Review: Sarah Dunant’s “In the Company of the Courtesan”
Last night I finished another book: the historical fiction novel In the Company of the Courtesan by The Birth of Venus author Sarah Dunant. Once again, I have mixed feelings about Dunant’s writing.
The Courtesan starts out in 16th-century Rome, as German Lutheran soldiers are ransacking the city during religious battles. High-class courtesan - a fancy word for kept prostitute - Fiammetta and her partner Bucino, who happens to be a dwarf, use their cunning skills of wooing men to escape and flee to Venice.
The first section of this book is a vivid story of their struggle to survive. Every word keeps you hooked, cheering the perfectly mismatched duo as they find their way to safety.
Then there’s a lag.
The middle of the book drags, still weaving a good story of deep characters that are forced to start their life over from scratch, but all the while loosening its hook in the reader.
However, the last section comes back with a vengeance, regaining strength and rehooking the reader. And thus the novel is book ended: two phenomenally intriguing tales of historical fiction sandwich a so-so story about life. I enjoyed learning about what seems to be Dunant’s favorite era and country. I enjoyed getting to know Fiammetta, Bucino, and their potion-mixing healer La Draga. I just wish that it hadn’t been such a struggle to trudge through the middle.
In the Company of the Courtesan is Dunant’s most recent novel, having been published in 2006. The Birth of Venus came out in 2003, and her other novels include: Mapping the Edge, 1999; Transgressions, 1997; The Age of Anxiety, 1996, and more.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
[...] Historical fiction author Sarah Dunant, who previously wrote In the Company of the Courtesan and The Birth of Venus, released her newest novel - Sacred Hearts - yesterday, July 14. This story, [...]