Thoughtful, well-researched and passionate.
A fictionalized retelling of a famous murder in 16th-century Rome.
Smith (Oliver in Bronze, 2012) brings to life the story of Beatrice Cenci, a Roman aristocrat who suffers the abuse and violent temper of her father, Francesco. Francesco’s behavior is known far and wide, but money and the unjust class system have him hopping in and out of jail, tormenting Beatrice, her brothers and the staff of the Cenci household. Beatrice is eventually sent away to the Cencis’ family home in La Petrella del Salto, where she, her brothers and her secret lover hatch a plan to be rid of Francesco once and for all. But things don’t go as planned, and Beatrice finds herself caught in a swirl of money, religion and power, as the pope and the authorities of the Inquisition struggle to deal with the widely known motivation for her crimes while keeping the peace. By turns an arrogant aristocrat, a woman struggling to break free of society’s rigid expectations, and a crafty and stubborn conspirator, Beatrice is a complex character who grows and changes as the novel progresses. Smith digs deeply into Beatrice’s character, painting a realistic and compelling if not entirely likable portrait of the famous historical figure. The weakest part of the story may be Smith’s occasional efforts to inject commentary on gender roles of the time: Beatrice says things like “Just because I’m a girl, you think I don’t want things?” and “What man would ever want an over-educated wife?” True or not, these expository lines somewhat break the immersion the rest of the novel fosters by seeming out of place with what the reader sees of Beatrice, especially since her situation is about much more than gender-based oppression. Though these lines feel forced and shallow compared to the depth of the rest of the story, overall Smith avoids any easy answers, and the book churns with a brutal, lyrical physicality of bodies, torture and lust that paints a vivid and readable portrait of the time period.
Thoughtful, well-researched and passionate.Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0978858087
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Mad Scavenger Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 18, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
