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Loading... The Night Villa: A Novel (edition 2008)by Carol Goodman
Work InformationThe Night Villa by Carol Goodman
  
Which house? (138) No current Talk conversations about this book.  EmScape | Jun 21, 2021 |    ) dbsovereign | Jan 26, 2016 |  ) bnbookgirl | Dec 7, 2015 | I enjoyed my first two Carol Goodman novels, The Lake of Dead Languages and Seduction of Water, but this one seemed a bit one dimensional in comparison. I loved the descriptions of the archaeological site known as The Night Villa, and the story of the slave girl, Iusta, that was gradually being unveiled by multi-spectral imaging of the papyrus scrolls on which it had been written. Unfortunately I wasn't grabbed by the modern day characters or the 'adventure' story. Archaeological professor, Sophie Chase, is recovering from a traumatic event on her University campus when she is persuaded to take part in a dig in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. In the labyrinth of tunnels under the villa, the researchers find a number of valuable antique documents that become the target of money making moguls and a modern day religious cult whose rites are based on based on old scripts. I visited Herculaneum and Pompeii a few years ago and could well imagine the old paintings and mosaics, and the sand coloured walls of the ancient villa. The tunnels underground made it even more atmospheric and I'm fascinated by archaeology. However, the characters didn't grab me and the subterranean chase felt more like a scene from The Hobbit than anything genuinely historic. According to Carol Goodman's web page, the story of Iusta is based on the life of a slave girl who lived at the time of the volcanic eruption, which I found fascinating, but the mythological stuff was, personally, of less interest. All in all, a bit of a marmite book; good in parts. Probably best recommended to lovers of mythology and archaeology. I listened to an audio version, expertly narrated by Susanna Burney Other Carol Goodman novels I have read: The Lake of Dead Languages (4 stars) Seduction of Water (4 stars) (  ) DubaiReader | Jan 10, 2014 | omnia_mutantur | Dec 4, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
An evocative tale of intrigue, romance, and treachery, Carol Goodman's spellbinding new novel, The Night Villa, follows the fascinating lives of two remarkable women centuries apart. The eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 buried a city and its people, their treasures and secrets. Centuries later, echoes of this disaster resonate with profound consequences in the life of classics professor Sophie Chase. In the aftermath of a tragic shooting on the University of Texas campus, Sophie seeks sanctuary on the isle of Capri, immersing herself in her latest scholarly project alongside her colleagues, her star pupil, and their benefactor, the compelling yet enigmatic business mogul John Lyros. Beneath layers of volcanic ash lies the Villa della Notte-the Night Villa-home to first-century nobles, as well as to the captivating slave girl at the heart of an ancient controversy. And secreted in a subterranean labyrinth rests a cache of antique documents believed lost to the ages: a prize too tantalizing for Sophie to resist. But suspicion, fear, and danger roam the long-untrodden tunnels and chambers beneath the once sumptuous estate-especially after Sophie sees the face of her former lover in the darkness, leaving her to wonder if she is chasing shadows or succumbing to the siren song of the Night Villa. Whatever shocking events transpired in the face of Vesuvius's fury have led to deeper, darker machinations that inexorably draw Sophie into their vortex, rich in stunning revelations and laden with unseen menace. Praise for The Night Villa "Visit The Night Villa: Carol Goodman' s luminous prose and superb storytelling will keep you entertained into the late hours."--Nancy Pickard "The pleasure of a Carol Goodman novel is in her enviable command of the classical canon-and the deft way she [writes] a book that's light enough for a weekend on the beach but literary enough for a weekend in the Hamptons."--Chicago Tribune No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.61)
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I wasn't a big fan of Sophie as a character who seems both too involved and not involved enough in the life of her young female student. I mean, there's some wisdom Sophie could impart which might have been helpful, but also Sophie is a pretty hot mess herself.
The historical information presented in the book was fascinating, but a lot more of it turned out to be made up for the purposes of this tale than I expected when I went about looking it all up.
I've been a big fan of Carol Goodman's books before, but this was a pretty disappointing example of her work in my opinion. (