Dacia Reviews

The Kirkus review gives a reasonable description of this book - a book of the religious man in terms of Kierkegaard. The story is based on history - in a forward the author explains how he came upon the material and came to write the novel based on it.

The story follows Brother Jacob, a Danish prince, through the expulsion of the Franciscans from Denmark in the Lutheran tide, through his wanderings in Europe until he comes to Spain, through his final years as a missionary priest in Mexico. The power of the book comes in two forms - first, the forcing the reader to acknowledge the violence of the era; second, the acknowledgement of the wavering of faith as the Catholic church to which Brother Jacob had dedicated his life fails to reform itself, wrongly prosecutes those trying to reform it.

On a more hopeful note, one sees Brother Jacob, along with some other priests, truly interested in the native population, trying to preserve their myths and histories, trying to insure they be treated as fully human.

Some of the more interesting points to me include the description of Thomas More's original sentence before it was commuted to beheading - the depths of violence that I had not realized was present that recently; Brother Jacob's use of St. Francis Brother Sun, Sister Moon etc. to modify the natives beliefs by fullfilment rather than eradication; the attempt to recreate the Utopia as described by More in a rebuilding of the lives of the indigenious peoples; the proposal that Our Lady of Guadalupe was engineered to keep the indigenious peoples down ...

This novel is a slow read - the prose is dense and much of the plot unfolds in Br. Jacob's thoughts rather than in conversation and action ... but there is enough action to provide a plot line that makes you want to know "what next?" And many times, you need to stop and ponder the ramifications of what you have just read - what it tells you about the era, about humanity in general.

I recommend this book very highly especially for those with an interest in history, religion, Middle American indigenious cultures, human response to major cultural shifts ...

Short stories on the worst Rome has to offer. A little boy gets raped and killed. Two Albanian teenagers sold into Italian Prostitution. In Africa, a nun is raped by Muslim bandits. We get inside an insane asylum, hear about the abuse by a father, and ever so much more. In all the stories we see Police Commissioner Adele Sofia at work, at times helped by Inspector Marra.

The stories are devastating because they ring so true. The author writes straight forward, not losing any time on asides or descriptions. Brute crimes, basic language.

this book is road inside romanien folklore and beliefs. if you love history and religion of eastern nations its worth for you.

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!

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.

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.