Review: Perspective(s)

3 stars. Okay, I'm going to be honest - I'm writing this on a bad day, during a bad week, after a series of bad weeks - actually, it's been kind of a rough year. The point is that I'm feeling really, really grumpy and annoyed and sensitive, and I really don't want my book response to suffer unfairly. I do recommend it - for very specific readers, in a specific mood for something specific. Otherwise, forgive me for what might be a subjective review. My bad mood aside, books are always very much a good idea for rough days - and this one did offer a nice escape.

Perspective(s) is an epistolary novel, formatted as a collection of letters "found" and bound by a mysterious, unnamed character. It takes place in Florence, and chronicles the murder of an artist working on a series of controversial frescoes commissioned by the Duke. This crime reverberates politically across the city, and the investigation shakes up a shocking variety of subplots and scandals - forbidden love affairs, theft, power struggles; even an uprising against the elite. Eventually this cast of colorful characters collide: the murderer unmasked, the city flooded - with art, as ever, at the center of the turmoil. 

A lot of my irritation is self-directed. I could not for the life of me keep the names straight, even after writing down my own personal character guide. And I don't possess enough knowledge, understanding, or awareness around this particular part of Italian history, so many of the references and name drops and historical details were completely lost on me. This was annoying! I wanted to get it. I wanted to appreciate its full value.

But there are a couple of things that I think might irritate other readers, too. The ending, for example, or the answers to the who/what/why around the murder. It did not fly as believable, or even plausible, or even really that satisfying. And there's an odd sense of ... smugness in the writing here, detectible in all the voices represented. This book smells arrogant. It comes across as too clever for its own good. And maybe that's a quirk of the translation, who knows? 

Something I loved, though: the centrality of art. The importance of representation, and depiction, and the power of imagery, especially religious imagery, in a time when the church held sway over so many aspects of daily life. The relationship of art to man - the opportunities and possibilities (and handwringing) around interpretation - the acceptance of depiction as reality or fantasy - the questions around what is holy, who is God, who is man. All really fun stuff to chew on. Everything is politics! Everything is aesthetics! Everything is power! Everything is... perspective!

Pair that with an undeniable playfulness - especially in the depiction of several great Italian artists - and you have a fantastic read. It is a page turner, though I'd hardly agree with "heart-thumping" or "pulse quickening," as all the reviews say. I just couldn't get over the fact that it couldn't get over itself. But honestly, no regrets. 

Perspective(s) on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph