The Marriage Portrait By Maggie O'Farrell - Review
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- A review of The Marriage Portrait By Maggie O'Farrell.
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.
Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?
As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.
Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.
I've picked this up in the book store, read the first few pages and set it back down again SO MANY times trying to figure out whether or not to read it. I've resisted because the narrative and language didn't appeal to me at all. Then I've heard all these great things about it, so much hype. I'm really glad I saw this video - it confirms for me that I probably won't like this book at all. THANK YOU.
You're very welcome! thanks for watching.
I loved Hamnet. I didn't really know about this book. Love your honesty. Can't wait for your next regular guy review. I do consider books you like. I come to like what you like. Thanks. M.
I have this book waiting for me on my TBR, and it has been sitting there for months. I probably will still read it, but it just isn't a high priority for me at the moment. I think I would have to pair it with something fast-paced and fun.
I read "Hamnet" and it wasn't my thing. Most loved it. You will survive life without reading it, so you're good!
I just finished Trespasses and Demon Copperhead and loved both. Not sure which one to root for. I also loved Glory but it did not make it. :(
Although I haven't read any O'Farell i do get your point about it the scope being limited by the perspective of a 16yo old. The world feels very small and un-relatable. I felt the same with Circe, might be the main reason why I DNF'ed it. It was so hyped already and the initial 150 pages felt like a letdown. The prose was beautiful, the imagery was beautiful but it was, like you said, limited and claustrophobic
I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I tend to like a book where not much happens (quirky, I know). I had read some negative reviews early on, mostly by Hamnet fans who highly anticipated her new one. So, I guess all of us regular people are subject to influences (or moods) that can skew our objectivity.
Just started Demon Copperhead. (For me, the jury is still out.) Looking forward to your review. Thanks for what you do!
Please read Hamnet. I really want to hear your thoughts about it. I liked Hamnet a whole lot better than the Marriage Portrait.
I was nodding along through your entire video because I agree 100%. I hated the ending, thought the structure was wildly unnecessary, and didn't think the character of Lucrezia made any sense. I did a spoiler review of it not long after it was published and a lot of people were offended. 🤷♂
I do love Hamnet, but I read it fairly early in the hype machine. I think you're clever to try to temper your expectations on it.
I've had a lot of people critique Demon Copperhead in comments on my videos because they know how much I loved it. Obviously I'm biased in favor of the book, but I feel like a lot of the complaints are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what Demon Copperhead is. If they were at all aware that Demon Copperhead is an adaptation of a Dickens novel, then they've completely forgotten it. For example, a couple of people have complained that it feels episodic--and, I mean, it's an adaptation of a novel originally published in serial form. Of course it feels episodic. Or they've directly criticized Barbara Kingsolver for unbelievable plotting, when virtually everything in the book is a direct callback to the plot of David Copperfield. The most common complaint is that people find it unrealistic that so many bad things happen to Demon over the course of his life. As someone who has had a foster son and knows a lot of kids who have grown up in the foster system, I feel like people in general have no idea what life is like for these kids. My foster son's life was not that different from Demon's when I met him--and he was only newly sixteen then. At any rate, I look forward to your thoughts on it!
Hey! Maybe it's a kinda "Emperors New Clothes" thing with this one. People think it's brilliant because they love Hamnet and Maggie O'Farrell so much... oh well, it's all subjective I suppose. But it's great to hear we're in agreement and i'm not alone. Heading over to your spoiler review after I write this.
Thanks so much for your thoughts on Demon copperhead. From your comments my worry is that I haven't read David Copperfield, so might not get the most out of it. I've seen the 2019 film "The Personal History of David Copperfield" staring Dev Patel, and I hope that's enough to make some connections...I have two sets of close friends who have both fostered and then gone onto adoption, and they shared stories with me (because they had to because of triggers etc when I was around them) that will forever haunt me...so theres not much in fiction that will shock me or come across as unbelievable.
On another note...We are close to the Pulitzer reveal right? Might have to rewatch your prediction video. I mean its a massive stab in the dark but if I was to pick something i'd go "trust" I read it when I was reading the booker longlist, many disliked it... but I loved it.
@@rororeads I have never read David Copperfield, so don't let that put you off. The only Dickens I had read before was Great Expectations. I did look up the Wikipedia page of David Copperfield when I finished because I was curious, and it was fun to trace how similar the books are, where Kingsolver made changes, and how she updated characters and the story to make it modern (and fit a different country). But I did not read Copperfield in advance and have never seen a film adaptation of it, either. If it does win the Pulitzer, I'll probably take the leap to help me do a video about the book.
... but I predicted that Trust will win. It's interesting because I don't know when the jury submits the finalists to the Board, but recent events in the United States feel tailor made to make a case for Trust. I'm just not sure if the bank failures would have happened before finalists were submitted or not. Regardless, if Trust is a finalis, it feels like the news is handing the Board every reason in the world to find the book topical. I think it will win. But I'm one of the people who wasn't too enthused about it.
Disagree. I loved the close-up focus on the psyche and point of view of one naive child forced into becoming a young woman. That blinkered, claustrophobic and limited view was what held the tension of the novel throughout. I was glad not to get intricate detail of the sweeping political intrigue that was driving the happenings and motivations of the people surrounding her. A bigger canvas would have pushed the protagonist into the role of a unimportant and insignificant bystander. And the ending was so clearly a fantasy, not the reality that I can not understand how so many people misread it.
After Hamnet, I was also very disappointed by this book.
Ya I didn't like the world renowned book Hamnet. Pretentious writing. No plans to pick marriage portrait after watching your review
You’ve not read Hamnet? Well let me raise you… I’ve not read ANY O’Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell top trumps. You sir, are the winner haha