The Serpent and the Pearl

I enjoyed this book just as much on my second read through as I did on my first. This was the book that made me fall in love with Kate Quinn. Bringing together a cast of unlikely characters - a runaway female cook, a dwarf who throws knives, and the famed Giulia La Bella as the pope's mistress - Quinn weaves a delightful and fascinating story of the Italian Renaissance.

First and foremost, know that this book will make you salivate. Since one of the narrators is Carmelina the cook, you will be inundated with descriptions of Renaissance food in the best way possible. While Quinn is quick to point out in her Historical Note it would have been highly unlikely for a woman to be a professional chef, she nevertheless conjures up a plausible show more sequence of events that have allowed Carmelina to be a cook, and I have loved learning about various details about daily life in the process. That's another thing that Quinn does exceptionally well. Her attention to detail in regards to how her characters would have lived every day immerses readers into the story. You feel like you're not only enjoying yourself but learning something.

Carmelina becomes the employee of Giulia Farnese, more of less. In this rendition of the Borgias, Giulia is seen as a gorgeous, naive, and pleasure-loving young woman between the ages of 18 and 20. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure. I had fun reading about her, nonetheless. It was genius of Quinn to use Giulia as one of her narrators. It anchors the story between the other two narrators, both of whom are fictional. Through Giulia, we meet all of the infamous Borgias: indomitable Rodrigo, sly Cesare, lecherous Juan, and an initially unspoiled if somewhat vain Lucrezia. It is never a dull moment when she is telling the story.

The third narrator is Leonello, a dwarf assassin and Giulia's bodyguard. He seems directly inspired from Tyrion of Game of Thrones, and I doubt you'll be able to picture anybody else but Peter Dinklage as the character. Both are scholarly characters with a sharp tongue. Leonello is also on a mission to discover who murdered his friend Anna, as well as the other low women of Rome. With Leonello, Quinn explores another side of Renaissance society: the side of the impoverished and the side that men usually inhabit. It really adds color to the story and fleshes out the world.

You really can't go wrong with a Quinn novel, so if you're curious or historical fiction isn't your typical fare, I highly recommend this. It's super approachable, fun, and rich with history without feeling dry. Give this a try! You won't regret it. show less

Anything by Kate Quinn is, of course, going to be a win by me; I don't think she has the ability to disappoint. This lovely look into Borgia era Italy pleases the palate (sometimes literally) just like her previous works.

Like her look into ancient Rome in her previous trilogy, Renaissance Italy just breathes with life in Kate's talented hands. Every scent, taste, sound, and sight leaps off the page and makes the reader live the scene. I especially liked how she went into so much detail with Carmelina's recipes. Holy cow, but I was hungry after reading this book! And I know I can't have been the only one. If future books are anything like this one, they will be feast for the scenes and a must read for that fact alone.

However, Kate knows show more how to bring three-dimensional characters to life and make us weep for them or make us admire them for their approach to life. Every character has depth and personality. They also all have for more sides than just the normal. When the reader thinks they have a character figured out, they'll say or do something that totally redefines who they are. This really makes the reader have to pay attention when reading to get the whole character picture. Really good examples of this are Guilia and Leonello. Guilia seems extremely eager to please and going with the flow for most of the book; yet, she develops a spine (just like she tells her husband to do) in the last 3rd of the book and starts to work for the life she wants the best she can. Leonello is a sarcastic asshole through much of the book but we see glimpses of caring here and there that make him gloriously three-dimensional.

Overall, this book pleases on all scores. It's full of lush historical and sensual detail, and the characters scream out for attention, all of them. I eagerly await The Lion and the Rose when it becomes available. show less

This had been sitting on my shelf for ages before I picked it up. Historical fiction based on the Borgias guarantees some smut, and some murdering, which does go on here. But I was more impressed with the moments of heart, and hope, and friendship and even love between characters in the ensemble cast. Giulia, learning to navigate the intrigue that comes with being Rodrigo's mistress, and even growing to love him. Lucrezia growing from a young girl into a woman who is more than a little warped.
And a bonus, the fictional characters. I have so much love for Carmelina and Leonello.

If only I had more time, I would have completed this much faster. This was an engrossing read, that I never wanted to put it down. It involved the real family of the Borgias in the late 15th century who were responsible for scandal in the papacy. They had illegitimate children, concubines, wealth, and plenty of malice. The characters, both fictional and historical, were dynamic people with independent thoughts and humor. The only reason it is missing that last star is because she didn't clarify Italian words and I become lost sometimes with the foreign language. The cook's soliloquy was very descriptive and I could almost taste all the dishes she made. The dwarf bodyguard reminded me of Tyrion from Game of Thrones. They were both avid show more readers, had sharp tongues, penchant for wine, and had references to lions. Leonello was a poor dwarf who taught himself to read, while Tyrion was born with a silver spoon and had everything at his disposal. I'm eager to read her other books. show less

I love reading about the Borgias, they are extremely fascinating and controversial, even in this day and age. So when I spotted this book, I eagerly grabbed it.

Carmelina and Leonello are interesting and fictional characters. Carmelina remains a mysterious figure for most of the book, but my goodness her food creations sound heavenly and delicious. Although the random page reference to the recipes in the middle of a train of thought was a little disruptive. Leonello is interesting, as he did what was near impossible for a dwarf, that is to rise up above being a fool (juggling, etc) and become the guard of the Borgia, although somewhat unintentionally.

Giulia is certainly an interesting character. She is infamous for being the mistress show more of Pope Borgia, yet we know so little about her. Through this book, we get to see that she is more than just a pretty face and not so naive as people may believe. While she definitely isn't the calculating and manipulative girl that we often see, she certainly is a charmer and eagerly tries to sooth everyone around her. I got to like Giulia quite a bit, especially when she started standing up against the pope by refusing to return to Rome after the death of her brother.

I noticed that the murders became almost an after thought for the remainder 1/3 of the book, at least not till the epilogue. The epilogue was almost random after what happens in the remaining 1/3 of the book, although it does peek my interest still.

Such a cliffhanger!! I have to read the next book like now! show less

Quinn is such a good writer and this one didn't disappoint. The ending was shocking to me, but then I realized she is angling to make a sequel. The Borgias came alive for me, as do all Quinn's characters. She should write history books for school, then everyone would love the subject!

Rome, corruption, Catholic cardinals fathering children, and of course murder all thrown into THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL.

THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL was set in Rome where the powerful Borgia family was in charge. You didn't want to go against the Borgia family. The Borgia family ruled during the 1400's and had servants, money and power, but they mostly had corrupt family members. The corruption began in the book when Orsino and Giulia were married but Orsino never came to the marriage bed. He had been paid off by the Cardinal. Guilia found out that Cardinal Borgia wanted her for himself, and that he already had many children from previous women. Cardinal Borgia would hide his indiscretions by paying off and sending away the groom and then show more keeping the bride for himself.

The book was based on fact and was filled with corrupt, evil characters with chapters devoted to each character. Guilia Farnese was the main character along with Carmelina, Cardinal Borgia, and Madonna Adriana. Cardinal Borgia and Madonna Adriana, Guilia's mother-in-law, were the most evil of all in my opinion. The characters and the book itself were interesting, but it took a while to get the gist of what was going on. It was difficult to follow and seemed to be a tale focused on the Cardinal and Guilia’s lovemaking. It is unbelievable this really occurred back in the 1400's.

I liked Leonello, the dwarf and bodyguard, the best. Even though he murdered people, he seemed to be the most likeable of the characters. I also liked Carmelina, the chef. She was believable and a hard worker. I completely disliked Cardinal Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI) simply because he was evil, cunning, and selfish. Guilia was likeable, but also a bit naive.

I can't say I didn't like THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL, but I can't say that I did. I do like history and I definitely learned a great deal, but the book seemed to drag. I wasn't "dying" to get back to the book. Perhaps since I didn't read Ms. Quinn's other books, I missed out on something.

The reader can’t deny, though, that the writing was excellent, very descriptive, and well researched. Ms. Quinn definitely did thorough research. The historical facts were detailed and accurate. In some respects, this era was a bit comical, and it was difficult to believe that these activities with the Cardinals/Popes took place.

Not sure what my rating should be, but I am going to go with 3.5 out of 5 simply because it was a bit tedious with the day-to-day living being repeated. Other than that, if you are a fan of this era, you will not be disappointed. History was masterfully brought to life through Ms. Quinn’s talents.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review. show less