Review: The Book I've Been Looking For But Could Not Name
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2014
The voice of this author reached inside my sensibilities, wrapped around my imagination and hidden wants, then pulled me into both an amazing story while pulling out of me pleasures I didn't know I wanted. This is a hypnotic, magical book that hits clear notes of the supernatural, romance (that word sounds so weak compared to what this book offers), mystery, horror, the sensual without the salacious, art history, and one of the world's most enchanting cities as it's never before been visited. Ah, Venice, you have been loved well and your secrets exposed in this tale.Joseph and his twin sister Sophie flee an undisclosed scandal in New York City for the promise of Joseph's talents bringing them the fame and the something "special" they have been looking for. They travel to Venice with the last of their inheritance. There is a relationship between Joseph and Sophie that is written so beautifully it is at the same time repugnant and tender; intellectually confusing yet emotionally understood. The secrets of their past are revealed with remarkable skill as the story of what they've walked into in Venice unfold and take the reader under its spell. The writing is the syncopated time of a fine musical composition. The paranormal elements are chilling but never the center of the story--they serve the story and the Big Questions about life and art the book asks us.It's impossible to say more about this story without throwing out spoilers, so I'll stick with superlatives. How about: Wow! The pace did seem to slither at times, but who cares when there's a sustained, sensuous voice like this? Not me. It was over too soon. The research and knowledge of the myths and legends of Venice are so meticulously researched and woven into the story that they never take over; they enhance and pull the reader in as a front row viewer. I was especially floored by how effortlessly the author combined so many elements so well and invited the reader to question, even before she writes them out in case we're not catching on, the Big Questions about Art and Life. What is the cost of art? What are we willing to sacrifice? If there justice for past wrongs? Is there evil in the depths of extraordinary beauty? Can two people share the same soul? What monsters await when we are under the spell of the extraordinary? How much sleep can a person miss to keep reading a very good book? (I can answer that last question: Lots.) I think this passage from the book sums up the experience of reading it:"I poured wine, drawing things out now that I wasn't certain of him, craving the pleasure-pain of consummation long denied, breathless with triumph. I tried to temper it--this was only the prelude, after all. What mattered was the bargain I meant to make with him."This author makes a bargain with the reader, tempers and teases that bargain, and does not fail in holding up her end of the deal. She brings "beauty from ugliness" every step of the seductive journey. This is an author I'll read again and again. If you're looking for a book that turns you every which way but loose, lean into Inamorata and let it ask:"What is it you desire?"