The Memory Cathedral: A Secret History of Leonardo Da Vinci

by Jack Dann

Set against a backdrop of Italy and Persia in the 1400s, a story of a lost year in the life of Leonardo da Vinci considers what might have happened had the art master built and flown one of his flying machine models. Reprint.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Alternate History, Novels, Art

508 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Baaska Baaska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Монгол хэл дээр орчуулагдсан орчуулгыг уншлаа. Бас л сонирхолтой юм. Тухайн үеийн Евродын амьдрал ч гэж сонин юм. Угаасаа ч надад энэ үеийн Европ хүмүүсийн амьдрал толгой эргэмээр санагдаад байдаг кк. Зураачаас гадна шинжлэх ухаанч, зохион бүтээгч их авъяаслаг гэх үү чадварлаг хүн байсан бололтой. Төгсгөлийн хэсэг бас арай л хэрцгий санагдлаа.

[Betita · Rating 4 out of 5]

TOMO I
Este sim é um verdadeiro Romance Histórico!!!
Já tive oportunidade de ler outros livros onde me cruzava com os ilustres personagen de Florença na altura de Leonardo Da Vinci, mas nunca em tão grande número.
É-nos apresentado um vasto desfile de personagens Históricas, desde os famosos Médicis aos seus etenos inimigos Pazzi e também um grande numero de Pintores, Escultores e não só, que marcaram todo o mundo com a sua Arte.
Leonardo Da Vinci é-nos apresentado como um aprendiz que em vez de se dedicar às suas pinturas e esculturas, divide a sua atenção entre os seus esboços de engenharia e o seu grande amor Ginevra de Benci, o que lhe dará grandes dissabores e provocar a ira dos seus inimigos.
Depois há também a Catedral da Memória, que Leonardo descobre numa das grandes festas de Florença, onde tudo era permitido.


"Santo Agostinho escreveu que existem três tempos: o Presente das coisas passadas; o Presente das coisas presentes; e o presente das coisas futuras. O meu sistema de memória permite aos practicante lembrar-se de coisas que aconteceram antes do seu tempo. Lembrar-se do passado que nunca presenciou... e lembrar-se do futuro." (pag. 124)


No decurso deste I Tomo assistimos às experiencias de Leonardo, aos seus desgostos e a algumas das suas alegrias, vemos quem são os seus amigos e a quem ele verdadeiramente respeita.
As descrições feitas das festas da altura renascentista pelos Médicis e outros não devem ser usadas como exemplos nas aulas de História para retratar a sociedade da altura (não resisti!!!!), apesar de este livro ser uma verdadeira riqueza histórica, pois está tudo muitissimo bem explicado com várias notas de rodapé que chegam a ocupar quase meia página com as explicações de quem foi quem e o que fez, de louvar esta maravilhosa pesquisa e atenção para com os leitores, pesquisa esta que faz com que tenhamos vontade de pesquisar mais e mais acerca dos assuntos faládos pelas várias personagens ;).
Terminado esta primeira parte da história de forma bastante violenta, irei agora mergulhar no II Tomo e descobrir mais sobre as invenções do Grande Mestre Leonardo Da Vinci e da sua Catedral da Memória.
Poderia perder-me com comentários sobre este livro, mas não o farei, apenas aconselho a quem aprecia Romances Históricos, que o leia de forma calma para não perder pitada, mas sempre auxiliando-se da notas de rodapé e da listagem de personagens que vem logo no inicio, pois são bastantes personagens e com nomes bem parecidos ;)


TOMO II
Nesta 2ª parte da história Leonardo inicia a sua viagem para o Egipto a bordo de uma Caravela comandada por Cristóvão Colombo. Será uma viagem cheia de Guerras e mortes devido em grande parte às suas grandes invenções. Perde alguns dos seus amigos e vive um busca incessante pelo seu pequeno aprendiz Niccolò Machiavelli, enquanto está prisioneiro do Califa do Egipto e da Síria.
Muito haveria a dizer sobre esta grande aventura de Leonardo da Vinci mas as palavras não fariam juz à grandiosidade deste romance histórico recheado de grandes personalidades.
O Caderno Secreto de Leonardo é sem duvida um livro a não perder para quem aprecia bons Romances Históricos.

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be much too pulp-fiction-ish...too much drama and attention given to name dropping and setting the scene with not enough character building.

[Luke Hannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Leonardo exists as a legend, a myth, a puzzle, with various historians and schools of historians claiming one piece or another. Yet we don't really have a coherent picure of him. History, especially the history of great personages, is a kind of collective mythmaking, an extrapolation of the known into narrative. I set my story between the cracks of known history to explore Leonardo's character and the moral ramifications of his brilliant ideas and inventions."

Good book; wonderful, scintillating historical fiction however there was a bit much about his conjugal troubles (in my opinion) and it just generally slowed the book down severely. It was an interesting spin on the stereotypical narrative trope of historical fiction, given that it incorporated speculations but it handled it very well and created perhaps a magnum opus.

In a literary masterpiece that successfully balances fact and fiction, Jack Dann offers his own thrilling secret history of a lost years in Leonardo da Vinci's life. It all starts with a speculation; what if Leonardo, obsessed with flight as he was and who conceived brilliant blueprints for the first flying machines, weren't just simply designs? What if, during that missing year, he built and flew a flying machine - five hundred years before the Wright Brothers' flight.

[Lucinda Vinoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt that I was right there walking alongside this noted figure of history. This fictional account made the man come alive, not just a name in the history books.

Dann's word usage is phenomenal. I have kept notes of the Latin words to google and also a list of English words that were new to me. A lengthy list and I thought I was college educated! Will be studying for a while longer.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this I enjoyed. It was about the life of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence. The second half was the part that the author imagined. He took the few years that da Vinci's location was unknown and imagined that he was in the East, making his ideas for a flying machine and war machines a reality. In this imaginary world, there is much torture, and horrendous destruction during war.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first half. I was not so impressed with the second half.

[Caitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to come back to it

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became interested in this book, mainly because I'm a big fan of the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci, so I didn't need many doubts and bought the book, almost ate it and have no regrets, because I think that I really liked, knowing the young Leonardo, a young man almost unknown to many, because their are few self-portraits of his old age and not from his youth (unless note Verrocchio's David, whose features are based on Leonardo).

I think the customs of Florence in the Renaissance period, apprentices and aspiring artists as well as high-born people, especially the Medici family and their rivals, the Pazzi living is very well detailed. As the holidays and the rest of the nightlife, you can clearly feel the oppressive times of the Middle Ages left behind. There are still traces of respect towards the church, but also an unexpected freedom that allows the growth of knowledge, especially for such a young curious as Da Vinci, which more than bore you mind me entertained enough, in their search for the study of anatomy (which was sacrilege to the Catholic Church), mathematics, art, painting and above all, his recurring dream, to fly. There are several passages Jack Dann shows in this book, for example, the famous habit of buying birds to free them and draw them in flight so they can further study the flying machine. Also the gossips and the famous accusation of sodomy, which greatly affected the reputation of the young artist.

As I said before, I don't know much about the young Leonardo, but I've noticed many interesting things to read this book. Well, throughout history, has always presented us with a serious Leonardo, who knows what he does, he's always up to something, with all the energy and vitality that youth can bring. But I noticed a lot more vulnerable and closer, because when genius is, is difficult to identify in some feature young Leonardo and this allows that. We see enthusiastic, self-absorbed, full of ideas, projects, hopeful, anxious and especially angry when things don't go so well. What I was surprised to see him in love is because of your love life little is known, even some have claimed it was completely homosexual. I don't think so, but rather was
bisexual (I apologize if anyone is offended by this) that loved by both sides, but being discreet. I liked his love story with Ginevra, but honestly, much more his story with Simonetta, because both shared a passion for art and knowledge. It was also a surprise to find the famous painter Botticelli and if there is something that surprised me most was to find enough similarities in Dann's novel with the famous TV series, Da Vinci's Demons. Coincidence? Judge for yourself. Although it's a great novel, full of interesting things, have been incredible to see whether these things could have happened or not.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Memory Cathedral is a fictional account of the missing year in Leonardo da Vinci's life.

The novel is richly detailed, brilliantly researched and wholly believable. Yet it falls flat on several levels for me. It takes an exceedingly long time to come to the missing year. A great deal of political intrigue and relationships are explored. They are interesting but the characters all blended into one.

I hated Machiavelli as he was a little know it all twerp, da Vinci was a broken hearted jilted lover who needed a kick in the pants and Botticelli need a good slap as well. That was the problem for me you have a wonderful character like da Vinci and meandered through the pages bemoaning that his girlfriend had ditched him.

I admire the research that has gone into this novel as the historical Florence is well and truly alive. Dann has captured this world wonderfully but just not the characters. I am sure others will like this book but it was not for me.

[Evie Maiolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Based on historical facts about Leonardo da Vinci, the author creates an imaginative story to fill in the gap of 4 years that are missing in Leonardo's historical records.

Using letters written by da Vinci, which suggest he spent these years in the Middle East, Jack Dann weaves an amazing tale of invention, flying machines, war, suspense, and escape. The historic figures in this novel - Leonardo, Botticelli, The Medici family, the Turks - are aptly woven into the story, each with their own agenda, traits, and weaknesses.

I found Leonardo's 'Memory Cathedral' a fascinating aspect of this book. The historical facts that are throughout the book bring to life Florence in the 15th Century, making the lifestyle, the politics and society almost tangible.

[Ramón Cornejo-Muñoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entretenido relato ficticio en donde Leonardo da Vinci convive con Maquiavelo, Rafael, Sandro Boticelli y Simonetta, quienes viven una apasionante drama junto a la familia Medici. Finalmente, se muestra, en base a diversas teorías, cuáles fueron las andanzas de Leonardo durante sus años perdidos en que sólo la suposición hace que los historiadores puedan entender que ocurrió con uno de los hombres más famosos y a la vez eclécticos de la historia.

Es un libro recomendable para quien le interese el arte y la historia italiana del renacimiento.

[Salina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little slow, I did not love it. However, it taught me things about da Vinci that I did not previously know. I like that part of it. it took me 16 months to read this, therefor showing my lack of interest. Perhaps I need to re read it and a little quicker this time. Maybe I will like it more.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A historical novel that speculates about possible events in a missing year in the life of Leonardo da Vinci. The author speculates that Leonardo built a successful flying machine & used it & other engineering creations in war. It's a violent, earthy, even raunchy book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and interesting. The author found a good angle and does a good job weaving a tale around it.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

still reading - I really love the portrayal of the memory cathedral, a place you create and store your memories. Wow, Leonardo was apparently very 2000ish. Brain research shows such things do work.

[Francisco · Rating 2 out of 5]

No se porque lo lei. No se si es fantasia, historia o que.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was very engaging, but the rest of it is one gratuitously bloody battle after another. Bleah.

[Daina Valeine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tīri subjektīvi nepatika... līdz galam neizlasīju.

[Mariam Blanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, easy to read

[Laszlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extending the possibilities, refuting Fraud ( totally agree! !) Enjoyable exploration of the present
future !
Thanks Laszlo

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely.

Thanks go out to my brother Richard for giving me this one as a Xmas present.

[SteveR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fact-basaed fiction ... written and read long before The DaVinci Code.

[Wolfmanbob Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and imaginative historical fiction.

[Agabala Quluzade]

I want read this book

[Heart Friend]

still nothing