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A review by carlacbarroso
In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
3.0
Having loved the previous book I've read from this author, I picked this one up with some expectations. Is not that I feel this book let me down, but is somewhat below what I expected.
In this book we follow Bucino, a dwarf and assistant, lets say so, of Fiammeta, a notorious courtesan, in their journey from Rome to Venice and their adaptation to this place, so different from others due to his liaison with the sea and the contacts this brings.
As in The Birth of Venus, the author, through the story of these two characters, tries to show the thought at this time about various themes. In this book she concentrates more in religion, namely the catholic one, though it has some mentions also to Judaism and the relationship between those who follow this faith and the Catholics, she also talks about the importance of physical appearance and the prejudices linked to it, and the author also talks about sex, how it was perceived by numerous points of view: religion, business, art, love... If this was well done in the mentioned book, in this one it was a bit less achieved, as it bores in certain occasions.
The story is still interesting, as well as the characters which are nicely constructed, but is somewhat predictable. The portrait of Venice is also a bit weak, as the descriptions didn't cause such an impact as the ones of Florence in The Birth of Venus.
It does its job as entertainment and letting us know how was the life of a courtesan in Venice, but for that I would recommend the movie Dangerous Beauty instead.
In this book we follow Bucino, a dwarf and assistant, lets say so, of Fiammeta, a notorious courtesan, in their journey from Rome to Venice and their adaptation to this place, so different from others due to his liaison with the sea and the contacts this brings.
As in The Birth of Venus, the author, through the story of these two characters, tries to show the thought at this time about various themes. In this book she concentrates more in religion, namely the catholic one, though it has some mentions also to Judaism and the relationship between those who follow this faith and the Catholics, she also talks about the importance of physical appearance and the prejudices linked to it, and the author also talks about sex, how it was perceived by numerous points of view: religion, business, art, love... If this was well done in the mentioned book, in this one it was a bit less achieved, as it bores in certain occasions.
The story is still interesting, as well as the characters which are nicely constructed, but is somewhat predictable. The portrait of Venice is also a bit weak, as the descriptions didn't cause such an impact as the ones of Florence in The Birth of Venus.
It does its job as entertainment and letting us know how was the life of a courtesan in Venice, but for that I would recommend the movie Dangerous Beauty instead.