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cathd80's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable read with plot twists that caught me totally by surprise.
diane21's review against another edition
4.0
Second time I've read this. It's such a fun, interesting story.
bekahbea86's review against another edition
2.0
I did not like this book as much as the other one I read from the same author. Her style of writing was just as beautiful, but the stroy was boreing and there really wasn't a point to it. There wasn't much of a plot or an ending that I can remember.
kimberly_b's review against another edition
2.0
I had a tough time with this book. The beginning seemed so slow--it was a hard book to get in to.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment. Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan , Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid. With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all." (From Amazon)
A fun romp in Italy, 1527 of a courtesan and her dwarf companion.
"My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment. Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan , Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid. With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all." (From Amazon)
A fun romp in Italy, 1527 of a courtesan and her dwarf companion.
eleganthedgehogs's review against another edition
We all enjoyed this book. Some had been apprehensive it would play up the courtesan role, but actually was more complex wide ranging exploration of what it was like & seemed informative about the period.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
4.0
16th-Century Venice... Courtesans.... A pleasurable summer historical novel read about the partnership between a courtesan and a her partner/pimp/dwarf. Rome is sacked and after their home and business id destroyed, the two hit the road for Venice and attempt to make a come back. The characters and the settings felt real. I plan on reading more of Dunant.
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
2.0
Airplane book, trainer-riding book, etc. Bubble gum for my brain. I am not attempting to be judge-y here; I just personally like a little more depth/politicalness from my fiction choices. Which, fwiw, I got from [b:The Enchantress of Florence|1317696|The Enchantress of Florence|Salman Rushdie|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1200508801s/1317696.jpg|2495143], which is partially set in Italy at more or less the same time.
mercipourleslivres's review against another edition
3.0
This was slow starter but picked up by the last third of the book. The fashion and food porn was decent, but the characters seemed underdeveloped as a whole. Plus the whole courtesan + dwarf sidekick was pulled off to much greater effect by Kate Quinn in "The Serpent and the Pearl" though it would probably be fair to say she owes homage to Sarah Dunant.