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Title: The Venetian's Wife: A Strangely Sensual Tale of a Renaissance Explorer, a Computer, and a Metamorphosis by Nick Bantock ISBN: 0-8118-1140-9 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: October, 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.85 (34 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: a weak ending breaks the spell
Comment: I could not put the Venetian's Wife down as soon as I started reading it. I loved the beautiful pictures on each page and though the characters are somewhat shallow the author's economy works well with the plot, which is so original and unpredictable! This was my first experience with Bantock's writing. I had alway meant to check out his Griffin and Sabine books because the art work looks so interesting. I received the Venetian's Wife as a gift. I am an art historian and work at an art museum so my brother thought the book was particularly appropriate for me. Until the very end, The Venetian's Wife was one of my favorite books; however, I found the end extremely disappointing. I felt cheated and angry; like the author did not finish his work.
Rating: 4
Summary: Likeable main characters, some pretty art, but weak ending
Comment: I am a big fan of Nick Bantock's and I looked forward eagerly to reading this book. The artwork is much more sparse than his Griffin and Sabine trilogy but still I liked the story line a lot. It's fun to read the brief descriptions of Hindu mythology, and I found our main characters, Sara Wolfe and Niccolo Dei Conti, interesting, intelligent and likeable. I could relate on a personal level to the friendship, caring and sexual attraction that Sara and Marco shared, and was happy with its "reality". The characters Sara encounters on her travels are interesting too. Here were all the ingredients for an amazing conclusion. Alas it was not to be. I was very disappointed by the lacklustre ending I got. It's left to the reader to assume that Sara or Marco or both are descendants of Conti in some way but it's vague. I love the idea of a love so intense and profound that even death cannot overcome it and I'm willing to accept that Conti had to wait for a certain person with the right combination of factors to appear to unlock the key before he could be reunited with his beloved Yashoda, but Bantock could have given us a far better ending than the one he did, considering the superb buildup.
Rating: 5
Summary: An eerie story
Comment: ... but I mean that in a good way. Sara, the heroine, receives cryptic messages from a (seemingly) all-knowing spirit. He hangs in the half-world between life and death, with some arcane task not yet finished. She helps him complete what was not completed in life, and then ...
That would be telling. The fact is, the spirit (Conti) is a friendly, chatty sort and offers fair pay for services rendered. He even arranges some interesting (and quite businesslike) travel. He also has some suggestions regarding her would-be boyfriend. As it turns out, the suggestions aren't needed. Something larger than Conti is also involving itself with Sara, and is quite the opposite of the ominous, evil force that Sara might have feared.
This story may be Bantock's finest. It includes all of the themes that seem to fascinate Bantock: the alternatives to life and death, exchange between the human and the supernatural, and the growth of intimacy as a force in itself. Also, the story is wholly contained in one volume. I like that: I can see how the plot plays out without waiting a year or two for the next chapter. Some people might feel that closure impairs the sense of mystery. That's a matter of personal taste, though, so I can neither agree nor disagree.
Sad to say, the "Wife" includes less of Bantock's incredible artwork than any other book I've seen. His layered, complex story almost makes up for lack of his layered, complex art, but not quite.
Bantock fans: this a must-have. Bantock newcomers: you'll find more of his signature art in any of the other books published to date.
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Title: The Morning Star by Nick Bantock ISBN: 081183199X Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Museum at Purgatory by Nick Bantock ISBN: 006095793X Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Unfolds by Nick Bantock ISBN: 081183140X Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Gryphon: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Is Rediscovered by Nick Bantock ISBN: 0811831620 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Artful Dodger: Images and Reflections by Nick Bantock ISBN: 0811827526 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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