About:
Botticelli’s Bastard by Stephen Maitland-Lewis is a novel taking place in Europe with a strange premise. The novel combines elements of magic, fantasy, historical fiction and art history.
The publisher is giving away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Rafflecoptter form at the end of the post.
My rating for Botticelli’s Bastard — 3
Buy this book in paper or electronic format*
Thoughts:
Botticelli’s Bastard by Stephen Maitland-Lewis is a novel that combines elements of magic, mystics and history to tell a story. I approached the book with a healthy knowledge and interest in the World War II era and was looking forward to read what the author weaved.
The protagonist of the book, an art dealer named Giovanni Fabrizzi, finds an old painting of an Italian Count that starts talking to him. The picture tells Giovanni that it was painted by famed artist Sandro Botticelli and its history from the 15th Century to the 20th Century when it was stolen from a Jewish family by the Nazis.
There are several other minor subplots, such as Giovanni’s failing second marriage and his relationship with his son which are basically meant to act as antagonists to the old man’s ability to hear the Count (he’s the only one that can). The author certainly did his job doing the historical and art-history research, I enjoyed reading about the picture’s past and extended my lacking knowledge in art history.
While at certain times the dialogue seemed stretched and odd, I did enjoy the story which took a second place to the historical facts. Despite the sometimes odd dialogue, I liked the concept in this light, easy to read novel.
Buy this book in paper or electronic format*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
Alfonso Reyes (17 May, 1889 – 27 December, 1959) was a Mexican writer and diplomat.…
Facepaint have launched a website, which gives information about the nonprofit and its goal to…
The path to the Confederate attack on a Fort Sumter was paved by misunderstandings, missed…
Jayne Cortez (10 May, 1934 – 28 December, 2012 was poet, publisher, performer, and activist.…
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus shines in parts, giving a claustrophobic, cinematic feel. While intense in…
The plot, while historically interesting, goes on irrelevant side stories. The ending is just OK,…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
World War 11, art, mystery and Being Jewish, everything is appealing and intriguing.
I just think that it would make a very interesting read.
Sounds like my type of book.
I love historical fiction and fantasy