(Angela)
This Was By Far The Best Book That I Have Read In A Very Long Time. It Had Me Interested From The Very Beginning. The Plot Was Such That It Kept Me Guessing And Wanting To Read To See How It All Was Going To Play Out. I Could Not Have Guessed Any Of The Events That Actually Happened. It Was Very Refreshing To Read And Hear Myself Gasp "Oh My God!" At Several Different Parts Of The Book.
The Writing Of The Book Was Brilliant, And I Love The Fact That Though The Book Is Fiction, It Is Strongly Based In Historical Fact.
The Characters Are Well Developed, And I Found That Every Single Character Had Their Endearing Moments And Their Pig-Headed Moments.
What I Loved Most About The Story Was That Their Was A Double Re-Telling Of The Story Of Romeo And Juliet, One In Modern Day Siena (Through Julie And Alessandro, And One In 14Th Century Sienna (Romeo And Gulietta). I Found Both Stories Fascinating, And Actually Had A Hard Time Deciding Which Story Line I Liked The Most. They Both Grip Your Heart And Leave You Very Much Emotionally Involved.
I Would Recommend This Book To Anyone... Even To The Shakespeare Buffs! It Will Give You A Whole New Perspective On Romeo And Juliet.
I Would Have Picked This Up And Reread It Right Away If I Didn't Have Major Packing To Do.
Why Hello again,
Emily here, reporting in after finally managing to have down time enough to finish Juliet and find some amazing questions online about the whole thing. I found my favorite questions and have listed them below. I'll be answering them tomorrow, and I'll be looking forward to hearing what everyone else has to say.
Warning: If you HAVE NOT FINISHED DO NOT READ THROUGH THE QUESTIONS :-) I don't want to spoil it for you.
I have to say that this is probably one of the best novels I have read in the last few years. I really enjoyed it and had a blast reading it feeling as though I could not put it down!
That is all for now folks. Hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!
1.) In Anne Fortier's novel Juliet, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet casts a long shadow over the lives of the main characters, past and present. Looking at the "original" story of Romeo and Giulietta set in 1340, consider in what ways Fortier uses Shakespeare's great tragedy as a model for her own work, and in what ways she departs from it.
2.)Discuss the ways in which the bonds of sisterhood—for good and for ill—are central to the novel. Why do you think Fortier introduces this element into her story?
3.) Although there are surprising revelations about all the characters in the novel, perhaps the most shocking has to do with Umberto, Aunt Rose's faithful butler. Did you find Umberto to be a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
4.) Very early in the novel, we are introduced to Julie's recurring dream—a dream that seems to foretell her own fate and to recapitulate the fate of Romeo and Guilietta centuries earlier. Is there a rational explanation for this dream, or is it a supernatural occurrence? And what about the other seemingly supernatural events or objects in the novel, such as the divine intervention of the Virgin Mary on Giulietta's wedding night with Messer Salimbeni, or the destructive powers of Romeo's signet ring; can these events be explained rationally?
5.) Why does Friar Lorenzo champion the young lovers, risking his life on their behalf? Do you think he is justified in placing a curse on both the Tolomei and the Salimbeni houses?
6.) Maestro Lippi occupies the studio of Maestro Ambrogio, and, like Ambrogio, he, too, has a dog named Dante. Is the author trying to suggest that Lippi is some kind of reincarnation of Ambrogio? What is the relationship between these two characters, separated by centuries?
7.) What about Julie and Alessandro: Are they reincarnations of Giulietta and Romeo, forced to repeat the actions of their ancestors by the terms of an ancient curse, or by some genetic inheritance? In what ways do the lives of the two sets of characters parallel or echo each other? In what ways are they different?
8.) At one point, Alessandro tells Julie: "In my opinion, your story—and Romeo and Juliet as well—is not about love. It's about politics." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? What do you think the author's opinion is?
9.) Another prevalent theme is that of twins and twinning. Not only are some characters born as twins, but others seem to be mirrored across the centuries. At one point in the novel, Julie sits on the front steps of the Siena Cathedral, thinking about the myth behind the black-and-white Siena coat-of-arms, the Balzana, which involves a pair of twins fleeing from their evil uncle on a black and a white horse. Why do you think Fortier has woven these threads—twinning and black-and-white—so strongly into her fictional tapestry?
10.) At the end of the novel, Julie muses: "Who knows, maybe there never was a curse. Maybe it was just us—all of us—thinking that we deserved one." Do you think there was a curse, or not?
