Silent Duchess

Rating:
Summary: This is a rich, beautiful, original novel
Review: Dacia Maraini is celebrated in italy, where her books are bestsellers and win important prizes, but she hasn't yet caught on in the United States, where translated fiction gets slighted and there's room for only two or three writers from each foreign country. I hope the Silent Duchess changes that. It's an extraordinary book -- a historical novel set in 18th century Sicily, whose heroine, Marianna Ucria, the deaf and dumb aristocrat of the title, manages, in small and subtle ways, to become an independent spirit despite a forced marriage to her uncle at age 13. The writing is piquant and evocative-- Sicily has never seemed so intense and alive--sights, smells, food). This is a book with everything you'd find in a historical potboiler-- sex, love, violence, family, incest, spectacle, tragedy. But it's a serious word of art, moving, sensuous, thought-provoking. One of the best novels I've read all year!

Rating:
Summary: a silent little gem
Review: I had to read this book for a literature class, and I completely adored it. If you know even a little bit about the social situation of women in the 18th century, you'll soon understand what a remarkable character the Duchess Marianna Ucria is. Although I had figured out, really early into the novel what the 'childhood trauma' was, I was pleased to see that it wasn't a book about coming to terms with trauma (yawn, yawn). Instead The Silent Duchess is more a novel about silences, both physical and metaphorical, it gives a voice to women who have been ignored by both society and history.

Dacia Maraini has created a gem of a book, which deal with many women's issues, some of which still exist today, but does so in a way that's not off-putting. Thought provoking, not boring.

Rating:
Summary: A very original , totally ingrossing book
Review: I have read other very interesting books of Dacia Maraini, an Italian writer who deserves to be much better known in the US. This novel may be my favorite among her works. One becomes attached to the heroine as she develops over the years. The story is at times tragic, funny, touching. By the way, the villa described still exists in Bagheria (Sicily). Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Maraini's Silent Duchess sank deep into my subconcious mind
Review: I was attracted by the romantic presentation of eighteenth century life in Sicily, reminiscent of The Leopard.......however this leopardess has her own den. I'm still sorting the pieces of what could have been a pot-boiler with the nuances which made this book cling to me. In very small experiences akin to the heroine, I have spent some days in silence and am astounded at the view I have of my world and my colleagues. As was depicted by Maraini, people filled in the blanks for the Duchess (or for me) without considering or verifying assent or denial. As the story forms and is given to us (that is my description of the subtle powers of the author), the Duchess changes. We are almost not aware, and then we see that that was the story all along. Change isn't the right word, that's too dramatic. It's more like she 'comes to be'. The unpackaged ending is so hopeful, and so unconstrained. I'm tired of being told what I should be, in life and in print. I'm already an overachiever with freedoms Mariana never dreamed of. Oh, thank you Dacia. I'm going back for more.

Rating:
Summary: the silent duchess
Review: There's not much interaction between the characters in this long slow-moving novel. The heroine, who is mute and deaf after an early childhood trauma, is cut off from her world to such an extent that the novel lacks all immediacy. Too bad, because the descriptive prose about Sicily is interesting; there's just a great lack of emotion.

Rating:
Summary: Strangely still and static.
Review: There's not much interaction between the characters in this long slow-moving novel. The heroine, who is mute and deaf after an early childhood trauma, is cut off from her world to such an extent that the novel lacks all immediacy. Too bad, because the descriptive prose about Sicily is interesting; there's just a great lack of emotion.

Rating:
Summary: the silent duchess
Review: This was one of the best books I have read. It will stay with me for many years. I read in Sicily and it helped give me a "living color" understanding of history and culture of Sicily. It is fiction based on accurate fact and an entertaining way to learn about Sicily. Initially I thought it was a women's book but my husband who is normally addicted macho mysteries loved the book also.

Rating:
Summary: ho-hum
Review: Unfortunately, this book is doing nothing for me. Not only is it very slow and the minute details are so painstakingly expanded on, but I feel so distant from the main character, and find myself not caring about anyone in the story, when I really want to. I'm not really sure where this book is going, and the "mystery" behind the duchess's silence is really down-played. Of course, I'm not done with it yet, but so far, the book hasn't really addressed the mystery or expanded on it to make you want to figure out what happened to her. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to finish this one, and I'm the type of reader who wants to finish every book I start! It's really too bad, because I had such high hopes for this novel!