Waking Raphael

This is an odd book but not without some merits ! The contrast btwn the Canadian and British protagonists' experiences with italian men and culture is interesting, as is the way the author weaves local color, history and literary styles together in a way that allows her to tackle corruption, post war animosities, and suppression of war crimes.

Title: Waking Raphael
Author: Leslie Forbes
Genre: Mystery fiction
# of pages: 430 pgs.

Start date: 5/10/08

End date: 5/23/08

Borrowed/bought: borrowed from the library
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best]: B-/C+

Description of the book: (Book Jacket) La Muta, "the mute woman," Amidst a country rocked by scandal and corruption, inhabitants of the idyllic city of Urbino, Italy, birthplace of Raphael, are more concerned with a sudden outbreak of miracles than with politics. But what unspeakable secret lies hidden in Raphael's enigmatic painting? Its restoration will drive a living mute to a shocking act of violence and spark an investigation into a nearly forgotten war crime and a series of events that will shatter the silence gripping show more this community forever.
Both a mesmerizing thriller and a passionate exploration of the power of truth to effect reconciliation and restore faith, Waking Raphael spins a tantalizing web of silence and lies to recreate an Italy where the romantic and the violent, the comic and the tragic, are spellbindingly interwoven.

Review: I liked all the scenery in this book. It made me feel like I was actually on vacation in Italy. I liked the author’s rich descriptions of the Italian countryside and great character development. I loved the references to art as the main character’s profession was restoring artwork. I didn’t like the first 200 pages of this book. It seemed that she was very VERY slow to develop the plot and then suddenly on page 201 it seemed like she decided that she needed to start developing the plot more. Normally it takes me about 2-3 days to read a 400+ page book and this book took me over a week because I detested the first 200 pages. If it wasn’t for my insane desire not to put down a book after starting it, I might not have finished it. Also, the development of the last 200 pages kept me reading and then I got to the end and I wasn’t pleased with the feel good ending. Also, all of the characters were European except for the “American” who was Canadian ( named Donna), and she was very promiscuous which struck me as odd, but I decided to shrug it off. It kept nagging me though because she was tall and beautiful, but dumb as a doornail and didn’t understand European politics, artwork, and culture. I would have been happier to have a more central character I could have related to. The main character in this book was English and she was in her mid to late 40s, a divorcee, and wanting no children. The central characters were definitely not my cup of tea. I definitely was surprised by the ending because to me it felt like a forced resolution, but it was interesting. Donna in particular ended up changing completely at the end and becoming an intellectual at the end and this also seemed forced. I love Italy, but this novel was very interesting in that the whole book revolved around a part of Italy’s history that is hard for me to deal with. show less

This is not a book for Da Vinci fans. But if you like a more leisurely journey of discovery, with Italian art, history, and a good rendition of the twisted interplay between village and state politics, as the focus, as seen through the eyes of a reluctant heroine, you will find this book entertaining.

Another story of an Englishwoman working in an Italian city to restore a Renaissance painting & getting involved in a local mystery. The story is more complicated than necessary.

slow, dull......not interesting. LCG library

Het is 1993 en in Italie zijn corruptieschandalen rond overheid, bedrijfsleven en het Vaticaan aan de orde van de dag. Behalve in het idyllische Urbino, het provincieplaatsje waar de schilder Rafael ooit het levenslicht zag, want daar lijken de inwoners zich niet druk te maken over zulke onbelangrijke zaken als politiek.

De Engelse kunsthistorica Charlotte Penton is naar Urbino gekomen voor en zeer eervolle opdracht: de restauratie van het schilderij La Muta (de doofstomme vrouw) van Rafael. Maar haar komst naar Urbino is voor Charlotte ook een vlucht, weg van de pijn van haar recente scheiding. Om haar gevoelens uit te schakelen stort ze zich met volle overgave op het minutieuze restauratiewerk. En met elke laag verf die door haar van show more La Muta verwijderd wordt, lijken ook gebeurtenissen uit het verleden van Urbino iets meer aan de oppervlakte te komen. Gebeurtennissen die sommige liever in het duister willen houden.

Want wanneer tijden de feestelijke onthulling van La Muta een stomme vrouw graaf Malaspino met een mes verwondt en het kostbare schilderij beschadigt, rijst het vermoeden dat deze vrouw geheimen uit het verleden van de graaf kent die veel van Urbino's inwoners ook geheim willen houden. Alles wijst er namelijk de ouderen onder hen goed van pas lijkt te komen.... show less