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Rachel van Kooij

Author of Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet

11 Works 29 Members 2 Reviews

About the Author

Includes the names: Rachel Van Kooij, Rachel van Kooij

Works by Rachel van Kooij

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Birthdate
1968
Gender
female
Nationality
Austria
Birthplace
Wageningen, Netherlands

Members

Reviews

I enjoyed this story even though poor Bartolomé suffers for much of it. Set in 17th century Spain, Bartolomé is not like his brothers and sisters, he has been born into a deformed and twisted body, he's also a dwarf. When his father moves the family to Madrid, Bartolomé is seen by the young Infanta princess and she wants him to be her human pet dog. The book covers the period of the painting of Velaquez's Las Meninas masterpiece in 1656.
Bartolomé is an inspiring little character, his soul sparkles through the great indignities he has to suffer, and one is relieved that he finds friends among the apprentices in Velaquez's studio where he is taken to have his dog face painted on every few days.
I was reminded of the book Wonder and also a little of Freak the mighty but here we are seeing prejudice and bullying of the disabled 17th century style.
… (more)
1 vote
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avatiakh | 1 other review | Oct 3, 2014 |

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Statistics

Works
11
Members
29
Popularity
#460,290
Rating
4.1
Reviews
2
ISBNs
15
Languages
4