Overall, I thought the Daughter of Venice was an ok book! it wasn't the best but not the worst.The main character Donata, receives no education, can never be out of her parents eye sight, and is the oldest daughter of a noble family in Venice, Italy. She has 4 sisters and 7 brothers. She has very strict parents and they have high expectations from her. Donata's sisters convince her to leave the palazzo by dressing up as a poor boy so she can explore. There are some parts I though the author could improve on making more events happen in the beginning of the book, because the beginning of the story was boring and there was hardly any action. The author made Donata a very bold character who goes against her parents wishes. This makes Donata a very round character because she changes into a very mature girl who thinks she is ready for life outside of the palazzo. This character development is indirect. The theme in Daughter of Venice is that you can change your life into anything that you would like it to be. This is revealed by Donata going out to explore the city and in the end of the book, she gets to learn and study at college even though that is not what her family planned for her. This theme is very familiar and can be found in other books. The plot is primary to style,character and setting because in order for a good story, you need all of those different elements to combine and work together to create the story. There is no sub-plot. Dialogue is very effective in this story. Donata had a lot of conversation with her sisters while helping her plan the sneak out, and Donata meets and interacts with some new people while on her journey of exploring Venice. The setting of this story Is in Venice, Italy. It does play a significant role because the book does have some history in it about Italy. The setting impinges on Donata because she is part of one of the highest noble families in Venice so she has many rules especially since she is the oldest daughter.
(This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk)This is the captivating tale of bold, brash noblewoman Donata, a teenager desperate to obtain some degree of freedom in 15th Century Venice before she is ultimately shipped away to join a convent by her strictly traditional family.Eager to learn and explore her home city of which she can only imagine through maps, paintings and stories told by her uncles and elder brothers, Donata knows that her future and that of her younger sisters also, is entirely planned out for her and so concocts a plan to briefly escape out into the city. In doing so however, she is quite unaware of the consequences this may bring...A beautiful story of renaissance Venice that is at times humorous, sad and reflective. I feel I learned a lot from this story about the status of Venetian families during that time period- so it was informative as well as entertaining--I'm glad I wasn't around back then, the way of life was so strict! I'm also not generally a big reader of historical fiction either which I sometimes find too dry, but this was richly told and proved completely absorbing- I may even give some other historical fiction a try now! You can tell that the author's research into politics, culture and religion of the time period was impeccable and through it Venice is really brought to life.The elegant prose and detail meant that I became engrossed in this novel from the outset. The pretty cover seduced me alone. I can highly recommend it for an `anytime' read, and if you are as hesitant to approach the genre as I initially was, then you needn't worry as this is a truly wonderful tale.**If you like this novel then I can also definitely recommend `The Glassblower of Murano' which is another book with a Venetian setting that successfully transported me to another time.**
What do You think about Daughter Of Venice (2003)?
The setting for this story is Venice in the late 1500's. Donata is a daughter in a nobleman's house. She has 11 siblings. In the society of Venice at this time only one son and one daughter will marry. Donata is destined for a convent. She is a girl blessed with a seeking and curious mind. She has been sheltered in her palazzo all of her life and knows only what she has glimpsed on a map or what her older brothers have told her about the storied city in which she lives. She devises a plan to personally experience her city for herself before she succumbs to the life laid out for her. I found this an interesting read for the look it gave me into the guild society of Venice. It reminded me once again about how blessed and grateful I am to be a female born in the twentieth century in the USA and the freedom to be whatever I want to be and not have that imposed on me by my culture or my status within it.
—Laura
Donata and her sister, Laura, are the 2nd and 3rd daughters born to a wealthy Venetian family during the Renaissance. Custom decrees that only the 1st and possibly 2nd daughters in a family may marry. All others are sent off to convents when they come of age. Donata doesn't particularly want to marry anyone, but she definitely doesn't want to be stuck in a convent, where she will never learn about the world. She especially wants to learn to read and write and understand her dear city, just like her brothers. Before she is trapped by her life, Donata decides to have an adventure. She dresses as a poor fisher boy and goes out into Venice alone, something that a noble girl could never do. She ends up in the Ghetto, the home of the Jews. There Donata meets Noe, a kind friend that helps her and offers her the chance to see life through his eyes. But when her family finds out what Donata has been doing, the world may well come to an end for her.Enjoyable story, but not one I will be able to get many average middle schoolers to read. I have a few that love Medieval stories and books about royalty that I will be able to sell it too.
—Cinnamon
I really wanted to like this book more than I did, and wish that I could give a 2.5 star rating instead of 3. The book was hard to get through for a few reasons. The first being that the protagonist, Donata, seemed to waver between a bratty child a and a witty teen. Her character is 14 years old, but her voice often appeared as that of an 11 year old. While the random facts/lessons on Venetian history were interesting, not all of the facts were pertinent(thought interesting) to the telling of Donata's story, and many of these facts were awkwardly placed and contributed to the bumpy reading. Like a previous reviewer stated, I hope that the historical notes presented in the novel are well researched facts. I did like the rich detail of the landscape (smells, sites, etc.), I could actually imagine myself in 1500s Venice. I most enjoyed the chapters that Donata and Noe interacted.*****SPOILER*************I was also bothered by the ending that didn't really resolve Donata's desire to marry contrary to tradition. It was confusing to have her go back and forth between wanting marriage, and not wanting marriage.
—saferia
