Review by zeldasideas -- The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio
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zeldasideas
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Review by zeldasideas -- The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio" by Belle Ami.]
History has left behind a portrait of Caravaggio as a man fueled by passion and anger. Is it the case that he killed a rival named Ranuccio in a street battle, even if historians are entirely uncertain as to whether the fight took place at all? And if Caravaggio was so brutal a man, why are his portraits filled with an admiring respect of the poor and an intense religious fervor? These are the questions that preoccupy Angela Renatus, an art historian who, through past life regression, reverts to the past life of Caravaggio's lover Fellide to learn the truth about his affairs.
Belle Ami's The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio develops a new portrait of Caravaggio for the world to share. Angela, a world-renowned art historian, goes on a hunt to solve the mystery of the man's genius. Her ability to see into the past while in a self-induced hypnotic state, as well as her insight into religious symbols, makes her an excellent partner for Alex Caine, the rich detective assigned to investigate art-dealing fraud. Angela's approach leads her to surmise that Alex was Caravaggio in a previous life while she was his lover Fellide, the two of them together having been reincarnated as lovers in the present day to solve the mystery. Caravaggio died at the young age of thirty-nine, never reaching his heyday, at a time when much of his greatness was assigned and when his true value was as yet unknown.
While Angela is unearthing clues to this mystery, she and Alex face a corresponding dilemma. How can they arrange a marriage for themselves with their families in turmoil? First there is Oliver Renatus, Angela's father, a former CIA operative in the throes of an unsteady past who has had to forge all of Angela's familial ties without other family members to assist him. Next there is Alex's mother Faye Crawford, the owner of Crawford Oil, a badgering perfectionist who makes Alex worried he will be a disappointment to everyone. Finally there is Alex's divorced father Lancelot Caine, a pioneering diplomat with an erratic past overseas. As Angela and Alex chart the unsteady waters of married life, will their romantic tie to Fellide and Caravaggio be enough to help them weather the adversity of their marriage?
The plot of the book runs smoothly, with each successive insight into the lives of Caravaggio and Fellide serving to underscore the realization that Alex and Angela have loved each other in a previous life, one in which they have sacrificed their lives for one another. The scope of this book is broad, throwing us into a state of havoc as we journey with them across the entire world, a whirlwind affair ranging across places far and wide. And finally, the book does an excellent job of charting the psychological development of its characters. Angela is troubled. She is filled with nightmares about her past and unsure of how to project herself into her dynamic situation. She has a premonition that an Old Master's painting will disappear from Faye's circle, and even begins to view herself as less of a troubled, mentally disadvantaged art student and as more of a professional art historian who can use her premonitions to solve crimes. She uses her knowledge of past life regression to show Alex that the flashbacks he is experiencing as part of PTSD he suffered while in a military explosion overseas can be overcome by seeing them as part of a pattern of previous lives he has shared with artistic personalities.
The characters in the book are psychologically well rounded; however, they could be slightly improved by imbuing each one with a slate of attributes. While some characters are described in detail, others are described in fewer terms, with more attention being given to their fashionable clothing and costuming and less to their actual physical development. Further, the family backgrounds of the characters seem overinvested in the parental generation, with more concern going to the mother-father-child triangle and less to the enmeshed family circumstances. Overall, however, the characters are engrossing, romantic, and believable.
The book succeeds in giving us a new picture of Caravaggio. Whereas formerly he appeared in the light of scandal and derision, now he is the victim of a string of accidents whose clues help others to overcome hardship. Angela shows us how this new model of Caravaggio's past can bring us to a fuller understanding of works such as Supper at Emmaus, which reveals to men of this world how the impoverished apostles came to a new understanding of Christ at a blessed tavern, a meeting of the minds in humility.
This historical detective mystery will appeal to readers interested in the Baroque era in painting. Its erotic narrative will hypnotize readers into thinking they are part of the actual world which brought Caravaggio's art to the light of day. Many readers will welcome a new reading of this master's work in view of the many ways in which the unmitigated criticism of the sources contradicts the material evidence of the paintings. A new, "Venus de Milo" approach to the rebirth of Caravaggio's career would help a new generation of artists reassess his works. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for its strong plot and characterization.
******
The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
History has left behind a portrait of Caravaggio as a man fueled by passion and anger. Is it the case that he killed a rival named Ranuccio in a street battle, even if historians are entirely uncertain as to whether the fight took place at all? And if Caravaggio was so brutal a man, why are his portraits filled with an admiring respect of the poor and an intense religious fervor? These are the questions that preoccupy Angela Renatus, an art historian who, through past life regression, reverts to the past life of Caravaggio's lover Fellide to learn the truth about his affairs.
Belle Ami's The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio develops a new portrait of Caravaggio for the world to share. Angela, a world-renowned art historian, goes on a hunt to solve the mystery of the man's genius. Her ability to see into the past while in a self-induced hypnotic state, as well as her insight into religious symbols, makes her an excellent partner for Alex Caine, the rich detective assigned to investigate art-dealing fraud. Angela's approach leads her to surmise that Alex was Caravaggio in a previous life while she was his lover Fellide, the two of them together having been reincarnated as lovers in the present day to solve the mystery. Caravaggio died at the young age of thirty-nine, never reaching his heyday, at a time when much of his greatness was assigned and when his true value was as yet unknown.
While Angela is unearthing clues to this mystery, she and Alex face a corresponding dilemma. How can they arrange a marriage for themselves with their families in turmoil? First there is Oliver Renatus, Angela's father, a former CIA operative in the throes of an unsteady past who has had to forge all of Angela's familial ties without other family members to assist him. Next there is Alex's mother Faye Crawford, the owner of Crawford Oil, a badgering perfectionist who makes Alex worried he will be a disappointment to everyone. Finally there is Alex's divorced father Lancelot Caine, a pioneering diplomat with an erratic past overseas. As Angela and Alex chart the unsteady waters of married life, will their romantic tie to Fellide and Caravaggio be enough to help them weather the adversity of their marriage?
The plot of the book runs smoothly, with each successive insight into the lives of Caravaggio and Fellide serving to underscore the realization that Alex and Angela have loved each other in a previous life, one in which they have sacrificed their lives for one another. The scope of this book is broad, throwing us into a state of havoc as we journey with them across the entire world, a whirlwind affair ranging across places far and wide. And finally, the book does an excellent job of charting the psychological development of its characters. Angela is troubled. She is filled with nightmares about her past and unsure of how to project herself into her dynamic situation. She has a premonition that an Old Master's painting will disappear from Faye's circle, and even begins to view herself as less of a troubled, mentally disadvantaged art student and as more of a professional art historian who can use her premonitions to solve crimes. She uses her knowledge of past life regression to show Alex that the flashbacks he is experiencing as part of PTSD he suffered while in a military explosion overseas can be overcome by seeing them as part of a pattern of previous lives he has shared with artistic personalities.
The characters in the book are psychologically well rounded; however, they could be slightly improved by imbuing each one with a slate of attributes. While some characters are described in detail, others are described in fewer terms, with more attention being given to their fashionable clothing and costuming and less to their actual physical development. Further, the family backgrounds of the characters seem overinvested in the parental generation, with more concern going to the mother-father-child triangle and less to the enmeshed family circumstances. Overall, however, the characters are engrossing, romantic, and believable.
The book succeeds in giving us a new picture of Caravaggio. Whereas formerly he appeared in the light of scandal and derision, now he is the victim of a string of accidents whose clues help others to overcome hardship. Angela shows us how this new model of Caravaggio's past can bring us to a fuller understanding of works such as Supper at Emmaus, which reveals to men of this world how the impoverished apostles came to a new understanding of Christ at a blessed tavern, a meeting of the minds in humility.
This historical detective mystery will appeal to readers interested in the Baroque era in painting. Its erotic narrative will hypnotize readers into thinking they are part of the actual world which brought Caravaggio's art to the light of day. Many readers will welcome a new reading of this master's work in view of the many ways in which the unmitigated criticism of the sources contradicts the material evidence of the paintings. A new, "Venus de Milo" approach to the rebirth of Caravaggio's career would help a new generation of artists reassess his works. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for its strong plot and characterization.
******
The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest
