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I actually did pay attention to the clothing, and yes, there were a lot of elements that spoke of different cultures, the main one being attire.

I love how different cultured can be conveyed. It is really fascinating and talks about the author's compromise in researching for the book's sake.

420waystoreachthesun wrote: ↑29 Jun 2018, 23:51 I actually did pay attention to the clothing, and yes, there were a lot of elements that spoke of different cultures, the main one being attire.

I didn't realize notice the descriptions of the clothing. There was just so much going in the book that I think some of the descriptions got "lost in the crowd" for me.

Morganncall wrote: ↑20 Jun 2018, 14:26 One of my favorite cultural elements to look at is food. Food is always an indicator of time period, culture, and social status. When the characters eat, it says a lot about who, and where they are.

Very true the best tool to use when blending different cultures.

What type of food they are eating. How they're dressed.

I think that the different cultural aspects make the book that much better.

Definitely, these names bring to we the readers the admiration that the author of the book has for the culture of different categories of people.

I find that the mention of French traveling, French cuisines, etc. is another aspect of cultures in the book.

Food, clothing, and transportation are good indicators of cultural timespan.

Acknowledgement of cultural diversity is healthy for a book plot development. It enlightens the readers on the traditions of various people.

Clothing, Food, wine, restaurants, living accommodation, method of transportation, personal tastes and interests all reveal something about the culture.

The names were definitely an indicator, but also the foods, the places, the language (the use of people speaking in Italian), the clothes. Overall, the author did a wonderful job with this.

When she was describing the different people of the different times, she beautifully described what they were wearing, which is part of what made me feel like I was living in those times myself.

Museum Uffizi, has a lot of portraits that says a lot about the people's culture. There are artefacts from various ethnicities and regions.

bookowlie wrote: ↑24 Jun 2018, 15:53 It's true that different foods and names are clues to a specific culture and time period. Also, the job Angela held was a clue it was the present day as I can't imagine women would have been given a professional job like art historian in the 1400's or even the 1940's.

The job certainly gives away the time period but looking at Angela’s character that seems to weaken over time and how she becomes dependant on a man does seem to suggest the opposite...

Thank you for bringing up the "Different cultures in the book" topic. Like some of you, I did not give the topic much thought beforehand.

Although Belle Ami provided hints of different cultures and time periods with the characters' names, outfits, job descriptions, and traveling modalities, I think that the author truly excelled in her descriptions of food and wine to help readers know the locations of the characters.

Ami also masterfully choose to use historical figures (i.e. Leonardo Da Vinci) and well-known events (i.e. World War II). By doing so, the author did not need to thoroughly describe the background scenery or setting; and the readers can quickly determine the different time periods throughout the novel.