4 out of 4 stars
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The Garden of Earthly Delights by Robert Dodds is a historical fiction novel set in the year 1490. It follows the life of the acclaimed painter Jerome Van Aachen, more popularly known as Hieronymus Bosch, the master painter of the city of Den Bosch in the Duchy of Brabant (i.e., in present-day Netherlands)
Unlike the stereotypical impoverished artist, Jerome was successful in his time. He was held in high regard both in Den Bosch and by his patrons in Rome. However, success does not guarantee a happy life. Jerome and his wife Aleyt were unable to conceive a child despite being married for several years. For this reason, he rarely liked to stay at home. Aleyt was left with just Mary, her servant girl, to keep her company. This distance only increased the strain on their already weakening relationship. On the other hand was Hameel. He was Jerome's best friend and protege. Even so, he was envious of the fame and acclaim Jerome often received. Additionally, the Fifteenth Century was a period of plagues and Papal Inquisitions, both of which had an impact on the lives of these people.
Initially, I had thought this would be a novel about Jerome and his paintings. Instead, the story is from the point-of-view of six different characters. Their lives converge a variety of ways creating interesting plot twists. The author portrays these characters in a very realistic manner. Their decisions and actions are all backed by sound logic and a believable motive. Each person has their own faults such as pride, jealousy, lust, anger or greed. Dodd’s writing is poetic and dramatic in equal measure. There is tension in the air from the very first paragraph and it continues to escalate as the story progresses. His descriptions are vivid and it paints a beautiful picture.
The story took hold of me and kept me in its grip until the very last page. I rooted and prayed for Jerome, Aleyt , Mary, and Hameel. I even sympathized with the Abbess and Jacomo who are the ‘bad guys’. However, although this was such a gripping and fascinating tale, it was a slow read for me. This isn’t a book that one can gobble up within a day and move on to another one in a few minutes. The book is slow because it takes a while to utterly captivate the readers. The author takes his time in introducing and setting up all the main characters so that readers are cheering for them as the conflict begins to occur.
I cannot attest to the historical accuracy of the novel as my research on the internet did not yield much result. The only difference I found was with Aleyt's age. Wikipedia says she was slightly older than Jerome. However in this story, he is about ten years her senior. Nevertheless, since that did not detract anything from the original story, I’d still rate this novel 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to fans of medieval or historical fiction.
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The Garden of Earthly Delights
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