The Miracles of Prato by Laurie Albanese & Laura Morowitz
First line: “There’s always blood: that’s what the midwife is thinking.”
This is what a good book does: sucks you in and doesn’t let go. I read the Miracles of Prato practically uninterrupted (shoo, kids, shoo) and found myself planted in Renaissance Italy in the 15th century smack dab in the middle of the convent. (I’d be the gossiping nun type.) The place is Prato and the time and hero are familiar. We’ve heard a lot about the Italian renaissance relating to da Vinci, but Albanese & Morowitz give us another true-life tale just as intriguing as da Vinci’s. Our hero is a monk-painter with a talent similar to da Vinci’s. Fra Filippo is handsome, a bit wrecked, and gifted (although slow like da Vinci at finishing his projects.) He’s the chaplain, but lives in his own cottage where he paints when he’s not fulfilling his church duties. Enter two sisters to the nunnery – one plain (Spinetta) and the other beautiful (Lucrezia). The latter has the perfect face to pose for his Blessed Virgin Mary. Divine, right?
The authors make the book feel so authentic, I kept marveling that I wasn’t reading a book actually written in that time. The language is pure, the painting and the church so well-researched and so intricately drawn that I fell deep into the trance of the writers’ spell. While the story is based on true events, two of the more interesting characters were completely imagined and add a lot of spark and drama to the novel. There are villians and yet no real saints and lots of juicy scandal which makes the read enjoyable to the end. I look forward to reading much more from these talented authors.
For: A richly drawn story of the Renaissance and anyone who has a fascination with Italy, the Church and Renaissance art. A must-read for lovers of historical fiction. – Malena Lott