Customer Reviews

A Rare and Curious Gift: A Novel

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I don't read much historical fiction and am not an Italophile, but I quickly became immersed in the daily life and intrigues of Holdstock's 16th century Florence. The striking details and poetry of her prose were unexpected strengths and delights -- so unlike the worn phrases and lazy writing found in otherwise entertaining historical novels, such as Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Erring. While I will not divulge the appalling object Holdstock explicitly labels a "rare and curious gift" and which precipitates the central drama, the phrase applies equally to Chiara, the curiously mottled ("piebald") slave girl, purchased at auction and passed like a bad penny among the book's main characters who fear she is sfortunata, ill-fated, and brings misfortune to those around her. Chiara is the most sympathetic and physically vivid character amid a rich and varied cast of artists, merchants, servants, and minor nobility whose lusts and ambitions propel the action. My only criticism is that it seemed a bit hurried toward the end, but after breathlessly turning 355 pages, perhaps a quick ending was best.

Sixteenth century Tuscany is aglow with artistic opportunity, painters, sculptors, artisans all enjoying and unprecedented flourishing of the arts. Even women are encouraged in the art of painting, though there are few with the courage to follow such a muse, one of the most notable Artemisia Gentileschi, who paints at a later date than this novel.

The female artist of note in this era is Sofonisba Fabroni, a young woman trained by her father, although her talents actually surpass those of her teacher. Of independent mind, Sofonisba is absorbed by her work, floating on the wings of natural talent, intuiting the very nature of color, shape, form and emotion. With her father and a few other artists, Sofonisba attends clandestine anatomy classes at the home of Paolo Pallavicino, the resident artist of a local patron. In the dark of night, these artists sketch the wonders of the human anatomy as Paolo dissects cadavers by lantern light. Such things are forbidden, but the urge to discover the connections of body to spirit dominate the times, a furious quest to uncover the causality of life itself.

This is not a good time for women, artists being the exception in a society that favors male domination in all its affairs. Unexpectedly, Sofonisba is the beneficiary of a gift, a piebald young slave girl, Chiara, whose skin is mottled with patterns of black and white, an object of curiosity and fear. In such superstitious times, the slave girl is looked upon with disfavor, the Devil's charge. After a tragic fire on the first day of an annual saint's festival, fingers begin to point at the slave, an omen of bad luck visited upon the town: "The wings of devils shall carry you to Hell. And the woman shall go first."

The confusion of the religious festival sets in motion a subdued violence, as the villagers perceive the need to set things right with God. This is the age of the Inquisition, a time of hangings and torture in the name of God, His majesty over the natural world. Sofonisba and Chiara are thrown into the maelstrom by circumstances beyond their control; at the heart of all is the lecherous Matteo Tassi, unable to govern his concupiscent acts or headstrong emotions. Like the fated Artemisia, Sofonisba will suffer for living freely in a man's world, despite the talent that is both her gift and cross to bear.

The tapestry of characters is as rich as the story: Paolo Pallavicino, the old man who conducts secret dismemberments; Tassi, the master of depravity, who creates inimitable curiosities, but is driven to satisfy the needs of the flesh; Alessandro, hopelessly in love with Sofonisba, but never a candidate for her affections, reduced to walking about in garments made of human skin; Orazio, an artist whose ageing body is courting death, at odds with his own desires for his talented daughter; Sofonisba, the artist who lives for her work, but is taunted by Tassi's invitation to the joys of human connection; and Chiara, the piebald slave, doomed by her color, defined only by her appearance, an easy target for the rampant superstition of the times, where God is frequently at odds with the devil, signs everywhere to terrify the faithful.

With agonizing precision, the author paints the images of her characters as cleanly as Sofonisba paints her own revenge for the injustice of the court, the ignominy of her own suffering. But even more, Holdstock exposes the carnal cruelty of men who believe they can access the union of body and spirit, their ignorance shielded by artistic endeavor that allows the egotistical destruction of simplicity they fail to comprehend. The pursuit of beauty and pageantry allows the acceptance of extreme behavior, all in the name of monstrous curiosity.

This astonishing novel flays the hypocrisy of the artistic community and the religious leaders who create a society that demeans the worth of women and ignores licentiousness and lechery from men held in high esteem, in a quest for knowledge that destroys the beauty of nature in its hubris, a complete disregard for disvalued lives. In the same manner that cadavers are examined for their secrets, the author excises the shriveled hearts of ruthless men in pursuit of art. The novel is fascinating, complicated and shocking, a masterful rendition of 16th century society and the carnage of hardened, superstitious and carnal arrogance, the corruption of the intellect in pursuit of artistic curiosities. Not for the faint of heart, this novel will challenge your perceptions and prick your conscience, "as beautiful and terrible as the world." Luan Gaines/2005.

I have generally had excellent luck in ordering books based on Amazon's recommendation system. This is the first to really 'miss the mark' for me.

I had enjoyed both Sarah Durant's "In the Company of a Courtesan" and "The Birth of Venus", as well as "The Illuminator" by Brenda Vantrese. While this book was set during the same period as the three previous books, it lacked the captivating qualities they all embodied.

In addition, while I realize that the Renaissance was a troubled time, full of strife and prejudice, "The Rare and Curious Gift" was far too mean spirited. I really couldn't identify with the 'good' characters, and the reading itself was plodding and depressing.

It is my hope that other readers will pick one of the other books I've mentioned, and really enjoy the time period more fully !

This was recommended to me by Amazon, and the recommendation system is usually spot-on, but this was terribly disappointing. I went in with an open mind, since the story sounded interesting, and I like reading about that time period, but I just couldn't get into it and dreaded picking it up, when I'm typically excited to read as much as possible (usually about a book a week). I found it incredibly boring and as hard as I tried, I couldn't find any connection with the characters or their lives/situations.

One of the previous reviewers, Luan Gaines, has written a wonderful description of all that this book contains and I feel that I couldn't possibly add more to that, but I just couldn't like this book. The graphic descriptions of dismemberment, the flaying of the entire skin of a previously buried corpse, and details of other gory moments are just too much for any kind of enjoyment...I read to be entertained and uplifted, not to be sickened. So, despite the undoubted authenticity of the doings of those times, I just don't care to read about them.

I read this book in Florence where the novel is set and really did want to like it, however - sentiment aside - there is little to recommend. Firstly, the whole book sounds like it is written in the passive voice. The effect this has is to make nearly all the action feel distant and removed from the reader - you are never directly engaged. The author's voice is simply too detached to elicit anyone else's emotions.

Secondly, on the level of historical accuracy there is hardly any detail to critique. The city of Florence could just as well be anywhere - it's hardly described. The book purports to be set in Renaissance Italy, but it's clearly not a time or place the author had any great knowledge of, and it shows in the superficial and sometimes erroneous detail.

There is not a novel-length story here. It's a short story with potential being told in 400 pages. But without either careful historical erudition, romantic interest, or a crafted prose style, the end result is a series of remote events teeming with superfluous gore, untitillating sex, stretched plotlines and 2-dimensional characters.