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Lädt ... The Garden of Persephonevon Cesar J. Rotondi
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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Italy in the twelfth century isn’t a place or time I know much about, despite my interest in medieval Europe, so I was interested in picking up this novel. The book is at its best when sorting out the convoluted politics of the 1120s and ‘30s, but falters a bit when it comes to the fiction bits.
It was very hard for me to really believe Julien and Claire’s relationship; one moment they dislike each other and the next they’re declaring their undying love for one another. There’s also very little passion involved; most of the time, Julien seems to just go through the motions. I never got the feeling that he had much of a personality, and I wasn’t all that pleased at his laissez-faire attitude towards the other women he sleeps with. It also would have been great to have seen the teachings of Abelard worked in more. And the ending left a lot to be desired; I finished the book thinking, that’s it? In the end, I just didn’t care all that much about the characters or what happened to them.
However, the time period itself is fascinating; I never knew how integrated Eastern and Western cultures were in Sicily then, or that Roger had a harem! Later, I went on to read more about Roger, and he really was a fascinating guy. The papal politics of the middle ages generally aren’t what I’m interested in, but I really enjoyed watching the interplay between Roger and Innocent. I always like an historical novel that manages to educate its readers, and Rotondi does that well in The Garden of Persephone. I just wish his characters were as engaging as his setting. ( )