“Don’t force people to be perfect. You’ll die trying.”
“Everything we say is a story. But nothing we say is just a story.”
Great love, you believe, carries the seeds of great sorrow. Well, perhaps you are right. Perhaps the wise spurn one to remain safe from the other, but I should rather choose to have my eyes burnt in their sockets than to have been born without
Original Language: English
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Country: USA
Publication Date: August 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-1554684991
Page Count: 464
Synopsis
A hugely ambitious historical novel on a scale with The Thirteenth Tale, The
Birth of Venus, and The Historian about a woman who discovers she may be
descended from the real-life Romeo and Juliet.
Of all the great love stories ever told, hers is perhaps the most famous. To me,
she is the key to my family's fate. To you, she is Juliet.
When Julie Jacobs leaves for Italy per the instructions of her late aunt's will,
she never imagines that she'll be thrust into a centuries-old feud, not to mention
one of the most legendary romances of all time. However, as she uncovers the
story of her ancester, Giulietta, whose love for a man named Romeo proved
ill-fated, Julie finds herself increasingly under threat, and can't help but feel that
the past and present are very much connected. Juliet is a gripping historical novel of great passion and scope from a remarkable debut author.
Review
A lush adventure/romance exploring the story that inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In alternating chapters, we meet a modern woman, Julie, who is searching for her family's history (and hoping for treasure too) and meeting friends and enemies along the way, and we hear from Friar Lorenzo, Giulietta Tolomei and Romeo Marescotti as their story unfolds in 1340 AD (similar to Shakespeare’s but with some differences).
Both of these tales take place not in "fair Verona" but in the equally gorgeous Siena, Italy. Settings don’t get much better than this. Siena is a city rich with history and beauty, the sort of city you fall in love with and never want to leave. In fact, the author’s bio on the back flap of the book says she wrote the book for her mother who “considered Verona as her true home until she discovered Siena.” In this book, we tour Siena with Julie, visiting cathedrals and piazzas and concert halls. We learn about the vast underground aqueducts and the palio (a traditional medieval horse race).
Gorgeous. That sort of fairy-tale desire is the type explored in Anne Fortier's novel, Juliet, a mix of Shakespeare and contemporary romantic-comedy fun, making it the perfect escapist read.It’s hard to imagine a more ambitious first novel, and I couldn’t put it down.
A word of caution: This is a demanding read. We’re playing with 600 years of history and ancestors who name their kids after themselves. This isn’t a book to read on the bus. Rather, curl up in your favourite chair, brew a pot of tea and allow yourself to fall in love.
Summary
Part modern-day thriller, part work of historical fiction, Anne Fortier delivers a wonderfully thrilling tale set in both present day and 14th century Italy, one that is based on the legend of Romeo and Juliet. While I found the historical parts slow, I quite literally couldn't put the book down whenever the story focused on the modern-day. A great read!
Reading Level: Adults
Appropriate for young adults. Mild romance, mild sexual references, violence.
Rating :
5 stars
