Customer Reviews

I, Mona Lisa

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After having loved "The Borgia Bride" by Jeanne Kalogridis, I was looking forward to "I, Mona Lisa" with high expectations and was delighted to pour through this wonderful novel filled with historical fact blended with innovative fiction, and twists and turns galore. Set in Florence in the 1490s, the novel tells the story of Madonna Lisa, the woman behind Leondardo DiVinci's masterpiece. The story is a clever and romantic possibility of the reason behind that famous smile (or lack thereof?).

If you enjoy historical fiction, "I, Mona Lisa" and "The Borgia Bride" are two examples of the genre at its finest: wonderful character development, rich plots, a studied knowledge of the place, times and characters (you will recognise famous historical figures throughout both novels), a careful weaving of fact and fiction, and just enough twists and turns to keep the modern reader both interested and engaged. I highly recommend both novels!

P.S. DO NOT READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK PRIOR TO READING IT!!!! Whomever wrote the blurb on the back of this novel certainly didn't want the readers to be shocked about one of the interesting plot-twists more than halfway through the novel. If you want to be surprised and enjoy this book to its fullest, I highly recommend NOT reading the back of the book!

Ms. Kalogridis has hit her stride - she makes historical characters come to life - while her The Borgia Bride showed the Borgias in Rome, Mona Lisa shows a different prospective around the same time in Florence. A time of the Medicis, Savonarola, Leonardo. I, Mona Lisa introduces us to the real Mona Lisa, who is the daughter of a wool merchant. When she marries a Medici, becomes embroiled in the turmoil of the time - The main influence of the time was Savanarola - talk about your mad monk - his words crumble Florence - This book makes history come to life. Kalogridis is an amazing writer. She doesn't crank books out every six months, she creates a full picture of whatever era she is writing about, and it's worth the wait. I have been a fan of Kalogridis since the old vampire days (her family Dracul is a must read for fans of Dracula). She is a gracious lady who deserves every accolade she gets. Keep 'em coming Jeanne!

The real history of the Italian Renaissance needs little doctoring to make it an engrossing topic - it's full of intrigue, warring families, corrupt Papal power mongers, astonishing wealth and poverty, poisonings, artistic and scientific creativity and amazing beauty. Kalogridis has a wonderful knack for selecting delectible real stories, conducting meticulous research, and then using her pen to write in the missing (possible) personal pieces with results that are a gift to read.

The story she created for "I, Mona Lisa" fills in the blanks behind the secretive smile that has captured the imaginations of millions. The outrageous real events of the time (the Pazzi conspiracy & murders; Savonarola and his priest posse; the corrupt Borgia papacy, etc) are a no-fail back drop for this enthralling story of a love-struck wool merchant's daughter who becomes a political pawn caught up in the espianoge swirling around the Medici, Pazzi and the Church.

The story of Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, the name of the woman believed to be the sitter for Leonardo da Vinci's most famous portrait, follows a familiar formula. We meet her as a young teen and with her witness several traumatic events which fuel her adolescent angst and rebellion against her father. This merchant's daughter manages to capture the eye and then the heart of a Medici prince, and her wiley slave helps her plot to follow her heart. Suddenly bad things happen, danger lurks, and the plot becomes sinister and suspenseful... Lisa takes foolish risks, and then more bad things happen... you just keep turning pages and losing sleep! I won't ruin the ending... but follow the formula. In this light, Kalogridis has not accomplished anything new, but she has certainly excelled at bringing this formula to life!

The joy of this book is Kalogridis' ability to paint such an alive picture of the fear, suspense & political intrigue of Florence during the end of Lorenzo the Magnificent's reign and the subsequent oppressive rule of Savonarola (read "April Blood" by Lauro Martines or watch the "The Medici: God Fathers of the Renaissance" DVD set to compare her story with historical fact). Those who have visited Florence will appreciate the detail with which she describes the buildings and layout of the city - you will re-visit as you read.

Some reviewers have categorized "I, Mona Lisa" as a historical romance. I respectfully disagree - the romantic interest of Lisa may be the force which drives her survival under the circumstances of the story, but the political intrigue of the time is the theme which dominates. Regardless, both history buffs & romantics will be satisfied by the plentiful supply of accurate facts AND unrequitted love that remains alive in the most hopeless of circumstances.

Keep writing, Ms. Kalogridis - I will keep reading!

(I highly recommend "The Borgia Bride" by Jeanne Kalogridis as well - I believe I enjoyed that even more than this one!)

I really liked this book, I thought it was very entertaining and a fast read even though it was 515 pages. The story was good enough for the pages to just fly by. I have to admit being a guy though, I think women will definitely enjoy this book more than men. To me I would describe this book as one in which women would enjoy reading and including in their book clubs. I enjoy historical fiction and having been to Paris and seen the Mona Lisa, I thought this would be an interesting read. I was right, it certainly was.

This book gave the reader a pretty good idea what it would have been like to be a well-born upper class woman living in Florence during the 15th-century. I felt the author did a great job researching this era in history. The historical facts she presented in the story flowed well, made sense and enhanced the story.

Why did I only give this book four stars? Yes, there were really suspenseful moments the book where I couldn't wait to turn the page, but when I finished the book I just didn't have that "Wow...that was a great book!" type of feeling that I have had with other books. Secondly for some reason I thought all along Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da Vinci were being forced into the story rather than the story surrounding them. To me that made the characters less believable. Mona Lisa and Leonardo just weren't that believable to me. But the plot inself was great! I hope that makes sense.

The last thing I want to say is very important if you are thinking of buying and reading this book: DO NOT READ THE BACK OF THE COVER. This was another reason I only gave it four stars. If you read it you will lose a lot of suspense because it gives away a major event in the book. This was a big-time mistake that took a lot of suspense away from the book.

This tale is set against the turbulent backdrop of late 15th century Florence.

Through the eyes of Lisa di Antonio Gherardini Giocondo, we meet the Medici, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, feast on the Florentine Renaissance and then experience the puritanical turbulence of Girolamo Savanarola (including the Bonfire of the Vanities).

The story itself, though, is an intricate tale of Lisa's life complete with elements of love, high drama, betrayal and loss.

'People kill and die because they cannot control their emotions'

Whether you read this novel as pure fiction or would like it to be plausible explanation, enjoy the story. While I read it as escapist fiction, I enjoyed the writing and became caught up in the possibilities explored.

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Note: This review was first posted on 25 July 2006 for 'Painting Mona Lisa' - the title under which this book was published in Australia.

I enjoyed Kalogridis' "The Borgia Bride" and thought that I would try another of her novels. While "Borgia" is everything I love about historical fiction, "I, Mona Lisa" is everything I love about historical fiction... and then some. I was blown away by the depth of detail Kalogridis uses when describing everything from the characters' clothing to the brush strokes on da Vinci's most famous work.

The author attempts to create a backstory for the painting of the Mona Lisa surrounding the oft-debated subject of the painting, Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, in the midst of the Pazzi conspiracy and the terror inspired by Savonarola.

I often find that historical fiction enhances what I already know about history-- this novel taught me a great deal about Renaissance Florence. The political and religious intrigue were fascinating and the circular nature of the narrative was pleasing to read.

Some readers may be disappointed that the book is not more about the paintings of da Vinci (like "Girl With a Pearl Earring" was about Vermeer's). However, if you read this with an open mind-- I believe you will discover that it encompasses the very best of historical fiction. The setting could not be more intriguing, the characters more vivd and controversial, and the story more compelling.

If you enjoy reading authors like Philippa Gregory or Tracy Chevalier, you will love this book!

Kalogridis' novel is not for the faint of heart or anyone who wants a "quick light read." It is, however, an enjoyable journey into the heart of Medici Florence.

The story is told from the point of view of the subject of the Mona Lisa painting, beginning with her childhood, and progressing through her adult life. During the course of the story "Madonna Lisa" comes in contact with many of the "big names" of the Renaissance -- Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Lorenzo de Medici, etc. The actual plot line is overall interesting and flows smoothly, although there are a few places where Kalogridis gets caught up in the details and the story drags down.

Overall, I'd highly recommend the book to anyone who is looking for a good picture of Medici Florence, presented in an engaging and entertaining manner!

This is an excellent and imaginative historical re-creation, full of accurate period detail. Since the "real" Mona Lisa is such a shadowy figure, there's plenty of room for the author to invent a plausible history for her. Much of what Kalogridis invents IS plasuible, but toward the end of the book the plots twists not only become unbelievable-- they also do violence to everything we know about certain historical characters, in particular Leonardo da Vinci, but Giuliano de' Medici as well. No matter how often romantic novelists try to re-write Leonardo's personal history, his total lack of interest in women is historical fact. The same could be said about remodeling Giuliano de' Medici into some sort of paragon of virtue; his reputation as an irresponsible playboy is equally based on contemporary sources. The latter part of the book would have been better if the author had remained truer to what we know about these historical figures. Nonetheless, it's an absorbing and worthwhile read.

Over time I've come to realize that historical fiction, while usually worth the read when you find a good author, takes a lot to get into, more sometimes than just good fantasy or sci-fi. It's all the set-up, the backstory. You can't just jump into the middle of the person's life and figure things out as it goes. There's people and places and traditions to set-up that make understanding the story easier, but with historical fiction you don't just find them out. They're almost need-to-knows at the beginning.

That said, once I get into a good historical lit story, I almost always have trouble putting it down. I, Mona Lisa was no different. I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I love Jeanne Kalogridis. I had pretty high expectations going into this story because of her previous works and in the beginning (the first 50 pages or so) I really though I was going to be disappointed. I was wrong. Once it got going, it was a fantastic read.

The story, if you can tell from the title follows the story of the woman who was Mona Lisa - Lisa Gherardini. In this story, she's the daughter of a local wool merchant, and trapped by violence on both sides of her life and surrounded in the controversy of the Medici family. Her moments with Leonardo are pretty special, especially later as those moments are far between and during a very turbulent time in Florence. Hey, it might not be true, but Kalogridis writes it all so well, that it sounds like it could be.

If the sign of a good read is thinking about it when you are not reading it than this book is five stars. At times this book suffered from far too much background detail; however it ended far too quickly. If you read Borgia Bride and enjoyed it (raced through it like I did) you may find I Mona Lisa less intense and powerful. Three ½ stars.