‘David’ is a wonderful historical novel which powerfully evokes another time and place. More than that, the fascinating details of renaissance Florence provide a vivid backdrop to an exciting personal drama. What more can you want from a novel? And in our fame obsessed time it is particularly clever to focus on one of the most well known faces in western art and to tell the story of the unknown man behind the image: Gabriele, the model for the famous giant statue of ‘David’. In this story the iconic face and body of the shepherd boy who felled Goliath are those of a humble stone cutter, the ‘milk brother’ of the sculptor, Michelangelo.
The novel is very much Gabriele’s story simply and economically told from the vantage point of his old age. He recalls the glory of his youth and the dangerously turbulent politics of the time and, as a guide to his own past, is able to make the complex factionalism of his youth comprehensible to the reader. This is no mean feat and one of the great strengths of the story that the reader learns the secrets of the city along with the young Gabriele, the handsome innocent from the country.
On his first night in Florence Gabriele is mugged by thugs and then seduced by his rescuer, a wealthy widow, Clarice de Buonovicini. He fathers a son, whom she passes off as the child of her new husband, Antonella de’ Altobiondi, leader of the compagnacci. This group support the reinstatement of the banished Medici ruling elite and Gabriele himself finds himself using these connections to spy for the opposing faction, the republicans, for whom Michaelangelo’s ‘David’, is a political symbol as much as a work of art. When the true paternity of Clarice’s child is revealed and the pro republican statue is unveiled riots erupt on the streets and Gabriele and the statue are both in terrible danger. As we all know, ‘David’ the statue survives but what of Gabriele the man who is blamed for the murder of Altobiondi? How can the best known face in Florence escape the city unseen?
The answer provides a radical solution for those who come face to face with the downside of fame. Maybe David Beckham et al could take note.
Return to REVIEWS HOMEPAGE
5 comments:
'David' sounds wonderful and I'm hoping to read it very soon.
I predict that this novel will be a stratospheric hit. It has the explosive mix of a wonderful author and a brilliant idea.
Sorry - coming to this very late after a holiday during which I read Mary's gripping full-of-intrigue tale. I loved it! I learned a lot about the history of the period, and Florence is definitely top of my list of soon-to-be-visited European cities so that I can see 'David' for myself.
Hello I'm so happy sharing this, I still can’t thank you enough powerful Priest Elijah, My husband left for a younger lady because i was unable to give birth due to PCOS,I was so devastated i was lonely i cried a lot i even tried taking my life, Then my friend told me about this great man Priest Elijah who helped her made her marriage perfect, I also went online and did more research about him i was not too sure but i decided to give him a try he told me not to worry everything was going to be alright, He told me all i needed to pay which was a convenient fee and i did and he did his work and sent me video proof and told me to wait 24hrs that he will be back, The next morning to my greatest surprise it was Shawn my husband on his knees begging I'm so happy, It didn’t stop there, I'm proud to say that I'm 3 weeks pregnant thank you so much Priest Elijah I'm forever grateful contact him
universalspellhelp@gmail.com
WhatsApp him +2347054380994
Somos una casa de producción de alta calidad para billetes auténticos. Nuestro trabajo abarca desde la generación de sustratos y elementos de seguridad hasta la impresión de billetes. Nuestras soluciones de alta tecnología garantizan dinero falso de la mejor calidad del mundo. Consulte nuestra colección actual de diferentes monedas a la venta. Dólar de Nueva ZelandaSAR - Rial de Arabia SauditaQAR - Riyal de QatarNuestros billetes son 100% indetectables, 100% seguros y se pueden usar en cualquiera de estas áreas:
SUPERMERCADOS, BARES, TIENDAS, CASINO, CAJERO AUTOMÁTICO, CAMBIO DE DINERO, TIENDAS.
Estás 100% desapercibido.
Para consultas sobre dinero falso, comuníquese con whatsapp: +4915143663977
WhatsApp: +18486284551
Telegrama: spcurrency12
Sitio web: supercurrency.com
Señal: +18105456162
- Contamos con las mejores MÁQUINAS DE HOLOGRAMAS y DUPLICACIONES
EUR - euroUSD - dólares estadounidenses
DNR - DINAR
GBP - Libra esterlina
INR - Rupia india
AUD - Dólar australiano CAD - Dólar canadiense
AED - Dirham de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos
ZAR - Rand
CHF - Franco suizo
CNY - Yuan chino o Renminbi
MYR - Ringgit malasio
THB - Bah tailandés
NZD - Dólar neozelandés
RAE - Riyal saudí
QAR - Qatari Riyalbuy AA +Billones falsificados indetectables WhatsApp: +18486284551 Compra dinero falsificado de alta calidad, WhatsApp: +18486284551
Compre billetes falsos de alta calidad de grado AA+ indetectable WhatsApp: +18486284551 Compre dólares australianos falsos en línea, billetes en euros falsos suppercurrency.com
Post a Comment