Title: Juliet
Author: Anne Fortier
Published: Ballantine Books, 2012
Overview
Julie Jacobs and her sister Janice were orphaned at a young
age when their father died tragically in a house fire and their mother, only a
short time later, is lost in a car accident. The girls were relocated to
America to live with their aunt Rose.
Years later, Julie is returning to her childhood home,
devastated by the death of her beloved aunt. She arrives at her aunt’s large
estate to find Janice already there, of course. As they aged, the sisters had
grown apart, Janice becoming the laid-back, fashion-focused party girl and
Julie – well, she was her sister’s exact opposite. Reserved and not very
social, Julie lives alone, doesn’t have any friends to speak of and goes from job
to job, finding teaching positions where she can.
Their aunt Rose had known Julie was the smarter and more
responsible one, making the girl her favorite niece. Which is why it came as
such a surprise to Julie when the lawyer read from the will that Janice would
receive all their aunt’s estate and Julie would receive an envelope containing
a key and a letter from her mother informing her that her name is not really
Julie Jacobs, but is in fact Giulietta Tolomei.
Hurt and completely dumbfounded, Julie is unable to make up
her mind what to do next. After talking with Umberto, her aunt’s longtime,
trusted butler and groundskeeper, she decides to go to Siena to see what it was
their mother had locked away from her past. What she finds will change her
world forever.
Six centuries earlier, Siena is split into several sections
which are ruled over by the wealthiest families. The Tolomeis and Salimbenis
have been in an ongoing feud, though they currently claim to be peaceful.
Giulietta Tolomei, under the dark of night, is smuggled into Siena to live with
her aunt and uncle after her parents were brutally murdered by members of the
Salimbeni household. While at a ball held by her relatives, Giulietta meets
Romeo Marescotti, a son of one of the other ruling families of Siena. The two
quickly fall in love but another has his eye on the young Tolomei lady. Messer
Salimbeni, enemy of the Tolomei family, has declared his intentions to marry
Giulietta, despite her wishes and the fact that Romeo had presented himself to
Messer Tolomei to ask for her hand.
As Julie makes her way around Siena, following her mother’s
clues and research, she learns more about the lives of the people who inspired
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Is it possible that her mother’s theory could
be true? Could she in fact, be descended from Juliet’s family? Is there still “a
plague on both [..] houses?” And will she find her Romeo and break the curse,
once and for all?
Review
From the moment I saw this come into the bookstore years
ago, I knew I wanted to read it. Again – English major. Someone wrote a new
version of one of Shakespeare’s plays? Sign me up! It took me awhile to get my
hands on it but I finally did. And I was NOT disappointed!
Fortier did an amazing job weaving the past with the
present. We start the novel following Julie’s story as she uncovers the truth
about her heritage but it isn’t long before we’re taken back to old Siena, to
join Giulietta and read the “real” story of the star crossed lovers.
I’ll grant you, the whole thing about Giulietta needing to
find her Romeo to break the curse – a bit corny and romantic comedy-ish. But
readers, I’m okay with admitting that occasionally even I, queen of the nerds,
like to indulge in a chick flick or rom-com. It’s gotta be something in the
female DNA. I dunno. So, although the ending could be described as a delicious
cheddar or feta, a little fantasy-romance has never done anyone any harm.
Except for creating unrealistic standards and ideas.
Unfulfilled Prince Charming desires aside, I thoroughly
enjoyed Fortier’s character development and back story. There’s the enduring
childhood feud between two sisters with very different personalities; we’ve all
had a similar familial relationship, so their arguments and animosity towards
each other feels very real. There’s the mysterious Alessandro, who shows a deep
dislike of Julie from the moment they meet – we’ve ALL met that one person who
just didn’t like us for no reason at all!
Probably one of my favorite characters was Friar Lorenzo,
Giulietta’s friend and confidant. We’ve all either read or seen Romeo and
Juliet and we all have an idea of who the helpful friar is as a person. Fortier
takes the character further through Friar Lorenzo. We see much more character development
in the friar and while he has always had a very important role in the story,
Fortier brings him closer to the forefront of the novel. It is evident to the
reader just how much the doomed couple relied on him, how much he helped them,
knowing full well that everything he was doing to assist them was in direct
opposition of her uncle’s wishes. I enjoyed watching (well…reading) as his
character and importance grew while Romeo and Juliet’s situation continued to
worsen. The under-appreciated friar was essential to their happiness (though we
all know how it worked out).
Taking Shakespeare’s frequent use of the supernatural into
account (i.e. the witches of Macbeth, the ghost of Hamlet’s father, and of
course, the entirety of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Fortier included a
particularly interesting evening in Siena – a night of flickering candles in a
darkened ballroom, hooded monks, ancient rituals and a little bit of cult-like
action! What Shakespeare inspired novel would be complete without it?!
Fortier did a great job in paying tribute to the Bard and one
of his most famous works. I enjoyed the journey she took us on as we discovered
what really happened in her version, all those years ago in great Verona/Siena.
On her website the reader can look at images taken in Siena during research
trips; a wonderful thing for us book nerds! Her descriptions of locations
within the city were detailed and beautiful and I wished so much to see it for
myself. With any luck someday I will, but for now at least I have the wonderful
pictures on her website. She’s a rich and impressive storyteller and I look
forward to reading more of her novels.
* Blog title taken from (of course!) William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
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