Customer Reviews

The Sonnet Lover

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Every once in a great while along comes a book that I don't want to finish, simply because of the letdown when it ends. There's so much enjoyment in the reading - lush and evocative descriptions, graceful prose, characters that spring to life from black printed lines, undercurrents of mystery, an imaginary bridge between today and years long past, plus romance. So much to savor! In Carol Goodman's hands there is often the deft turn of a phrase, a telling detail capturing both eye and mind. Or, one finds a described scene more vivid than a painting.

An extraordinarily capable writer, this author blended all of the above into one remarkable book - The Sonnet Lover.

The bare bones of the plot: Rose Asher is a literary professor at New York's fictional Hudson College. As she notes, "The most thankless job on the planet may well be teaching Renaissance love poetry to a group of hormone-dazed adolescents." Nevertheless, there are other perks - she is involved in a love affair with Mark Abrams, the college president, and she has a star pupil - Robin Weiss who has written a prize winning film.

Sadly Robin's potential is not to be fulfilled as he falls to his death from a balcony following the interruption of a college party. Was it an accident, was he pushed?

To try to answer these questions Rose agrees to return to La Civetta, a Tuscan estate near Florence which has been loaned to Hudson College as a teaching institution. She joins Mark, other faculty members, and possible producers of a film who believe that Robin may have discovered a sonnet written by Shakespeare's mysterious Dark Lady. This is quite a cast - from Mark who begins to act strangely to Mara, the wife of the head of the film department, an always acquisitive buyer who finds the beauty of Tuscany in Hermes scarves.

Waiting at La Civetta is Bruno Brunelli, the first and greatest love of Rose's life. Waiting with him is his wife.

As said earlier, these are the "bare bones" of the plot. The reading pleasure is found in the way Goodman puts flesh on these bones. Sonnets woven throughout are by the author's husband, Lee Slonimsky. Granted, a pivotal meeting Rose "chances" to overhear in the church of Santa Margherita and the denouement do seem a bit contrived. But an author who writes as engagingly as Goodman is forgiven all.

As one who has never entered a bookstore she didn't love the overflow of books at our house falls into three categories: donations to libraries, loaners, and keepers.

The Sonnet Lover is most definitely a keeper!

- Gail Cooke

Carol Goodman's "The Sonnet Lover" is a literary thriller about lost manuscripts that are valuable enough to serve as a motive for murder. Thirty-nine year old Professor Rose Asher teaches comparative literature at Hudson College in New York. Her handsome and brilliant young student, Robin Weiss, has made a film that was shot in La Civetta, a Tuscan estate worth nearly a billion dollars. Its eccentric and flamboyant owner, Cyril Graham, has promised to bequeath his property to Hudson College to become a center for the performing arts.

Rose has bittersweet memories of her own stay in La Civetta when, as a nineteen-year old student, she had a passionate affair with her married professor, Bruno Brunelli. The relationship ended abruptly, Rose went on to pursue her successful academic career (she is a specialist in the Renaissance sonnet), and she now has another man in her life, college president Mark Adams. Suddenly, Robin's promising life ends when he falls off a balcony to his death. Was it murder, suicide, or a tragic accident? To find out, Rose revisits La Civetta along with Mark Adams, Gene Silverman (the head of the film department), and Leo Balthasar, a Hollywood producer who is planning to making a feature based on Shakespeare's sonnets. Says Leo, "Picture 'Shakespeare in love,' only steamier."

The book's premise is that in the sixteenth century, Shakespeare may have traveled to Italy to be with his lover, a poet named Ginevra de Laura, and perhaps his mysterious "Dark Lady." Ginevra's poems were lost and the skeptical Professor Asher insists there is no proof that Shakespeare ever set foot in Italy. "The Sonnet Lover" capitalizes on the popularity of historical mysteries featuring priceless documents and long-buried secrets. Goodman's well-researched novel is filled with lovely poetry, an exotic Italian setting, and intriguing speculation about Shakespeare's life. Professor Asher plays amateur sleuth as she pursues clues that may help her find Ginevra's poems. In addition, Rose rekindles her romance with Brunelli; although he is still married, Bruno claims to be separated from his aggressive wife, Claudia. He is fiercely protective of his son, Orlando, a gloomy young man who knew Robin Weiss well and bore a grudge against him.

Although Goodman is an intelligent and literate writer, "The Sonnet Lover" is not entirely successful. As the book progresses, its pace slows down considerably and the dialogue becomes increasingly stilted; there is a great deal of tedious exposition and too little action. By the time Rose learns the identity of the murderer and the numerous story lines are at last unraveled, some readers will have lost interest in the heavy-handed plot machinations. Goodman deserves credit for an ambitious effort, but "The Sonnet Lover" ultimately falls short because of its overly cluttered and poorly constructed plot and its shallow characterizations.

Carol Goodman is one of those extraordinary writers whose novels get better and better. Her newest work, THE SONNET LOVER, is rich in history, literature, art, poetry, theater, visual arts, word pictures, mystery and corpses. The action moves back and forth in time, chronicling past events with verve and a narrative of its own. Subplots, behind-the-scenes skullduggery, a love triangle, suspicious secrets, betrayal and a final reckoning at a writers' retreat in Italy keep the plot hot and readers riveted to the edge of their chairs. Goodman understands that with so much going on and with so many characters, she must tie everything together into a cohesive whole.

THE SONNET LOVER poses an interesting theory: Did William Shakespeare, at 17, arrange a clandestine meeting in Florence, with his "Dark Lady," the woman to whom he wrote sonnets? Scholars and others have pondered over his sonnets numbered 127-152 for any clues as to who this "sonnet lover" could have been and if she existed beyond the Bard's imagination. If this cache is really the lost documents of a woman who knew and loved Shakespeare, then history could be turned upside down. Readers are led to believe that her "responses" in poems and sonnets are to her lover "Will," and they are at the heart of the novel. Rumor has it that these 16th-century works could be hidden somewhere in La Civetta.

Rose Asher is a teacher of Renaissance poetry at Hudson College in New York City. She is having an affair with the school president, Mark Abrams, and is also very close to one of her students, Robin Weiss. While Rose is disappointed that Robin has changed his major to filmmaking, screenwriting, playwriting and directing, she is still his mentor. Thus, when he comes to her just before a student film competition in which he entered one of his projects, he asks to speak to her.

"...You were at La Civetta when you were in college and I wondered if some of the same teachers were there. I'm going back...and I am trying to decide what classes to take." La Civetta is an exquisite villa in Tuscany, and its owner, Cyril Graham, a former Hudson bigwig, allows students to take classes there every summer. Rose was there when she was a student, and in some ways her life both began and ended that summer. She is sure that the man she was in love with is in Rome and nowhere near the grounds. When she tells Robin this he says, "Bruno Brunelli, right? He's back." Rose cuts the conversation short and promises to meet up with Robin after the evening's entertainment.

Back in her office, she primps as she "puts her face on" before making her appearance at the celebration of new films by young filmmakers. Mark silently enters her office and sneaks up behind her. They chat for a few minutes, and then he drops his "bomb." He is going to be at La Civetta for the summer, and Cyril Graham has asked that Rose accompany him. Rose knows that Cyril Graham is cunning and amuses himself by dangling his legacy, La Civetta, in front of various institutions of higher learning. But Mark tells her that the "sly old fox" is on the verge of bequeathing it to Hudson College...[a villa] estimated to be worth nearly a billion dollars." He reveals that he is going to La Civetta to "schmooze" and to plead his case in person. She is reluctant but finally decides to face the demons she left there years ago. Several others on the staff and a few students are attending as well, which forebodes nasty things.

But before the trip, tragedy strikes on the night of the student competition. Robin Weiss, who won first place in the film competition, either falls, jumps or is pushed off the crowded balcony where the celebrants are crowded together. They are too shocked to know what, if anything, they actually saw or what really happened. Just before Robin went over the rail, a handsome young man who resembles a Byronic hero and is craftily named Orlando crashes through the crowd in a fury and accuses Robin of stealing his ideas. In the next second Robin is dead and Orlando runs away.

These two young men have been competing in a search for the sonnets alleged to have been written by the hand of "Shakespeare's Dark Lady." The story goes: Ginevra de Laura (Dark Lady?) finally went to a convent and perhaps brought her writings with her. But "the library's catalog was lost in a flood." What was rescued was brought to La Civetta, and while Cyril Graham was attempting to catalog, he "complained that one of the student researchers...stole a rare manuscript." But is this true? Did he ever try to find the alleged thief and whatever it was he stole? As the plot moves along, Rose is allowed into the hallowed place where few have tread, to see what if anything she can do to bring some order to the chaos.

Tension and pathos are rife throughout this riveting novel: every character has an agenda of their own and are competing with each other in one way or another. Nobody trusts anyone else, and many millions of dollars are at stake for several people who have no scruples and are only interested in what Hollywood can bring them in terms of money and/or fame. Lives are at stake, and at least one attempted murder occurs during a student rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream worthy of Shakespeare himself. And later, a murder most foul descends upon La Civetta.

THE SONNET LOVER is beautifully realized and imbued with such rich panoply of the arts and what happens when academics lose sight of the real world. Carol Goodman's gift is in her prose and plot; she offers readers a great puzzle wrapped around a mystery that is woven together into a conundrum. She reveals her innate talent in this, her fifth novel. Her ear for dialogue (both in speech and interior monologue) adds verisimilitude to her believable characters. Her choice and depiction of setting reads as a word picture; then, somewhat like the Pied Piper, she mesmerizes readers who insert themselves into her story. The journey is through a maze of high velocity intrigue and an interesting view of human nature. The travelogue and descriptions of the Italy that is the backdrop for THE SONNET LOVER serves to enrich the story, as it opens a door to the Renaissance as she juxtaposes it upon the present.

Goodman clearly has done her research and obviously knows her facts. She is a teacher in New York City, and one can see that her students are privileged to be in her classes. Anyone interested in a highly satisfying mystery, a literary tour and the machinations of the academics' world should not miss this novel. Then, as a further treat, take a look at the other books in her body of work.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Goodman once again exhibits her love for the subtle connections of history and lineage, a professor of comparative literature at New York's Hudson College, drawn into a Sixteenth century mystery centered in Tuscany. At issue are the missing sonnets of Genevra de Laura. If Rose Asher, who specializes in English and Italian Renaissance sonnets, can locate Genevra's missing work and make a critical historical link, her reputation will be assured. At issue is whether Shakespeare was in Italy in 1593, the London theaters closed because of the plague; it was during this period that he met and wrote of his elusive Dark Lady. Now thirty-nine, Asher remembers a summer at Tuscany's La Civetta villa twenty years earlier, where she suffered the pangs of an unfortunate love affair with a married man, fleeing back to New York and the halls of academia, where she has proven herself an expert in the sonnet.

Hudson College is poised to acquire the Tuscan villa and all its precious artifacts. Although she had planned a quiet summer, when Rose's favorite student dies suddenly, she decides to return to La Civetta in search of answers to the young man's untimely demise, hoping to discover the lost sonnets while confronting her failed romance. Bruno Brunelli, Asher's former lover, still teaches at the villa, his son is possibly implicated in the student's death. Mixing the present with sixteenth century Renaissance poets, playwrights and lovers, Goodman performs her usual magic, blending threads of the mysterious and tragic tale of Genevra de Laura with those who seek to uncover her secrets and tie her life to that of the prolific Shakespeare. But murder is afoot and no one can be trusted. The result is an eerie mystery, replete with villains and charlatans, spurned lovers and the youthful hubris of students in thrall to the old-world atmosphere of La Civetta.

The cast of characters is eclectic, from Rose's current romance, Mark Abrams, the president of Hudson College, to Bruno and his wife; from the greedy, mediocre academic and his shopping-addicted spouse to the current owner of the villa, who slyly observes the antics of his visitors while sipping absinthe. But the most fascinating characters remain shadowed in history, the ill-fated and low-born Genevra de Laura and the man who stole her most valuable possession, Lorenzo Barbagianni. Replete with the ornate beauty of Renaissance art, Genevra's world is tangible, fraught with danger and heartbreak, the lost sonnets crying for discovery. As is her habit, Goodman weaves a believable tapestry, often quite literally, the dark message of Genevra's fate finally revealed. Rich and resonant, the Bard and his Dark Lady speak across the centuries, recapturing a willing audience. Luan Gaines/2007.

I have read Carol Goodman's novel with some interest over the past six or so years; mainly, it must be admitted, because I worked with her brother when her first novel came out and I had the chance to meet her then. Still, I don't regret it because I probably wouldn't have read her novels otherwise and, basically, they have been good, if not outstanding. My time with them has not been wasted.

Still, her novels have often given me the feeling of retreading old ground. Her mysteries are intriguing enough but her range sometimes seems limited. Her protagonists are always young women in their 20's or 30's who are writers/artists/teachers. The setting is always New England, usually with some connection to Manhattan. And, in her first four novels, the image of water was ever-present, if unexplained.

When I started this novel, it appeared to be breaking new ground. Yes, the mystery, protagonist and setting were all there but the water had all but disappeared and Shakespeare had appeared. The historical mystery of who was the "Dark Lady" was set to be answered with the appearance of some sonnets by a long-dead woman from the confines of an Italian villa, where much of the novel takes place after its beginnings in Manhattan. As a Bardoloter and reader wanting the best for Ms. Goodman, I had high hopes. Perhaps that's why I was disappointed.

Granted, I was let down somewhat by the fact that, despite initial appearances, she really didn't stray to far from her comfort zone. She doesn't really seem to be able to get in the head of a character who isn't much like herself. But that doesn't necessarily have to be a big problem if the character reacts realistically within the mystery. In the past, that hasn't been a problem with Ms. Goodman's work but here it is. In particular, we have a woman with no real penchant for bravery being within shouting distance of two murders and hiding possible evidence and yet, she repeatedly puts herself in potentially dangerous situations without a thought. And throwaway lines along the lines of, "She didn't know why she was doing this..." don't make believable characterization.

It's too bad because there are many pleasures to be had in this book. Both the mysteries she investigates--Shakespeare's Dark Lady and the murderer on the loose--are handled well. Unfortunately, the plot seems to drive the characters here more than the other way around this time out which makes for a lesser experience than her past books.

I have never read anything written by Carol Goodman before and after reading this book, I've ordered 2 more of her books. I love her descriptions of the characters and the descriptions of Italy. I always felt because of the way she presented the scenes that I was there right along side the character or characters. What a lovely story and I love the history too! This is one you won't want to miss!

Carol Goodman is a good writer of murder mysteries - I have read three of her earlier books - though judging by the less than stellar qualities of "The Sonnet Lover", I fear she is running out of ideas and looking very much like a one trick pony. The characters are always academics and the setting in some school or university with art history connections.

"The Sonnet Lover" never quite gets off the ground for me because the crime that underpins the story is quite absurd - a murder committed - perhaps not quite in broad daylight but is certainly witnessed - and yet remains a mystery till the very end. You have your pick of the suspects from the few witnesses who were there at the scene of the crime but after eliminating the most obvious suspect, one is left with the more than predictable. More so when the nominal love interest that begins the story is so unconvincing the reader need only follow the signposts for clues.

Not helping matters is the fact that the narrative so often gets bogged down by tedious descriptions of and references to art history which can't possibly be of interest to anyone without some knowledge of the subject. More absurd things happen on the way to the unexciting denouement. As the heroine Dr Rose Asher tries to find the missing poems hidden somewhere in the grounds, she starts finding bits of pieces of clues mysteriously turning up among her possessions.

Sorry but this is chick lit masquerading as murder mystery and I have to say it's the most disappointing outing so far for the usually reliable Goodman. After this, unless she makes a fresh start with ideas in future, I can't say I'll read her much more.

As is always the case with Goodman's books the style and flow make for a highly enjoyable read. As is also, often the case, however, the mystery itself is rather weak and the main character starts out extremely intelligent and engaging, but as the end of the book nears, suddenly becomes ridiculously oblivious to the events happening around her.

Rose Asher is a professor of Renaissance poetry at a prestigious New York College and is pleased to accept a summer job, working on the script of a planned movie of Shakespeare, in Tuscany. Twenty years previously, she attended a seminar at the same villa, La Civetta, and had a passionate affair with Bruno Brunelli, one of the owners of the villa. Their affair ended when he told her that his wife was expecting a child, despite his protestations of complete fidelity to her. This story is set among the magnificently beautiful scenery and buildings which were old at the time of Shakespeare's possible visit to Tuscany, in the 16th century. At a reception before the college party left for Italy, one of Rose's students is killed by falling from a balcony, an event which is supposedly suicide. The next section of the story takes place at La Civetta and contains another murder, an attempted murder and lots of skullduggery, dealing with the ownership of the villa and the prospect of making huge money from the movie. It's an exciting, if rather wordy mystery, with enough romance in it to satisfy all tastes.

I've read Goodman's previous 4 novels, and I have enjoyed them all, albeit some more than others. This one is, I think, better than the last two. Rose Asher is a literature professor with a specialty in sonnets and women poets of the Renaissance, whose star pupil plunges to his death shortly after hinting at a larger mystery surrounding some `found' sonnets that may prove the relationship of Shakespeare to his famed "Dark Lady." Rose's search for the truth leads her back to a beautiful villa in Italy, the scene of her first great love affair, with a former married teacher whose family still runs the villa as an academic site. As Rose looks for the sonnets, which she believes are hidden somewhere in the villa, she becomes aware of sinister forces at work - several different people, all with their own reasons, are willing to do anything to find those same sonnets. Rose also rediscovers her feelings for her former lover, while wrestling with her current relationship as things play out. Did I know exactly who was behind the death of the student right away? Well, yes, it's pretty obvious, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the ride to the end of the book. The discovered sonnets are pretty good as well, and Goodman gives credit to her husband, who has a bit of a talent for poetry.