Book Review: "Juliet" By Anne Fortier

Everyone is familiar with Shakespeare's epic drama "Romeo and Juliet", where two feuding families, the Montague's and the Capulet's  are corrupted by rivalry, power, and tragedy in Verona Italy. But what if instead of two families there were actually three, and what if the real story took place in the lovely and magical Siena where young Giulietta Tolomei met a young hero named Romeo Marescotti.

Six centuries after the most famous love story of all time,  25 year-old Julie Jacobs receives a key after the passing of her beloved aunt who raised her and her twin sister. This key was once carried by her mother on the day she herself died and opens a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy. Feeling betrayed that all that was left to her in her aunt's will was this key while her sister inherited the entire estate, Julie sets out for Italy to discover what importance lies in the safe keeping of the box that is hidden away in a bank in Sienna. What she finds will change her life forever and connect her to the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei who was smuggled into Siena after her parents were murdered, whereupon she would meet young Romeo who instantly falls in love with her and vows that they will be married. The events that would follow their ill-fated love would cause much grief and destruction for medieval Siena which in turn inspired many poets and artists and finally Shakespeare's most famous tragedy.

Now in present day Siena, hunting a long hidden treasure, Julie begins to feel like the past and present are starting to intertwine. Meeting old relatives and crossing paths with the descendants of the other families, she begins to understand that the notorious curse -- "A plague on both your houses!" was taken very seriously by the families and may still be at work.  The more she researches and learns about the history of Siena, the personal vendetta's, the family rivalries, and the curses and superstitions surrounding the tale of their tragedy, the more danger she realizes that she could be in and that the story is still unfinished. Julie learns that her fate has always been tied to Romeo and Giulietta, literature's most famous star-crossed lovers.

This was a beautiful and totally captivating story. From the historical references and the archeology and landscape, to the lovely descriptions of present day Siena, I just could not put this book down. The author Anne Fortier packed in almost everything I love in a good book - mystery, intrigue, clues, long lost letters, genealogy, local historical data, romance, danger, and lots of twists and turns. I can honestly say, I did not know how the story was going to unfold and that was really refreshing. I do not like to be able to figure out the end of the book in the first few chapters. There are so many traditions in these ancient countries and cities that we do not have here in the United States, and it was fascinating to read about the family pride and symbols that adorned many houses and parts of the city in the story and to imagine the way of life and the politics that were involved in just trying to get married and join families together. And sometimes you find that history truly does repeat itself.

This is a perfect book to read with Valentine's Day approaching, but you might have to clear your schedule if you can't seem to put it down. If you can't reserve it at the library, I think it is worth buying. As for myself, I think it is safe to say I will never look at the story of Romeo and Juliet the same way again.

Overall rating:

4 1/2 out of 5 bookmarks