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A pleasant, very interesting historical fiction read. I could've read much more.

Beautiful story: Enard imagines Michaelangelo's journey to design a bridge for the Turkish ruler.

Like my vanished country, over there, at the other end of the sea. Now it lives only in stories and in the people who tell them....

Heading to 16th century Constantinople for a little break...

#weekendreads #historicalfiction #history #booksintranslation #historicalfic #frenchlit

#indiebuddyreads This is a unique fictionalization of Michelangelo‘s trip to Istanbul to design a bridge for the city. Apparently, construction was begun on the bridge, but it was significantly damaged by an earthquake and never finished. The writing is immersive, drawing the reader deeply into the mind and emotions of the various characters. Not a lot happens, but I still enjoyed reading this brief, beautiful book nevertheless. 4â­�ï¸�

firmly in the wanted to love, but did not category for me. It is inarguable that this is a beautifully written novella. Ever sentence, on every page, is perfectly measured. It is richly descriptive, and evocative of time and place. In spite of all this, the narrative felt flat. Although I could admire the beauty of the writing, the story, the characters, and the observations failed to move me, and at many times failed to engage me.

Translated fiction for #indiebuddyreads

This novel uses Michelangelo‘s actual letters and drawings to imaginatively fill in the gaps and tell a story of his early 16th century trip to Istanbul. It‘s a good story, well told, but I don‘t really have much more to add than that.

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This probably deserves more than the 3-star rating I have given it. I came to view this as a quaint picturesque type endeavour, more artistic feeling than plot. Open any page and you will be well rewarded with some elegant and delicate prose, some lovely impression of 16th century Constantinople and the workings of Michelangelo but ( and here I lower my voice to a whisper ) it was just a teensy-weensy bit ... dull ?

In this book, fiction draws its inspiration from history with a capital H. The beautiful writing of Mathias Enard sends us through time and space to the Constantinople from the 1500s with Michelangelo as our fellow traveler.