I was very intrigued by the synopsis of The Violinist of Venice by Alyssa Palombo. I thank St. Martin’s Press for sending me a copy at no charge for my honest review. Read on to learn about this new release.
About The Violinist of Venice:
Like most 18th century Venetians, Adriana d’Amato adores music-except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family’s palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair.
Adriana’s father is intent on seeing her married to a wealthy, prominent member of Venice’s patrician class-and a handsome, charming suitor, whom she knows she could love, only complicates matters-but Vivaldi is a priest, making their relationship forbidden in the eyes of the Church and of society. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana’s marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music. The repercussions of his choice-and of Adriana’s own choices-will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined.
Spanning more than 30 years of Adriana’s life, Alyssa Palombo’s The Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, music, ambition, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.
About the Author:
ALYSSA PALOMBO has published short historical fiction pieces in Black Lantern, Novelletum, and The Great Lakes Review. She is a recent a graduate of Canisius College with degrees in English and creative writing, respectively, as well as a trained classical musician. The Violinist of Venice is her first novel. She lives in Tonawanda, New York.
My Opinion:
I love Vivaldi’s music so that is what drew me to this book. While he plays a prominent role, the story really belongs to the fictional Adriana d’Amato. She is a young woman of the upper class in Venice with an overwhelming passion for music. A passion that drives her to sneak out of her house where she is a very sheltered young lady, to go in search of a man of whom she has heard much. A man whose talent for playing the violin leads her to believe he is the only man who can refine her talent. That man is Antonio Vivaldi, known as “the red priest” due to his vocation and his hair color. Vivaldi sees something in the beautiful 17 year old girl so he agrees to tutor her. One could expect at this point that the two of them would be studying more than the violin.
Adriana soon learns that no matter how much she might want something it is not always meant to be. But before these hard lessons come her way she lives in a way that will help maintain her when things return to their proper order as they must.
I enjoyed the book for the most part it was, I think, just a little bit longer than it had to be. Ms Palombo really researched and knows music. I’m not sure all of that info needed to be imparted to the reader to get the story told. It bogged things down at times and made the book read “slow” if you know what I mean. I did find the second half of the story redeemed the first half and I was glad to have spent time in Vivaldi’s Venice.
Rating:
3.5
You can read my review of The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence
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