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The Book Of Unholy Mischief (2007)

by Elle Newmark(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1416590544 (ISBN13: 9781416590545)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Atria

review 1: The title and cover art are what first drew me to this book. After reading the teaser, I knew this would be a book for me. The novel takes place at the turn of the 16th century. Having visited Venice years ago, I was drawn in by Elle's descriptions of the places as they may had been in that time period.The Book of Unholy Mischief follows Luciano, as the street urchin falls into an apprenticeship with the Chef of the Doge's Palace. The apprenticeship turns into more than Luciano could ever have hoped, as the Chef is part of a brotherhood that guard what is sacred. We get a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the palace and the sinister nature of those associated with it. Seeing it through the eyes of a servant gives the novel a very interesting perspective.Venic... moree appears raptured by a book that is said to hold the secrets of alchemy, including the secret of immortality. When the Doge, the Council of Ten in Venice and even the Pope offer handsome rewards for the book's recovery, people from all walks of life hope to prosper from the book and the search is on!I found the first part of the book a bit repetitive, making it hard to get into. However, I soon saw the purpose of the repetition, and could not tear myself away. We needed to see how Luciano found his place in the kitchen at the palace. The descriptions of the food and the speculations of how certain ingredients, such as love apples, appeared in the Old World, and how certain recipes came to be, brought delicious qualities to the novel. It made cooking seem magical. Recipes are more than they appear. We also saw how food affected the characters in the novel.I loved the chapter titles. Each one was named after another book, such as The Book of Bones. Each chapter title ties in beautifully with the chapter contents, and add yet another dimension to the novel.Although many liberties are taken, the places where the novel ventures from reality really do add to the plot. If you're looking for a work of fiction that parallels the reality of that time, perhaps this is not the best book for you. However, if you love a tall tale that puts much into question and gives you much "food" for thought, give it a try! It will leave you satiated.
review 2: This was recommended to me mainly because I like books written about other books and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Also gotta love a book about an underling of sorts who works their way to the top and becomes the teacher rather than the student. The plot kept me guessing and most of the time I guessed wrong so that's a good thing as I do like a book that can surprise me. Although the ending was sad because of what happened to the Chef and irony of Marco getting killed because of the book I did actually like it. I also liked the fact that Luciano addresses the question of the Chef being his father but doesn't actually answer the question because he thinks it doesn't matter at that point. Plus Domingo got his own happy ending of sorts after remaining loyal to Luciano which was sweet. It was a beautifully descriptive book and very vivid in that respect too. A very good first book for the author in my opinion. As a side note I was a bit surprised that it was written by a woman - I didn't really look at the author's name when I started reading and I thought the tone was quite masculine in places but again it was a surprise for me. I hope that she writes more books. less

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