Friday, October 03, 2008

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Published in 2003. 397 pages.


I liked this book. Some of it I liked a lot.

I enjoyed the poetic language, even if that made it a bit of a slow read and sometimes put me to sleep. I had fun contemplating the symbolism. I loved the commentary about the roles and choices available to women - both then and now. And I enjoyed talking about the book with my IRL book club. (Thanks, Melissa!)

But the book didn't ever come together in a way that I just wanted to say "wow."

Other book bloggers' reviews of The Birth of Venus: If you have read and reviewed this book, I would love to link your review here. Please leave me a comment or email me your link!

2008.56

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this book in my preblogging days. I do know what you meant about the ending though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the review. I have been curious about Sarah Dunant for a long while, though I haven't yet gotten around to reading any of her books. I keep this one on my TBR list. If I remember, I'll let you know when (if?) I get around to Birth of Venus.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it - I was wondering about it. I really liked In the Company of the Courtesan, but then I think I read a bad review of Birth of Venus or something and it made me wonder if it was worth it. But apparently it is, thanks!

    ReplyDelete