As history, okay. As polemic, obvious. As historical fiction, merely so-so.
There’s no rest for a late-Renaissance Venetian. When there’s a lull in making a fortune or harassing the infidel, there’s always an intrigue to be made against some other Venetian.
Business executive and debut author Quinn nicely captures the greed-is-good aspect of 15th-century Venetian culture. Explains the swashbuckling Antonio Ziani, who commands a crack marine unit but has had a bit of bad luck and is now the prisoner of an ever-inquisitive Turkish governor, “Our first religion is business. We believe in God, but we do not allow our religious beliefs to force us to do things that make no sense.” That ever-pragmatic Venetian way of life does not preclude Antonio from running off and storming well-defended Turkish positions and doing other brave but questionable things, which proves a source of trouble. Rival Venetian Giovanni Soranzo—of whom, with characteristic portentousness, Quinn writes, “His large forehead made his dominating icy-blue eyes seem smaller, but their menacing gaze disarmed nearly everyone who felt their power”—is pretty sure, for instance, that Ziani has gotten his brother Marco killed for no good reason, and he’s bent on revenge. There’s plenty of time for them to hash out their differences, for the two have years’ worth of work to do in containing the nasty Ottomans, who have conquered Byzantium and are now licking their chops at the prospect of sacking Venice itself. Quinn’s Ottomans are depicted as hungry, and very badly behaved, people who don’t keep their word, except in order to be evilly ironic. Lest anyone miss the point, Quinn suggests in an afterword that modern Americans just might be latter-day Venetians in the face of advancing Islam, forced to “fight alone against their terrible and powerful adversary as they strive to preserve freedom and their way of life.” The dialogue is flat, the set pieces predictable, but Quinn has a good command of period history and accoutrements: think Tom Clancy channeled for those thrilled by galleons and exploding minarets.
As history, okay. As polemic, obvious. As historical fiction, merely so-so.Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-312-31908-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.
Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.
Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “You’ll get only one shot at this,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “Don’t botch it.” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “That form is a deal breaker,” he tells himself. “It’s life and death.” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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