The Venetian Mask: A Novel
by Rosalind Laker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rosalind LakerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-25
ISBN: 0307352560
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of The Venetian Mask: A Novel
Book Review: (3.5 stars) yes, Laker has patterns for her books, but that doesn't make this novel of intrigue and love bad by any means
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading "To Dance with Kings" I made it my mission to read all of Rosalind Laker's novels. After "The Golden Tulip" I begin to see a pattern, which was confirmed with this novel "The Venetian Mask." You see, while the plot of her novels may vary greatly from one book to another, all of her books seem to have two things in common-each female heroine must have some association with the arts through creative means (fan making, mask making, silver design, painting, silk weaving, building furniture, jewelry....) and it seems each of her novels at least some of the following aspects: an evil male (bent on marrying one of our hapless heroines and then ruining her life) at least one heroine (who's hair will be some hue of read) lovers parted (tragically but they seem to get over it in time) and a marriage of convenience from which love will bloom. For all I know though, these elements are common ground for novels that are more about romance than anything else, as Lakers are (in spite of the tons of interesting historical information she packs in.)
"The Venetian Mask" has all the elements of a Laker novel but that doesn't make it unoriginal. The setting alone in historical, secretive and magical Venice and the historical information that goes along with it makes this novel unique. It starts with Marietta a girl who works with her mother in a mask making shop and the last mask her mother will ever make, which will play a significant role in her daughters life. Shortly thereafter the mother dies, leaving her daughter to have her voice trained in one of Venice's charity orphanages, renowned for the quality of their musical orphans.
It is at the Ospedale della Pietà that Marietta will spend her years until adulthood, accompanied by another orphaned girl, her new best friend, Elena. Together they will go through childhood adventures and adult heartbreak until circumstances of marriage force them into the midst of a centuries old Venetian family vendetta and the two are forbidden to meet. But these two girls (both with hair in hues of red of some sort) refuse to be kept down. And in a city renowned for its Carnival, where safely lies behind masks, anyone in Venice can do anything....as long as people don't know who you are....
Sadly while Marietta's marriage blossoms, Elena's is a nightmare of darkness and abuse and soon the novel spins into a whirlwind of drama including baby switching, murder attempts, faked treason trials, seduction of innocent Pietà girls and even more. Add in the French Revolution and you've got yourself a novel packed full of intrigue, drama and multiple creative uses for Venetian masks.
Which is typical for Laker-you want to read her books; you get a soap opera of drama and romance, good and bad. And of course, being set in Venice, a city whose very culture is built of secrets, this one has to step it up.
There is no question that "The Venetian Mask" is an enjoyable novel. I liked it better than "The Golden Tulip" because it lacked the character problems and there wasn't any thing that could have been cut from the book and still have the story hold together. But I'm afraid that for me it will never eclipse "To Dance with Kings", which if definitely the best of Laker's work I've read so far.
The only big problem with this novel is that there is so much going on that we hear about through character talk instead of reading about with our own eyes. I know to write the whole thing down would make the book longer and maybe break some sort of suspense Laker was trying to create but I can't help thinking that it would have been a better book had all those missing scenes been included.
This is definitely a novel for a historical fiction lover who likes more than a fare share of drama and romance along with their history facts (and this is pumped full of them) and as long as you don't mind a little bit of similarity with Laker's past works, and a novel that focuses more on the romance and the drama it creates than anything else you'll most likely find a couple of very enjoyable days reading "The Venetian Mask", as I did.
Three point five stars.
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