Review: David by Mary Hoffman

Michelangelo's statue of David is renowned all over the world. Thousands flock to Florence to admire the artistry behind this Renaissance masterpiece, and to admire the beauty of the human form captured in the marble. But the identity of the model for this statue that has been so revered for over five hundred years has been lost ...In this epic story Mary Hoffman uses her persuasive narrative skills to imagine the story of Gabriele, an eighteen-year-old who, by becoming Michelangelo's model, finds himself drawn into a world of spies, politicking, sabotage and murder. Set against the backdrop of Florence, a city in a state of constant siege, this is a rich, colourful and thrilling tale


I requested this book as I am a massive fan of Hoffman's Stravaganza series and was so excited to see how she dealt with recreating Italian history. I was intrigued by this book because she wasn't writing about a different world based off Italy, she was writing about Italy and with that she had to deal with actual historical events, which obviously involved a whole lot of research.


I was very impressed with the depth of knowledge that Hoffman displayed, it's obvious from this book and her others that she is passionate about Italy and it is shown so well and so vividly in David. While Gabriele was not a real person, his interaction with characters who did once exist makes him seem so real, as is his voice, and the realism of his actions. We see Gabriele as a young boy, new to Florence who gives in to the temptation and passion of the rich and aristocratic people, his story becomes so complicated that at some points even he doesn't know what is going on in his life anymore.


Which is a bit of a problem for the reader, I loved the story and the depth and everything that went on, as I said before, it was so believable, but I also had trouble following it, at some points it got so complicated that I couldn't grasp who was who and what was what and that detracted from the novel as a whole. I advise people to refer to the end of the book, where there is a glossary of people and who they are.


Overall, David is a great book, which, albeit sometimes complicated is also detailed and fantastic but real enough the believe. It's a book that has fantastic crossover appeal, from me, as an eighteen year old reader, to my mother, who loves books with romance and deceit to my grandmother, a massive Italy fanatic. 

Rating: B-

Stand alone/series: Stand alone

UK Release: July 4th 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Book obtained via: Received from publisher in exchange for an honest review