Scan barcode
lazygal's review
3.0
One of my colleagues said she DNF'd this, and I can easily see why. There are many very slow passages, ones that could easily have been excised in favor of more about the political and religious issues that Gutenberg (and Mainz) were dealing with while he was creating the press and his Bible. His apprentice, based on a real person, is apparently best known as someone whose press took up where Gutenberg left off and as a font designer (the first. ever.) and we get Peter's story of how the press came to be.
And therein lies the problem: he's boring. Pages, literally pages, on how the press was created, and maybe a few paragraphs about the politics of the guilds. The archbishop's power plays were mentioned, but readers won't get a great sense of how that affected everyone except the occasional mention of scarce goods or taxes. More about that, more about the struggle over whose Benedictine Rule would be printed, and more about the disruption to scribes would have helped move the story along.
ARC provided by publisher.
And therein lies the problem: he's boring. Pages, literally pages, on how the press was created, and maybe a few paragraphs about the politics of the guilds. The archbishop's power plays were mentioned, but readers won't get a great sense of how that affected everyone except the occasional mention of scarce goods or taxes. More about that, more about the struggle over whose Benedictine Rule would be printed, and more about the disruption to scribes would have helped move the story along.
ARC provided by publisher.
dannb's review
3.0
Historically very interesting; however, not enough depth of the characters to grab me and reel me in.
ciska's review
4.0
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Alix Christie was born and raised in California, studied philosophy at Vassar College and got a degree journalism from U.C. Berkeley. She has reported for newspapers in California and from Europe as a foreign correspondent, including the Washington Post, The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle and Salon.com. Christie currently reviews books and arts for The Economist.
Review
I received this book for review and it is by far one of the most beautiful ARC's I ever received. The cover was so pretty I stared at it for a few minutes. The chapters are all starting with a beautiful print leaving no doubt that this book is about the art of printing.
As I am Dutch I have been taught that Laurens Janszoon Coster is the person discovering the art of printing but I was aware of other stories and a lot of people were working on this technique at the same time.
I really loved Peter. He might be to soft most of the story though. I would not have mind if he had stand up for himself more but I think that is just me not really understanding his position towards both Fust and Gutenberg.
I enjoyed the atmosphere in the story. It was easy to imagine the city and the people. The way people would react if they would find out about the art Peter and Gutenberg were performing. The excitement about the work and the inventions they were working on.
Author
Alix Christie was born and raised in California, studied philosophy at Vassar College and got a degree journalism from U.C. Berkeley. She has reported for newspapers in California and from Europe as a foreign correspondent, including the Washington Post, The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle and Salon.com. Christie currently reviews books and arts for The Economist.
Review
I received this book for review and it is by far one of the most beautiful ARC's I ever received. The cover was so pretty I stared at it for a few minutes. The chapters are all starting with a beautiful print leaving no doubt that this book is about the art of printing.
As I am Dutch I have been taught that Laurens Janszoon Coster is the person discovering the art of printing but I was aware of other stories and a lot of people were working on this technique at the same time.
I really loved Peter. He might be to soft most of the story though. I would not have mind if he had stand up for himself more but I think that is just me not really understanding his position towards both Fust and Gutenberg.
I enjoyed the atmosphere in the story. It was easy to imagine the city and the people. The way people would react if they would find out about the art Peter and Gutenberg were performing. The excitement about the work and the inventions they were working on.
aliilman's review against another edition
4.0
A historical novel loosely based on the partnership between Johannes Gutenberg, Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer, three influential printers. I didn’t think they were real people until the very last few pages!
How’s the story?
Peter, a scribe making a name for himself in Paris, has returned to Mainz having been persuaded by Fust. He was then introduced to Gutenberg, who took Peter in as his apprentice.
Gutenberg is portrayed as a cunning and opportunistic character. A tough bloke to work for, though Peter has the utmost respect for him and Fust. Peter became his foreman later on.
In the shadows, they work to improvise Gutenberg’s printer. Words fly throughout Mainz that they had printed holy scriptures, which was deemed unconventional at the time. Accusations of blasphemy were thrown at them, but they kept on going.
Although a few of the latter chapters, especially prior to Fust and Schöffer ending their partnership with Gutenberg, felt rushed, it was a good read in overall. Avid readers would love this. Who knows what could’ve happened with the publishing of books and newspapers if they didn’t believe in their invention and if they didn’t persevere through struggles.
How’s the story?
Peter, a scribe making a name for himself in Paris, has returned to Mainz having been persuaded by Fust. He was then introduced to Gutenberg, who took Peter in as his apprentice.
Gutenberg is portrayed as a cunning and opportunistic character. A tough bloke to work for, though Peter has the utmost respect for him and Fust. Peter became his foreman later on.
In the shadows, they work to improvise Gutenberg’s printer. Words fly throughout Mainz that they had printed holy scriptures, which was deemed unconventional at the time. Accusations of blasphemy were thrown at them, but they kept on going.
Although a few of the latter chapters, especially prior to Fust and Schöffer ending their partnership with Gutenberg, felt rushed, it was a good read in overall. Avid readers would love this. Who knows what could’ve happened with the publishing of books and newspapers if they didn’t believe in their invention and if they didn’t persevere through struggles.
halkid2's review
2.0
Though I looked forward to reading this book, it turned out to be very disappointing.
As a lover of historical fiction, with a particular interest in medieval Europe, a novel about the origins of the printing press seemed like a no-brainer. And the story of the three main characters (Gutenberg, his apprentice Peter, and Peter's foster father who finances the first printing of the Bible) is complex and interesting. One moment, Gutenberg is a visionary businessmen; the next he is a supreme egotist bent on grabbing the glory and cheating his partner. Peter, who begins as a reluctant apprenticeship, forced by his foster father to work for Gutenberg so he can watch over his parent's financial investment, soon rises to foreman and becomes the heart and soul of the enterprise. But how much is Gutenberg willing to honor the contributions of a mere apprentice? So there are the basics of a very good story here, right?
Unfortunately, the way in which the author describes the four years it takes to complete the Bible often seemed plodding and sometimes even hard to follow. Christie seems to assume the reader already has some knowledge of medieval Germany, where Gutenberg worked, especially relationships that played out within towns, between guilds and the Catholic Church. I had no such knowledge. So I had difficulty grasping how Gutenberg's decision to print indulgences helped him keep his printing press secret. Maybe you'll have better luck!
As a lover of historical fiction, with a particular interest in medieval Europe, a novel about the origins of the printing press seemed like a no-brainer. And the story of the three main characters (Gutenberg, his apprentice Peter, and Peter's foster father who finances the first printing of the Bible) is complex and interesting. One moment, Gutenberg is a visionary businessmen; the next he is a supreme egotist bent on grabbing the glory and cheating his partner. Peter, who begins as a reluctant apprenticeship, forced by his foster father to work for Gutenberg so he can watch over his parent's financial investment, soon rises to foreman and becomes the heart and soul of the enterprise. But how much is Gutenberg willing to honor the contributions of a mere apprentice? So there are the basics of a very good story here, right?
Unfortunately, the way in which the author describes the four years it takes to complete the Bible often seemed plodding and sometimes even hard to follow. Christie seems to assume the reader already has some knowledge of medieval Germany, where Gutenberg worked, especially relationships that played out within towns, between guilds and the Catholic Church. I had no such knowledge. So I had difficulty grasping how Gutenberg's decision to print indulgences helped him keep his printing press secret. Maybe you'll have better luck!
jgolomb's review
4.0
"The Word of God willed its completion, after all."
- from Alix Christie's "Gutenberg's Assistant"
Alix Christie has written a fabulously passionate ode to the written word. Clearly a student of the 'Ars impressoria' (art of engraving), Christie builds a sepia-toned portrait of the late Middle Ages, with a myriad of characters who burst through the narrative to color the realities of this uniquely world-changing period of history.
Great historical fiction is grounded in the 'touch and feel' of a place and time. Christie finely textures her world with a sturdy poetic sense that splendidly blends the historical sense of the moments with a clear ardor she has for the printed word.
Christie centers her story around Peter Shoeffer, the real-life apprentice (at first), and later 'shop' boss for Johann Gutenberg in his printing workshop. Peter's adopted father asks him to return to Mainz, Germany from Paris where he was enjoying the life of a monastic scribe. Peter was "…a man of letters, a cleric, a scribe. He bore the tools of his profession in a pouch slung like a quiver at his side: the sealed horn of ink, his quills and reeds, his bone and chalk and chamois."
"The textura lettering was squat and ugly, yet every string of letters was unnervingly even, all across the line. Each of those lines ended with an utter, chilling harmony, at precisely the same distance from the edge. What hand could write a line that straight, and end exactly underneath the one above? What human hand could possibly achieve a thing so strange? He felt his hear squeeze and his soul flood with an overwhelming dread."
- description of Peter Shoeffer's first look at a sample page run off of Gutenberg's press.
Religion is a pervasive force in the lives of the people in Mainz. From Peter's youth, he recalls his master's words: "Your hand is but His tool. The parchment that we write on is pure conscience, on which all good works are noted. The rule that we use to draw the lines for writing is God's will. The ink with which we write is pure humility, the desk on which we write the calming of our hearts."
This religious specter floats over the entire notion of the written word delivered by anything other than the human hand. Writing is akin to religion. The act of putting thought to paper, next to godliness. What then is the press? I couldn't help but connect the introduction of automated printing, to the more recent lettered debates centered on the arrival of the ebook (though on a much less religious scale, of course).
Gutenberg lives in a world of guilds, corrupt religious leaders, and where people don't have to think too far back to remember the horrors of the Black Death. Describing a scene at a local tavern, Peter describes "Elders all, patricians from the city or the minor nobles from the land: the clergy was made up of second sons from wealthy families, stashed and suckled by the Mother Church for life."
It's a world of reformation, fear, and paranoia. Christie captures this world through a religious weightiness to her prose; a serious communion between the words of her novel and the printed word's of Peter's and Gutenberg's within the story.
Of course this story is based on the real life events surrounding the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. It didn't just 'happen', there were years of exceedingly hard, and mundane, work, amidst a world stepping out of the Medieval darkness and into the light of the Renaissance. Christie deftly intertwines the more easily written drama between characters and classes, with the more difficult dramatization of the technical aspects of the printing itself.
"When you get to my age, Peter, you do begin to wonder. If it really is a gift from God---and not a curse sent up from hell."
- Gutenberg to Peter, in Alex Christies 'Gutenberg's Apprentice'
While Peter's personal story includes his adoptive family, a love interest that introduces a view into Middle Ages Germany's class distinctions, Christie's tale orbits around the explosive personality of Johann Gutenberg. He's really cast as mad scientist – moody, aggressive, undeniably driven. As Peter reflects on the years (yes years!) printing the now-famous bible he considers, "Much has been said in the decades since, but almost none of it is true. They've practically canonized the man who found this wondrous art. How Gutenberg would laugh if he could see them from above…or else below."
The most exquisite drama of the novel is the growing reformation of religious attitudes and worldwide outlook. Gutenberg's press was introduced during a time when class wars were playing over the halls of Mainz and were reflected in the church's ever lessening control over its population. Revolution was in the air. An overhaul of Church abuses was on the horizon. Gutenberg and Shoeffer race to publish the first editions of the book before the secrets of their methods for publishing quickly and inexpensively (at least relative to the hand-copying method of monastic scribes) float up to the corrupt church.
My only wish for this novel is that it would've come with a map or two, as there's a significant amount of traveling in and around Mainz, and perhaps a diagram or two of the actual press itself.
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.
- from Alix Christie's "Gutenberg's Assistant"
Alix Christie has written a fabulously passionate ode to the written word. Clearly a student of the 'Ars impressoria' (art of engraving), Christie builds a sepia-toned portrait of the late Middle Ages, with a myriad of characters who burst through the narrative to color the realities of this uniquely world-changing period of history.
Great historical fiction is grounded in the 'touch and feel' of a place and time. Christie finely textures her world with a sturdy poetic sense that splendidly blends the historical sense of the moments with a clear ardor she has for the printed word.
Christie centers her story around Peter Shoeffer, the real-life apprentice (at first), and later 'shop' boss for Johann Gutenberg in his printing workshop. Peter's adopted father asks him to return to Mainz, Germany from Paris where he was enjoying the life of a monastic scribe. Peter was "…a man of letters, a cleric, a scribe. He bore the tools of his profession in a pouch slung like a quiver at his side: the sealed horn of ink, his quills and reeds, his bone and chalk and chamois."
"The textura lettering was squat and ugly, yet every string of letters was unnervingly even, all across the line. Each of those lines ended with an utter, chilling harmony, at precisely the same distance from the edge. What hand could write a line that straight, and end exactly underneath the one above? What human hand could possibly achieve a thing so strange? He felt his hear squeeze and his soul flood with an overwhelming dread."
- description of Peter Shoeffer's first look at a sample page run off of Gutenberg's press.
Religion is a pervasive force in the lives of the people in Mainz. From Peter's youth, he recalls his master's words: "Your hand is but His tool. The parchment that we write on is pure conscience, on which all good works are noted. The rule that we use to draw the lines for writing is God's will. The ink with which we write is pure humility, the desk on which we write the calming of our hearts."
This religious specter floats over the entire notion of the written word delivered by anything other than the human hand. Writing is akin to religion. The act of putting thought to paper, next to godliness. What then is the press? I couldn't help but connect the introduction of automated printing, to the more recent lettered debates centered on the arrival of the ebook (though on a much less religious scale, of course).
Gutenberg lives in a world of guilds, corrupt religious leaders, and where people don't have to think too far back to remember the horrors of the Black Death. Describing a scene at a local tavern, Peter describes "Elders all, patricians from the city or the minor nobles from the land: the clergy was made up of second sons from wealthy families, stashed and suckled by the Mother Church for life."
It's a world of reformation, fear, and paranoia. Christie captures this world through a religious weightiness to her prose; a serious communion between the words of her novel and the printed word's of Peter's and Gutenberg's within the story.
Of course this story is based on the real life events surrounding the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. It didn't just 'happen', there were years of exceedingly hard, and mundane, work, amidst a world stepping out of the Medieval darkness and into the light of the Renaissance. Christie deftly intertwines the more easily written drama between characters and classes, with the more difficult dramatization of the technical aspects of the printing itself.
"When you get to my age, Peter, you do begin to wonder. If it really is a gift from God---and not a curse sent up from hell."
- Gutenberg to Peter, in Alex Christies 'Gutenberg's Apprentice'
While Peter's personal story includes his adoptive family, a love interest that introduces a view into Middle Ages Germany's class distinctions, Christie's tale orbits around the explosive personality of Johann Gutenberg. He's really cast as mad scientist – moody, aggressive, undeniably driven. As Peter reflects on the years (yes years!) printing the now-famous bible he considers, "Much has been said in the decades since, but almost none of it is true. They've practically canonized the man who found this wondrous art. How Gutenberg would laugh if he could see them from above…or else below."
The most exquisite drama of the novel is the growing reformation of religious attitudes and worldwide outlook. Gutenberg's press was introduced during a time when class wars were playing over the halls of Mainz and were reflected in the church's ever lessening control over its population. Revolution was in the air. An overhaul of Church abuses was on the horizon. Gutenberg and Shoeffer race to publish the first editions of the book before the secrets of their methods for publishing quickly and inexpensively (at least relative to the hand-copying method of monastic scribes) float up to the corrupt church.
My only wish for this novel is that it would've come with a map or two, as there's a significant amount of traveling in and around Mainz, and perhaps a diagram or two of the actual press itself.
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.
katejeminhizer's review against another edition
3.0
Subject matter was intriguing enough for me to grab this. I can't say that I was entirely overwhelmed or excited as I read this. I did enjoy it but I think the biggest thing for me was not being able to connect with the characters. The writing itself was fine. The author shows a remarkable ability to sift through historical documents and make a story digestible to the common reader. That's enough for me to applaud this newcomer on the scene and look forward to more from her.
katybarlowe's review
2.0
Ugggggg this book! I would've quit it 50 pages in if not for book club. This was a chore to read. I certainly learned a lot about the story of the first printing press and medieval politics but at what cost! Blegh. The writing wasn't even that good - I would have no idea what was going on simply due to poor sentence structure.
ksoanes's review
4.0
A well researched and imagined book about the first printing of the Bible- political and religious intrigue, money and greed, a romance, shifting alliances and as it is with any new disruptive technology lots of handwringing about what this means for the future and how it will affect current jobs.
bookish1313's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
terrible