Customer Reviews

Juliet: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This book is a somewhat entertaining modern day re-telling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, complete with warring families, a look at Italian history, and, of course, love. I have seen this book variously described as a love story, a historical novel, and a thriller, but it's not outstanding in any of these categories. For this reason, the book fell a bit short.

The story follows Julie Jacobs (aka Giulietta Tolomei) as she learns that her long- deceased mother left a treasure for her to find in Siena, Italy. This sets the stage for Julie's trip to Siena to follow clues in search of her family's great secret. The text alternates between Julie's modern day discoveries in Italy and the historical background of the story of Romeo and Juliet. The bits on the history of Romeo and Juliet were at times revealing and interesting, but a lot of it is really just a re-telling of a story that is already familiar. Julie's modern-day search through Siena for her mother's treasure is at times utterly captivating and fast-paced, but at other times began to fell flat. This seemed particularly true in the case of the romance that blooms for Julie during her search. It felt a bit silly and superficial. Julie's twin sister, Janice, is thrown in for comic relief, but mostly the pair of them squabbled and appeared to be years younger than the age of 25. In many areas it almost read like a teen novel.

In summary, there were chunks of this book that were exciting and interesting and without question lived up to the rave reviews I've read in magazines. But in many other areas the story fell flat. The different elements of the book (thriller, romance, historical fiction) were not terrific as stand-alone plot points, and were just not as tightly woven as they might have been. This uneven quality to the book earned it 3 stars.

In author Anne Fortier's debut novel, young Julie Jacobs is used to taking a back seat to her flamboyant twin, Janice. The girls were orphaned as babies and raised by their great-aunt, who took the path of least resistance in arbitrating their girlish squabbles. When Great-aunt Rose dies, she leaves her entire estate to Janice, with only a bank deposit key and vague story of a great treasure to console Julie. The key and the treasure story had been left by their long-dead mother, and the bank was in Italy.

So Julie, with nothing to lose, heads to Siena to check it out. She finds that her birth name was Giulietta Tolomei, and that her mother had left translations of 14th century manuscripts, and a code, and a claim that Julie was descended from the first Giulietta Tolomei: the girl Shakespeare later immortalized as Juliet. Our modern Julie learns of the old rivalries between two Sienese families, and the curse on both, and of missing artifacts. There is a ring, a banner, a dagger, friars from a 14-century order, and the promise of a golden statue of two figures marking the long-hidden grave of the young lovers. Julie's mission is to find her Romeo, and reunite with him to finally break the curse.

The story alternates between long passages telling the ancient story, and Julie's passionate relationship with Allesandro--Romeo. Her sister Janice joins her and the danger ramps up as the sisters close in on the prize. They can't depend on any friend or foe being who he seems to be. Harrowing scenes play out in the bone-filled crypts and ancient waterways far beneath the city of Siena, and in the Piazza del Campo where the historic Palio (horserace) is run.

This is a big book, and it's somehow neither one thing nor the other. I found the fictional old story fascinating, and I loved the romantic setting in Tuscany where memories are long and the events of six hundred years ago are still so alive in the buildings, the art, and the hearts of the people. The modern romance suffered in comparison, and the danger/thriller element was often implausible. The pacing could have been better and the book could probably have spared 100 pages and been tighter and better for it.

Still, Juliet was a great escapist experience and if you don't hate romances, you'll probably love this book. I enjoyed the audio edition, beautifully narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who should probably get an Audie Award for reading the entire 20 hours (16 of which would have been plenty) while never mixing up her voices and accents.

Linda Bulger, 2010

I wanted to love this book. The blurb had such promise--parallel tales of Romeo and Juliet in the 14th century and in modern times, with a mystery and a happy ending--how could it miss?

Oh, Lord.

The gist of the contemporary story is this: Julie Jacobs/Giuletta Tolomei is cut out of her Great Aunt Rose's will, as in, "Gee, sweetie, you're not inheriting jack. I'm leaving it all to your sister, but that's OK because here are some vague clues to a treasure that may or may not exist and that your parents might have been murdered for. Or not. Anyway, shug, you're out of the will, but the treasure's ALL yours. Have a good one. KTHXBAI." This alleged treasure is located in Siena, Italy where Julie/Giuletta and her twin sister Janice/Gianozza were born. BTW, Janice has been Julie's nemesis for all of their lives, and there are many flashbacks to the diabolical Janice doing stuff like tangling the ribbons of Julie's new pointe shoes (oh woe), reading her diary out loud and/or making much fun of her. Mwhahahaha!!! Go Janice!

Anxious to escape the vile Janice and ignoring the thousands of dollars she owes Visa and Mastercard already, Julie hies off to Italy in search of this treasure that may or may not exist and if it does, may or may not be worth anything. Being young and dumb and all, Julie stumbles around Siena for a while but hooray! Not only does she find her mother's intact safety deposit box after 20 some odd years of nobody paying rent for it, she's befriended by a member of the local gentry who loans her a bunch of designer clothes and shoes, since the airline lost her luggage. In addition, this fairy godmother just happens to have a handsome relative/hanger-on named Alessandro, who is so ready to get married and settle down and how lucky is it that ol' Jules is right there? Please bear in mind that everybody's known each other for about ten minutes. The borrowed clothes inspire Julie to get a complete makeover, the ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan and Alessandro is speechless with smittenness, overlooking Julie's incredible rudeness to everyone. Or maybe he's stupid. Or maybe the rudeness doesn't matter because they're not really her friends despite the ceremonial sharing of the clothes and shoes which just happen to fit, in which case it's convenient that Julie's godparents show up. Except they're not really much help.

Are you still with me? I promise I am not making this up. Take an aspirin if you need one, we're almost done.

Anyway, Julie gets bored with the hateyou/loveyou/hateyou/loveyou thing she's having with Alessandro, and gets serious about finding the treasure. She lands in some pretty big trouble (see young and dumb above). And then, woots! Janice shows up from across the world and not only saves the day, but expresses herself with some of the most bizarre language ever to come out of a straight character's mouth. But let's not be language snobs here. YAY for Janice and the twenty-five years of resentment and manipulation that turn out to be just a Big Misunderstanding! I knew it!

As if things can't get any weirder, Aunt Rose's faithful family retainer shows up and turns out to be... oh, never mind. This book is one hot mess of "If I had only knowns," non sequiturs, unaccountable incidents, inappropriate reactions and events manipulated to further the plot. It culminates in an eleventh hour rescue with no explanation of how such rescue came to take place. Julie/Giuletta finally gets her HEA after some fairly interminable explanations of plot points I'd quit caring about a hundred pages before, not to mention all the characters in two centuries who have the same names. It's exhausting.

What somewhat redeems Juliet is the 14th century tale. It's a hauntingly pure story, without being muddled by the 21st century Juliet's POV. If you're determined to read this book, my recommendation would be to skip the contemporary bits entirely. Ms. Fortier has a fine story-telling ability as evidenced in the historical tale, but should heed Strunk and White's advice to omit unnecessary words. A little common sense and some merciless editing would have been of great benefit to this book.

If only Juliet had been 250 pages, instead of 400 plus. There's so much padding and pointless embellishment, this reader gave up on trying to keep track of details that might become significant because there's SO MUCH STUFF in this book. Parts of it read like a travelogue (that's OK) and lots of it takes place inside Julie's head, which is a crazy-making place to be, given Julie's naivete, insecurities and awful judgment. Despite the promise of the complex plot, the rest of the contemporary characters never quite come to life, with one exception. I liked Janice once I got to know her, but I felt like I wasn't supposed to; see crazy-making, above. I can't help but think this would have been a much better book if the story had been told in the third person or better yet, from Janice's point of view.

I was disappointed by this book. I expected more academia and less "romance novel". I guess I was hoping for more Shakespeare which I didn't get. The premise was a good one and had it not fallen prey to the romance formula,it would have been more enjoyable. I would give it a C.

Most definitely not your everyday, over-done, boring rendition (sorry) of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Anne Fortier's Juliet brings to the table a whole new take on this well-known tragic love story!

Ok. So I am TOTALLY ASHAMED to say I have not read the famous Romeo & Juliet. Oh! It was required reading in high school, but my love for reading just hadn't developed yet and the wonky poetry and wacky wording was just a wee bit too much for me.

So, when presented with the opportunity to review Juliet as a part of Anne's Blog Tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotions, I jumped at the idea! I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was even a little apprehensive that Anne may have simply regurgitated the classic into a 21st century language and literary format.

Well, my dearest readers, you are in for a wonderful surprise! In an entirely fictional twist to that famous love-story, Fortier will lead you through the streets of Siena on an adventurous and emotional roller coaster of discovery in Juliet's quest for the truth. This author's talent for character development and setting description effectively open up a whole new world of fictional possibilities and events behind the "real" love story of Romeo and Juliet. Or, shall I say Romeo and Giulietta.

While the story itself is fictional, Anne Fortier shares with the reader plenty of wondrous places, events, people and histories surrounding Siena and its culture. Her knack for the descriptive makes it almost too easy for the reader to close his/her eyes and, with pure awe, visualize both historical and present day locales such as Palazzo Salimbeni or Palazzo Tolomei.

So, sit back, relax and open your heart and mind to the wonders of Siena, the dangers and suspense of Juliet's quest, and the full bodied adventure that Fortier has in store for you!

Actress, director, and teacher Cassandra Campbell presents an artful narration of this story of a young woman who discovers much from a long buried past. Campbell's voice is fresh, articulate, and a pleasure to hear. She speaks as if she is telling her story directly to the listener, almost in the form of a confidence - very effective. She has done numerous books on tape, documentaries, and commercials in both Italian and English. Today in addition to her acting and voice work she is on the faculty of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

Julie and Janice are twins, although very different - Julie being sweet, demure, rather quiet while Janice is outspoken, a bit strident. When their elderly Aunt Rose dies Janice receives the bulk of her estate and Julie must make do with a letter from her late mother telling her to go to Italy where she will make a wonderful discovery. Seems mother thought Julie was descended from Giulietta Tolomei - yes the Juliet of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet who lived in the 14th century.

So, although she's a bit leery of this whole situation Julie goes to Italy. Once in Sienna she discovers a box holding among other things the story of Giulietta Tolomei and Romeo Marescotti. As we know, these were actual historical figures upon whom Shakespeare based his story. Was Julie's mother's belief that Julie was a descendant of the ill-fated Juliet a possibility? Perhaps so, and that's when the skillful Fortier takes us on a journey segueing between the present and several centuries ago. She does this with both ease and lively dashes of humor.

As Julie searches for the truth about her family history she meets a cadre of folks including Alessandro, a handsome policeman, and a mysterious figure who pursues her through the streets of Sienna on a motorcycle.

There's never a dull moment in JULIET, which marks an auspicious debut by Anna Fortier.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

I love historical fiction and I so thought I would like this book. However, (sigh) it was just not what I expected. The story bogs down quite a bit as the protaganist goes to Italy to discover a treasure left to her from her mother. Once in Italy, diaries and notebooks are discovered in a safe deposit book. The notebooks send Julie Jacobs (actually christened Giulietta) delving into the story of Romeo and Juliet in 14th century Italy.

The stories in the notebooks are long and arduous and confusing. Different people from the past tell different stories and the stories lack cohesiveness and serve to only confuse the reader. After a muddled presentation from the past, the reader is returned to present day Italy where Julie is followed by a man with a gun, a man on a motorcycle, and encounters various other perilous predicaments.

The ending is ludicrous and begs credulity. The author definitely ties up all the loose ends but the ending is fraught with lack of believeability. Also, the characters are not that likeable. Julie has a twin sister, with whom she has never been close because the sister has always been very mean to her. By the end of the story, the twin sister, Janice, has become Julie's best friend and protector. There was no segue into how this happened. The strange about face has even Julie scratching her head and wondering how this is even possible. I wondered as well.

To sum it up, this is not a well done historical. There are too many characters, too much delving into the past that does not really lend to the present, and the ending is rather ludicrous. Glad when I finished and I have moved on to another book.

Like other reviewers, I read the first part of this book and thought it showed some promise. When I received it as a Christmas gift, I was anxious to dive in right away. Unfortunately, the early promise quickly melted away.

I could point out many small issues with the book, but most of the true problems with "Juliet" are overarching and permeate the entire book. The protagonist, Julie, is one of the flattest characters I have seen in a long time. There is nothing that would lead the reader to connect with her on a deeper level or root for her to succeed, other than the notion that we are obviously supposed to side with her as the protagonist. Her sister is equally a stock character, playing the role of the stereotypical "bad sister," and later the (SPOILER) reformed sister, to the hilt. To top off the cookie cutter nature of the novel, the sisters are orphans, living with a rich, somewhat mysterious aunt, and her even more mysterious butler. If you have even a basic familiarity with recurring literary themes, the fact that this last character is even in the novel makes one of the early plot twists painfully obvious.

As for the storyline, the concept of historical fiction combined with a modern crossover is one that I have enjoyed in young adult novels like Mary Hoffman's "Stravaganza" series, and this is probably the greatest strength of "Juliet." Unfortunately, Anne Fortier never allows this structure to reach its full potential, and the relationship between the past seems to be always a bit confusing. The characters are constantly stating, "You, Modern Character X, are truly Past Character Y," but it was sometimes difficult to discern whether the author intended this to mean that the characters were fully or partially reincarnated, or merely bearing the imprint of their ancestors.

Aside from this, the novel seemed poorly paced; I have read internet fiction with a better and more realistic sense of pacing. Some plot points are developed at an unbelievably rapid pace, while others are agonized over for an eternity. New relationships, for example, are crafted and old, ruined ones repaired at breakneck speed. All of this takes place via some of the most stilted dialogue I have ever read in a novel. I understand that the author's first language is not English, but the conversations between her characters--especially those in the 14th century--were frequently cringe worthy. I wish I'd kept a running tab of how many times I winced while reading.

All of this is to say that "Juliet," while a promising concept, fails to deliver and ultimately renders itself little more than overpriced, trite chick lit. Caveat reader.

The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet is a beast you don't mess with; star-crossed lovers are untouchable in my book. By reinventing this well-known plot, Anne Fortier took a risk; a calculated-check the wind direction and temperature, analyze the audience and market-risk. Thankfully it paid off.

In a maneuver comparable to Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, Fortier retells a well-known story by delicately narrating two distinct plots: present day Julie Jacobs, hunting down a mysterious treasure armed with nothing but a cryptic letter from her dead aunt; and Giulietta Tolomei as she falls for the devilishly handsome, charming, and romantic Romeo Marescotti in 1340 Siena, Italy. Set amongst lush and fragrant vineyards and crumbling ruins, these two women, centuries apart, are somehow linked and it's up to Julie to set the record straight. Was Shakespeare's tale really what transpired so many hundreds of years ago?

Reading two plots with several characters with the same names (lots of Tolomeis, Salimbenis, and Marescottis throughout) can be a little confusing at times (especially when those characters may not be who they say they are). But pushing on, the reader is rewarded with an enthralling and richly detailed story arc. Drifting from the romantic to the tragic to the thrilling, the idea of Juliet is wonderful. My one disappointment was that the 1340 storyline of Giulietta and Romeo ended too swiftly, I didn't feel it was given appropriate time and attention. With such a well-known event and characters being used, I wish there'd been a more dramatic conclusion.

Reading Juliet made me woozy with heady romance; the fourteenth-century kind with flowing dresses and balconies and poetry. In short, it made me desperate to read Romeo and Juliet, or at least watch the movie. The ache of their tragedy seeped through Fortier's words to pierce my heart with sadness. Overall, it was a beautiful and refreshing story, not entirely perfect, but lovely regardless.

I have no idea how anyone can get through and actually like this book! I am an avid reader and was barely able to get to the end of this one. I did only because it was a book club pick. Why was it so bad? The main character was thoroughly uninteresting and unlikeable. The supporting characters were weak. The dialogue sounded like it was written for a soap opera and the whole premise of the book was ridiculous. Towards the middle it started to get somewhat interesting and then quicky returned to nonsense thru the end. Do yourself a favor and shelve this one.