August Books

1.
David Hewson’s The Garden of Evil was a wonderful read. It’s a thriller with all the typical thriller conventions, but it’s super ambitious. It connects a present-day story with a mysterious historical event. It’s written really well, with great characters and prose.

It’s about a piece of art that could have been painted by Caravaggio, a recreation of Annibale Carracci’s Venus with a Satyr and Cupids, and what that sort of thing might inspire (It’s a totally creepy and fascinating painting!). Hewson imagines an answer to why Caravaggio committed murder and left Rome in 1606. If you’re curious, Wikipedia shows the paintings of Caravaggio and Carracci

I’ve been reading a lot of books about 16th and 17th century Rome/Venice/Turkey, and I hope to read more. Makes me wish I’d majored in Art History. Also, I’ve GOT to get back to Italy. *saves money*

2.
I finished Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red. I liked it, but I don’t have anything to say about it. Pamuk’s Snow is still one of my fave books. I’ll read more of his stuff for sure. But, alas, I have nothing to say about this one.

3.
Now I’m reading The Margarets, which I love so far. The young narrator isn’t overly childish. She’s intelligent and likes words and telling stories. Plus the premise is very cool. The writing is super fancy. I might be a new Tepper fan; I’ll report back when I’ve gotten to the end.