Love That Moves the Sun: Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarroti
Linda Cardillo
Synopsis
He was the genius of his age; revered sculptor, painter, architect and poet; fiercely devoted friend; beleaguered artist to the popes; and a pilgrim in search of an elusive redemption.
She was a celebrated poet; dutiful daughter; adoring yet betrayed wife; powerful political voice; spiritual seeker; suspected heretic; and the only woman Michelangelo ever loved.
Review
LOVE THAT MOVES THE SUN is not a simple Historical Romance, or love story. Yes, you have a telling of the friendship that the poet and what I would call a religious/social activist, Vittoria Colonna and the great artist Michelangelo shared, albeit it in a somewhat different manner, but who is to say what is what.
This is a book for every person that wants to learn about strong and influential women in Europe in the 1500s. The well described settings, character development and emotional atmosphere of the day envelope you in perfection and you forget to come up for air until the hour is so late your eyes drop or your stomach growls in protest of your neglect.
Most people see Michelangelo as one thing, an artist, perhaps too some he is the greatest. But you see with the turning pages and through Colonna’s voice that he had other depths, another purpose.
If you are not a normal fan of the Romance genre, with LOVE THAT MOVES THE SUN you receive a thoroughly researched and well-presented historical lesson that is wrapped in the velvet glove of Romance, just to trick those Romance fans into becoming History fans.
I recommend to the aforementioned genre lovers Linda Cardillo’s latest offering, as well as to those who are wanting to test the waters of Historical Romance for the first time.
This is where I would tell you a little about the author, Linda Cardillo, The problem is, there is no way I can do a cliff notes version of her life. Visit her website http://lindacardillo.com/ to see how a love of writing and Harvard Business School produce an award-winning author.
You can purchase her book at the following: (Indie Bound is the third logo in case some are not familiar with it.)
Title: Numero Zero Author: Umberto Eco ISBN: 0544635086
ISBN13: 978-0544635081 Published: 3rd November 2015 Pages: 208 Genre: Satire, Thriller and Suspense/Conspiracy/Politics
Numero Zero by Umberto Eco. Satire, conspiracy, politics, media… although not sure it’s a novel.
Thanks to Net Galley and to Vintage Digital for offering me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve read some of the reviews by a number of readers who have followed Eco’s literary career. All seem to agree that this book cannot compare to some of the other novels he’s written, although some like it nonetheless, whilst others are disparaging of it.
For me, Umberto Eco is a writer who’s always been on my bucket list but never quite made it (or perhaps I read The Name of the Rose translated to Spanish many years back, but as I don’t remember it, I’ll assume I didn’t). When I saw this opportunity I decided not to miss it.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Numero Zero is quite different from anything I had imagined.
The beginning of the book is very intriguing, and it presents a writer/translator (Colonna) who swiftly explains his current situation. He is convinced that somebody has entered his house and he is in fear for his life.
Following this introduction to the main character, Colonna goes back to describe how he got there. The background to his current situation is what forms most of the novel, and we only return to the original point very late in the book (when there are only a few pages left).
Colonna describes himself as a loser and he has accepted a very strange job: to record the memoirs of a man who is setting up a newspaper, Domani. Only the newspaper will never get published, and the whole project is a way of manipulating contacts, allies and enemies by a third interested party.
There are descriptions of the reporters, a motley crew, fairly quirky, but none particularly talented or known. The ones we get to know more about are Bragaddocio, who’s always investigating some conspiracy or other (eventually coming to the conclusion that it is all part of a single huge conspiracy, involving Mussolini, the Vatican, the CIA, European governments…), and the only woman, Maia, who has a very special personality, but seems the only one with some sense of ethics and morals. By a strange process of osmosis, Colonna and Maia end up in a relationship, the one bright and hopeful spot of the whole novel, however weird the coupling seems.
Rather than well-developed characters and situations, Numero Zero seems an exercise in exposing current society (although the story is set in 1992), the press, media, politics… and their lack of substance. Also the lack of interest in serious stories by the population at large, and our collective poor memory. As a satire I enjoyed it enormously, and although most of the characters experience no change (we don’t get too attached to them either, as they seem to be mostly just two-dimensional beings representing a single point of view), I thought Maia becomes more realistic, cynical and enlightened by the end of the book. And I found Colonna’s final reflection about Italy hilarious. (No offence to Italy. I think all the countries are going the same way if not there already. I’m Spanish and I definitely had to nod).
I agree with many of the comments, which note that the disquisitions and tirades of Bragaddocio are relentless, but they reflect a paranoid character (and perhaps, although he accuses Maia of being autistic, there is more than a bit of obsessiveness in his personality); the comments about the newspaper, how to write articles, and the press I found illuminating (yes, and funny), and overall I enjoyed the book, although as I said, it’s not my idea of a novel.
So I find myself in a similar situation to when I reviewed Satin Island. I enjoyed it (not as much as Satin Island, but it made me laugh more than once), but it is a novel that’s perhaps not a novel, with not very well developed characters, and an anecdote at its heart rather than a plot. There you are. You decide if you want to read it or not. Ah, and it’s short.
Ratings: Realistic Characterization: 3.5/5 Made Me Think: 5/5 Overall enjoyment: 4/5 Readability: 3.5/5 Recommended: 4/5 Overall Rating: 4/5
Love That Moves the Sun: Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarroti
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