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A review by bhsmith
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
3.0
My experience with this book pretty closely mirrored the ups and downs of the novel itself. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that everything started great... a moderately light-hearted story about a writer struggling with his career. This early portion of the book was very well written, conversational and light. Then, things took a turn. The novel introduced a new plot line - the plot line that ends up being central to the development of the entire novel - and all of a sudden the writing is a bit more laborious. We start to follow the story of Beatrice and Virgil... and the novel dramatically slows down. Then, finally, the climax of the novel. The plot line with Beatrice and Virgil (and all associated parties) concludes quite dramatically, which makes the last 20 pages of the novel stunning, if not a little unbelievable.
So, lots of changes of tone throughout the novel that match up pretty well to how you'll actually feel about the writing. I was turned on to Yann Martel's writing after Life of Pi, and after reading Beatrice and Virgil I'll certainly give his next novel a read... but perhaps with a bit less enthusiasm.
So, lots of changes of tone throughout the novel that match up pretty well to how you'll actually feel about the writing. I was turned on to Yann Martel's writing after Life of Pi, and after reading Beatrice and Virgil I'll certainly give his next novel a read... but perhaps with a bit less enthusiasm.