church. They were rejected because they were invalid misreadings that are not in keeping with the words of Christ as they are related in the Biblical Gospels. Those gospels we now read were not arbitrarily chosen by a bunch of rigid anti-intellectuals. They were chosen because their history and theological continuity are far more impressive than what is found in heretical texts. The men who compiled the New Testament that we now have were the intellectuals of the their time and they did have scholastic criteria they followed. Scholarship was not invented in the twentieth century and the notion of secret religious texts is a bit old for me.

But I could have forgiven it, since I so loved the characters. To my dismay the further I read the characterization began to fall apart for me. I began to lose more interest as the Chef spouts knowledge that he couldn't have known or which just sounds spurious. Would an Italian cook know about kangaroos in Australia? Could the "love apples" or tomatoes which are naturally tiny in the wilds of North America have been grown in his Italian garden and have undergone domestication to the point of being large enough to make some sauce? And would the doge eat such a dish? That fellow wanted immortality. Chancy vegetables may have been too much of a risk.

Also I was annoyed by the explanation of Christ's resurrection as a potential opium high while he was on the cross and made me think that Newmark needed to look at some religious scholarship. Whether you believe in Christ's divinity or not his quick death after only three hours on the cross is easily understood. He was flogged within an inch of his life with a cat of nine tails and then made to drag his cross through the city streets while his body was in shock and losing a lot of blood. This is not religious fancy, but historical fact.

Luciano never got any smarter and I just couldn't buy anyone going to their death, (and I won't tell you who,) for secular humanism. It is a pity that by moving the plot forward the beauty of the personal history of Luciano and Chef Ferrero, what they share in experience and the abundance that is promised, is lost. If you love historical fiction and a mystery, and you can forgive so many inaccuracies this is a pleasant novel. I hope in her next work Newmark hammers out the factual inconsistencies because an author so passionate about creating characters whose whose experiences and personalities harmonize and illuminate each other, and a writer who so loves the sensual side of life and is able to recreate it in another time period, that author has the power to create a work that leaves the reader absolutely heady. Reluctantly I give this novel a three star rating but I look forward to her next work and seeing how she is growing as a novelist.

The Book of Unholy Mischief is historical fiction with a mysterious twist. A street orphan in early-Renaissance Venice lucks into an apprenticeship in the kitchen of a high-ranking city official. The city is obsessed with finding a secret book rumored to contain the secrets to eternal life, everlasting love, and alchemy. Political intrigue ensues. Sumptuous descriptions of the city's markets, neighborhoods, and festivals, along with descriptions of the executive chef's dishes, comprise this books primary pleasures. There's not enough action to build much suspense, but you'll be so busy thinking about your next meal or planning a trip to Venice that you won't care. This is a nice airplane or vacation book when you don't want to worry about remembering complicated plot lines or deciphering a challenging writing style.

Alas, if only Ms. Newmark would take a class in character building. The book was interesting enough but really shallow in character development. Very predictable plot. Good read for a plane trip and just leave for another passenger to find. But, it is so disappointing that with the richness of her subject, place and characters Ms. Newmark just skimmed the surface and produced 372 large type pages when it could have been a jewel of a 1,000 pager if only it was written in a less commercial manner. I read it. I liked it. I was disappointed in it.

The year is 1498. The book tells the story of Luciano, a street urchin, who becomes an apprentice to the master chef of the doge of Venice and is unwittingly swept up in a life and death conspiracy surrounding a mysterious book. All of Venice is in search of this book that holds power--the lowliest citizens, the doge, the mysterious council of ten, the Venetian secret police, and even the Pope, himself.

Although the first fifty pages were a little slow for me, Newmark knows how to tell a tale. Once the background is out of the way and the setting is set, the journey is fast paced and electrifying. She brings together mystery, religion, philosophy, romance, and culinary arts together in a grand mélange and all the same captivates the reader.

I disagree with the characterization of this novel as being overly preachy or too food-centric in its descriptions. Newmark plates her novel adeptly and the food metaphors only add color to her descriptions. You can almost taste the chef's culinary creations, but you can also taste Venice itself. Newmark also has a gift for creating characters with real depth and for writing dialogue that rings true.

Comparisons may be odius, but given intrigue, the Catholic Church, and forbidden knowledge, it's hard not to think of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. This would be a mistake, as the two books are very different in character and premise. What I will say is that Dan Brown may have come up with some very interesting (yet quite fictional and heretical) notions about the Church, but that Newmark is a far better novelist. Brown may stir more controversy, but Newmark is the far more artistic and thoughtful writer. Newmark devotes less energy to describing her overall conspiracy, but the actual story she tells is better thought out and in many ways far more clever. She also knows how to end a book and tie in enough plot elements to make it satisfying. Brown's books tend to reach a climax only to crash land with a poorly thought out and rushed ending.

Some reviews seem downright irate about some anachronisms that arise in this book. (You can skip this entire paragraph if you are not interested in fact finding.) Many have pointed out that `love apples' (tomatoes) are out of place in this novel. Tomatoes originated in the highlands of the West coast of South America and probably didn't show up in Europe until the 1540s. But potatoes are also from the New World. The first Europeans to encounter the potato were likely the Spanish conquistadors, when they arrived in Peru in 1537. The vegetable probably didn't arrive in Europe until around 1570. The mysterious grain, Amaranth, comes up as well. If I am not mistaken, this is an Aztec grain and the Spanish did not come in contact with the Aztecs until 1519. There is also a mention of Luciano buying produce in kilos--the kilogram standard wasn't available by name until 1799. Luciano talks of wanting to go to the New World, but during the time period of the story there were no colonies there. Interesting though it may have seemed, the New World wasn't much of a destination or a place to start life anew in the late 1490s. And, if you want to criticize the cover, why are the figs set atop a book that is written in English? Everything in the novel happens in Italy. (Was this only in the 'preview' copy?)

Next on `Who Cares' you could probably find even more anachronisms if you went over the book with a fine toothed comb. I suppose that for some readers the appearance of these out of place items shows a callous disregard for historical integrity. But this is a novel not a historical reference book and quite frankly, for me, these lapses were small potatoes (err... pearl onions). I did enjoy the idea of the master chef adding mysterious ingredients to his culinary creations. Although not completely authentic, I rather liked the contrivances. (This may be a minority viewpoint--I did read far too much science fiction during my misbegotten youth. Perhaps, this has taken its toll and I have been tainted. But, for me, these lapses take away little from this well written novel.)

This is both a magnificently written novel and an intriguing mystery. One that left me wanting a sequel and awaiting Ms. Newmark's next novel. This would be a great book club book: it's a quick read, it is engaging, and it brings up a lot of interesting concepts.