Rating: 
Summary: first rate historical novel on the Renaissance
Review: This is a very fun and interesting historical novel that takes place at the transition point from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in the Italian princedoms. The narrator is a superstitious and ignorant dwarf, a kind of bitter jester at the court, who is sometimes puzzled by his observations of the changes underway. He is full of hatred and suppressed violence and, in my view, wholly unsympathetic. Not only is the intellectual revolution of the period viewed from a skewed perspective, but the system of petty princes is magnified in all its savagery. The novel makes for a fascinating read, a wonderful and deeply textured view from the underside. Recommended with enthusiasm.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrong side of the great debate
Review: This is the story of renaissance hero Da Vinci as told by a Dwarf in the service of one his patrons. There is a great scene in this work where the Da Vinci character forces the Dwarf to disrobe so that he can sketch him. The Dwarf is infuriated, he feels violated. The Da Vinci character does this in the name of such noble ideals; sympathy for the Dwarf; scientific understanding, 'wisdom', enrichment, blah, blah, blah. The Dwarf rightly feels rage at being violated in the name of such lofty ideals. We are supposed to side with the Da Vinci character. The Da Vinci character represents the classical hero of the author and much of society. Successful people, especially those who have been blessed by nature and nurture, (and especially those who are not fully aware of how blessed they are in these ways) have a totally different view of society, humanity, and morality than those who have had a rough going. Da Vinci is their hero: he is noble, thoughful, bold yet humble, a regular Christ. What these people hate is embodied in the character of the Dwarf. It can be plainly said that life has taken a massive dump on the Dwarf. Quite naturally he is seen as small, myopic, petty, too cynical, full of hate, twisted, etc.. The author, a classicist, stays true to this view of humanity and its 'correct' aspirations. The Greeks had this (all too arrogant though rarely realized as such)idea (remember that Aristotle thought manual laborors and ugly people to be incapabale of 'virtue'). This is really the great debate or divide in humanity. Not the haves and have nots, but the in-crowd and the outcasts. The arbitralily lucky in-crowd congratulates and justifies itself with its various world-views. Outcasts have a different view of life and what it offers and what should be taken from it. This view is not necessarily superior, but surely is not inferior to the sugar-water that the in-crowd uses for philosophy (and since the world is run by various in-crowds, many people whom they would enver allow to mix with them foolishly happily drink this same sugary concotion and proclaim it nourishing). If one wants a voice that defines and chronciles the outcast, why they feel the way the way they do, how it came that way, and a defense of these feelings and view of the world, read the author Charles Bukowski. The Dwarf is a well told tale, but in my opinion takes the wrong side in this great debate...
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