La Ciudad Escalarta

by Hella S. Haasse

Spanish Edition. Trade paperback(SP). 349 p.; Glued Binding; Historical novel

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Italy, Dutch Literature, Literature, Historical, School

349 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Hella S. Haasse (1918 - 2011) was born in Batavia, modern-day Jakarta. She moved to the Netherlands after secondary school. In 1945 she debuted with a collection of poems, entitled Stroomversnelling (Momentum). She made her name three years later with the novella given out to mark the Dutch Book Week, Oeroeg (The Black Lake, 1948). As with much of her work, this tale of the friendship between a Dutch and an Indonesian boy has gained the status of a classic in the Netherlands. Titles such as Het woud der verwachting (In a Dark Wood Wandering, 1949), Een nieuwer testament (Threshold of Fire, 1966) and Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter (Mrs Bentinck or Irreconcilable in Character, 1978) have been greatly enjoyed by several generations.

Reviews

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is set against the backdrop of the sixteenth century Italian wars. The story starts in 1525 (although there are flashbacks to earlier years), and ends just after the Sack of Rome in 1527. It is told from the point of view of several people, but the main protagonist is Giovanni Borgia who does not know who his parents are, and whose life is shaped by his insecurities.

Michelangelo Buonarotti
The famous artist Michelangelo is portrayed as a tortured genius, totally absorbed in his work. His wish is "that he would be released from a task which no longer inspired him..." He slogs away, trying to juggle tasks and meet deadlines. As he looks at his frescoes in the Sistine chapel, he sees: "From the vaulted ceiling and the arches above the windows, they stared down at him: prophets and sybils, titans, angel children on supporting columns - his creatures, born out of the inner chaos which he himself did not dare to probe. He saw in them the embodiment of his own doubt, despair, bitterness and fear."

Vittoria Colonna*
Vittoria was marchioness of Pescara, and was later to become a close friend of Michelangelo. She was regarded as the ideal wife, and seen as part of an ideal marriage. However, the truth is often quite different to appearances. Vittoria in fact has a complex relationship with her husband, and all is not as it seems.

Niccolò Machiavelli
In this novel we have a Machiavelli who truly cares for the future of his country. We follow his correspondence with his friend, the statesman Francesco Guicciardini in which he expresses his views and ideas for obtaining an ideal state.

Francesco Guicciardini
Guicciardini is more pragmatic than Machiavelli, and for the most part refutes Machiavelli's ideas on the basis of practicalities.

Pietro Aretino
Aretino is portrayed as a sleazy know-all and gossip, who likes to attach himself to people whom he might be able to manipulate.

Tulia d'Aragona*
Tulia is a courtesan who cares too much about Giovanni Borgia, much to her mother's distress.

Giovanni Borgia
Last, but most important is Giovanni Borgia. The opening sentence is: "Borgia am I; two, perhaps three times a Borgia. To others, my lineage is a riddle; to me, it's a secret - no, more than a secret - a source of torment." And so we follow the story of Giovanni as he thinks about his youth and tries to solve the mystery of his lineage. Is he the son of Cesare Borgia, or perhaps the brother of Lucrezia Borgia? These are some of the questions he faces as he searches for the truth, his mind flitting from present to past and back again. Finally he learns to accept himself for who and what he is.

Hella Haasse's wonderful descriptions lift this story to four stars. She has a poetic sense and an eye for beauty. She takes different people who don't seem to have any link, and puts them in the same corridor of the Vatican where they see one another by chance; she then gives them each a chapter in which to express their individual thoughts. There is a cameo appearance of Anne Boleyn who meets Giovanni Borgia at the French court, and several other luminaries people these pages.

*Both these women were accomplished poets.

[Argos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerçek kişilerle gerçekleştirilen ama gerçek olup olmadığı anlaşılamayan tarihi bir roman. Rönesans İtalyası'na ait. Yazarı Hollanda'lı. Sürükleyici, dili ve anlatımı çok güzel bir kitap.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complex, multi-narrator telling of the 16th Century's Italian wars. The main protagonist is Giovanni Borgia, seeking not only his purpose and career, but also his exact blood identity. He knows he is a Borgia but he does not know the sure identity of either parent, other than his own treatments while a child fall fairly toward the path that places Pope Alexander as his Grandfather. Lucrezia's son by her second marriage, Roderigo, being raised with Giovanni. They are continually hidden within distant noble households. Although in various Italian city-state castles and towns with tutors, he is quite on an equal par with his legitimate "brother". They are a childhood duo. The book roughly follows this Borgia's life and closest acquaintance for decades.

It is an extremely difficult read and it is masterful in scope. We have sections in the "eyes" of several noble woman, Pietro, Niccolo, and other characters, such as Michelangelo, who you will recognize.

These works of Hella S. Haasse translated from the Dutch are the best examples of historical fiction that is placed entirely within the eyes of that time and place. This reads like 50 sided history with deep characterizations of people who are real 1511 or 1525. The art, poetry, visual occupational entertainment, manners and much else encompass the ultimate combinations of both trust and disloyalty mated in ever seeking self-identity. Not just for Borgia, but for Italy itself, in any national sense.

Historical fiction as I seldom see found here.

[Ludmilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aşırı bayılmadım ama sevdim. Bölümler içindeki birinci şahıs/üçüncü şahıs anlatıcı değişiklikleri olmasaydı daha çok severdim. 3.5/5

[Hulyacln · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evliliğin getirdiği mutluluğu dizelere döken ama kocasıyla neredeyse iletişim kurmayan Vittoria Colonna, siyasetin ve iktidarın nasıl oyunlar kurduğunu mektuplarıyla paylaşan Machiavelli ve Guicciardini, sonsuz aşkın diyaloglarını kitaplaştırıp bir yandan fahişelik
yapan Tullia D’Aragona.. Hepsi yozlaşmış, savaşlarla yıpranmış, vebanın kapıda beklediği bir ülkede, İtalya’da.
Bir de Giovanni Borgia var. Babası kim bilmiyor.
Soyadı elinde kalan tek şey, soyadı onun laneti.
.
‘Borgia’yım ben; iki, belki de üç defa Borgia. Herkese göre soyum bir bilmece; bana göreyse sır…’ Bu cümlelerle açılıyor Günah Şehri. Bir gizemin merakıyla. Başta karakterler karışıyor, kim kimdi diye sorgulatıyor ama taşlar yerine oturuyor.
Günah Şehri 16. yüzyıl İtalya’sına götürüyor bizi. Hollandalı yazar Hella Serafia Haasse detaylarıyla, karakter seçimleri ve analizleriyle ilgi çekici bir tarihi kurgu sunuyor. Severek okudum.
Diliyorum ki yazarın diğer eserleri de dilimize kazandırılır..
.
Okuduğum en içten arka kapak yazısına da sahip olduğunu söyleyebilirim Günah Şehri’nin:)
.
Ayşen Anadol çevirisiyle ~

[Sanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Borgia, it's like the warning sign on the door of a pestilence house."
orginal Dutch: "Borgia, dat is als het waarschuwend teken op de deur van een huis waar de pest woedt." (p. 14)

- - - - -

Finished! What a wonderful read. It's been a long while since I read anything by Haasse, but this reacquaintance reaffirms why she is my favorite author: interesting historical topics, meticulous research, and beautiful writing. What more could a hf fan want?

Summary
The Scarlet City: a novel of 16th century Italy is a literary historical novel which starts in 1525, shortly after the battle of Pavia. Giovanni Borgia finds himself, for the first time since his childhood, in Rome. He is in search of his identity. He bears a name which, more than twenty years after the death of the Borgia pope, people still associate with corruption, intrigue, lust for power, as well as the rumors of incestuous relationships within the family. His name marks him. Yet Giovanni is struggling with that identity. He wants to find out exactly who his parents are. How is he related to Cesare, Lucrezia, the pope?

Giovanni's search for his identity and his place in the world is set against the background of a crucial phase of the Italian Wars. German, Spanish, French soldiers all invade the Italian peninsula, accumulating in the bloody, horrendous sack of Rome.

Haasse does not only give an insight into the life and thoughts of Giovanni Borgia, but also describes the actions and lifes of several key players in 1520's Rome and Italy; Machiavelli, Michelangelo, but also lesser known people such as Vittoria Colonna and Tullia d'Aragona. Each chapter she switches to another one of her characters, who all have a different insight into the complicated politics of Italy and Rome. In total there are 5 different points of view. This structure allows Haasse to give a far more complete picture of the events of 1525-1527 than she could have done if she restricted herself solely to the point of view of Giovanni Borgia.

Haasse presumes some background knowledge from the reader. She's not going to explain who the Borgias were, or the geographical and political divisions in 16th century Europe. The reader is thrown immediately into the events after the battle of Pavia. Though with a vague idea of who the Borgias were and a rudimentary knowledge of 16th century Europe (the emperor ruled Germany ánd Spain, Italy was a patchwork of independent regions constantly at war with eachother), I was able to grasp what was going on.

My judgement
Haasse does what she does best. With clear prose she writes about the events of the first quarter of the 15th century, and uses those events to get into the minds of some fascinating characters who populated the corridors of the Vatican in 1525. Her portrayal of life in Rome and the Vatican for those who are not the pope nor his most intimate counsellors is vivid and intriguing. Each character who has his or her own point of view has their own distinct voice and their stories are multilayered. I enjoyed the chapters of Giovanni Borgia, Vittoria Colonna and the correspondance between Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini the most.

Machiavelli's correspondance gave me some new insights into this historical characters. In popular culture he is usually portrayed as a scheming politician. Someone who can manipulate anybody to do anything. Yet Machiavelli in the last years of his life, as portrayed by Haasse, is shown to be a man with ideals, and with a dream for Italy. Possibly a far more accurate description of the man.

I loved reading Giovanni's chapters as they mostly recounted his life as he tries to reconstruct childhood memories and tries to hold every encounter with his family in a different light. What did Lucrezia mean with what she said in their conversations? Why did several members of the family act towards him the way they acted? It's a nice little puzzle, and Haasse tells it well.

I didn't like the chapters of Michelangelo, mostly because his voice was one of a suffering artist, which was not as focussed nor as strongly linked to the events in the novel as the other points of view. I think the novel would be just as strong if she'd cut him out completely. Luckily, it was only two chapters.

I'm still mulling over whether I like the ending. Vittoria Colonna's final chapter felt a bit too grandiloquent at places, and there's a major twist in Giovanni Borgia's quest. While the final solution of the puzzle of his identity as suggested in the final chapter is quite likely plausible (I suspect Haasse has done extensive research on the trial for the rule of Camerino), it feels like a bit of an anti-climax to think that Giovanni wasn't a Borgia after all - or was he? Though I quite like her portrayal of him being elated and clinging onto his new identity for dear life. Quite fits his character. Perhaps I don't know what to think of the final twist because it seems to be too rushed after 300 pages of build-up.

My ambiguous feelings about the ending as well as my dislike for the Michelangelo chapters are the reasons why this book is a four star and not a five star read for me. That being said, Haasse definitely peeked my curiosity about all characters in the novel. I want to know more about this period in Italian history!

[Pia G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/4.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was interested in the time period--16th century Renaissance Italy, during the so-called "Italian Wars". I liked it very much, although much of it was dark and depressing. The protagonist was Giovanni Borgia, the so-called "infans Romanus". He could have been the illegitimate son of one or more of the more famous Borgias, Cesare, Lucrezia or Pope Alexander VI.

The novel follows Giovanni through his life first as a youngster shuffled from court to court. At age 30, in the secretariat of a later pope, he commits his thoughts to paper. All through the novel he searches out his parentage. Different individuals' lives all eventually touch Giovanni's. Each section dealing with a particular person is set up in a particular manner, rather than strictly chronologically.

Michelangelo Buonarrotti, the angst-ridden artist, confides his thoughts to us. Machiavelli and a friend write letters back and forth, mostly on patriotism and a united Italy. Italy at that time is many city-states, each ruled by a Duke. Finally, the friend counsels Machiavelli to abandon his idealistic dreams and to concentrate on his talent--writing.

Through her interior monologues, we get to know Vittoria Colonna, the lonely and unhappy wife of a general, Ferrante, Duke of Pescara. The scandalous pornographic writer, Pietro Aretino, reveals himself in conversations with Giovanni. Those chapters are strictly dialogue. It was difficult at first to pick out who talks to whom, until a first name is finally spoken. In one of their conversations the cynical Pietro remarks, "No one knows human nature the way I do...nothing is so lucrative as scandal. People want to be titillated, Messer."

I got a very good feel for the courts and streets of Italy at that time; the sights, sounds, and smells intoxicated me. The personalities were very sharply delineated. I enjoyed the descriptive passages where Michelangelo describes the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and its significance; the beautifying of the courtesan, Tullia; the heady description of Carnival, and the final battle in which Giovanni fights under the Colonna banner against the Germans and Spaniards. The whole novel was rather grim. The ending was a speculation; so too are any historical facts about Giovanni's origins.

A side note: the portrait on the book cover is a detail from a painting. It shows Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, and Giovanni as a young man and is kept in the Vatican. "Chronology: the Italian Wars" was invaluable. It was a big help in untangling the byzantine nature of the corrupt politics. The author bracketed what she used in her novel.

Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction set in Renaissance Italy.

[Tubi(Sera McFly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not very fond of historical novels, intrigues and relationships among the nobleman. I even barely stared enjoying the popular Game of Thrones series and i literally don't have a special interest in the history of Italy either. However, I loved the writing of this book as well as the storytelling from the perspective of several characters.

[Hans Wigman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Were I asked to name some of the best Dutch authors, one of the first would be Hella Haasse. I've read quite a few of her books and usually I find them riveting, contemporary and historical novel alike. Recently I finished her great historical novel 'Het woud der verwachting' dealing with the life and times of Charles of Orleans, turning with high expectations to 'The scarlet city'. It deals with Rome just after the downfall of the Borgia family and the main protagonist is a young man trying to find out whether he's a Borgia or not, while struggling to get a decent life in the swirl of events and power struggles he's bound up with.
So far, so good. Unfortunately the perspective changes all the time, even from first to third person within one chapter, as Haasse wants us to keep track of a lot of characters flowing in and out of the story - we even get to know, quite unnecessarily methinks, the mind of the great Michelangelo. But while the multitude of characters in 'Het woud der verwachting' is deftly handled, in this book chaos rules and as a result I found that I didn't really care about any character at all - surely a worrying sign. Is our main protagonist a Borgia or not? Will he find out? Will he get the riches promised to him when a very young boy? Regrettably, I quit fretting long before I was thrown out of the scarlet city - with some other questions on my mind.

[CLARA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un 10 como libro por su estructura y tempo, su rigor, su poética (la tiene según qué personaje toma la palabra en la narración), por la construcción/ recreación de sus personajes principales (esa Lucrecia Borgia duele por todos los costados), por el misterio que subyace como premisa de la historia, la lectura psicológica del personaje del bastardo de los Borgia (el hilo conductor) en su boca y mediante él he leído algunas de las mejores aproximaciones al patetismo del origen, de la carga de la familia.

Es casi perfecto y eso hace de él un grandísimo libro.

[Ekmef · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het was dat ik de personages al half kende van Assassin's Creed, anders had ik dit boek uit pure wanhoop weggelegd. Je valt namelijk midden in het verhaal binnen en er wordt veelvuldig verwezen naar gebeurtenissen waarvan je het gevoel krijgt dat je ze moet kennen. Maar voor de gemiddelde lezer had het net zo goed een Game of Thrones-achtig verhaal kunnen zijn want wie weet nou precies hoe het met Frankrijk en Spanje zat in de 15de eeuw? Ik denk oprecht dat dit boek als fantasy veel beter te behapstukken was.

Het centrale vraagstuk is 'wie is die Giovanni di Borgia en wat wil hij eigenlijk in zijn leven'? Ja, zijn afkomst weten - maar kom op, in het normale leven moet je gewoon door, moet je functioneren, en kan je niet op je gat blijven zitten. Haasse beschrijft echter juist alleen die introspectieve twijfelmomenten en vult er een boek mee, door meedere personages introspectief en twijfelachtig te laten zijn. Prachtig beschreven, dat wel, maar het voelt alsof je het hele boek lang pas op de plaats maakt en in hetzelfde gevoel blijft hangen. Van enige groei is in elk geval geen sprake.

Nu las ik op Wikipedia dat Giovanni uiteindelijk drie kinderen heeft gekregen. Na het lezen van dit boek ben ik natuurlijk uitermate nieuwsgierig 'met wie dan?!!!' maar het antwoord daarop kon ik helaas niet vinden.

[Margje de Hoog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een meeslepend boek, maar wel een boek waarbij ik mijn aandacht niet kon laten verslappen. De vele intriges, de schets van het politieke toneel binnen een historische context en de rijke taal maken het een prachtig boek, maar toch miste ik - in vergelijking tot Het woud der verwachting - iets.

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

GÜNAH ŞEHRİ(Roman)
HELLA S. HAASSE, Yazar (Hollanda Edebiyatının "Büyük Hanımefendisi"), FL:1951, TR:2011, Helikopter Yayın, Çeviren: Ayşen Anadol, 334 sf.
**Romanın arka planında, Rönesans döneminde yaşananlar (1495-1527) ve Roma'nın yağmalanması ile biten İtalyan Savaşları yer alır ve adı geçenlerin tümü (Michelangelo, Machiavelli, G.Borgia, vd.) gerçek kişilerdir.**
-Yo, ne ölmekte olan söndürebilir ateşini yaşayanın,
Ne de sonsuz zaman düzeltebilir karışıklıkları- (Michelangelo'dan)

-Vatikan koridorları pazar kurulan sokaklar kadar kalabalık; duvarların gözü kulağı var burada; insanın düşüncelerini dile getirmesi, hatta fısıldaması söz konusu bile değil.
...Venedik ve Roma'daki en zengin orospular bile şimdiki kardinaller kadar uzun kuyruklu giysilere bürünmüyor.

-Yabancının biri Roma'nın ne zaman sevinçten oynağını sorunca, bir rahip "Papa öldüğü zaman" cevabını vermişti. Papa Alexander öldüğünde, çürümeye başlayan, kimsenin dokunmak istemediği cesedi, ayaklarından sürüyerek San Pietro'ya götürülmüş ve tabuta yumruklana yumruklana sokulmuştu.
...Açlıktan ve vebadan perişan düşen halk, Kutsal Pederin insan kisvesine bürünmüş şeytan olduğu sonucuna varmışa benziyor.

-Burada bukalemunun içinde yaşar gibiyim. Her şey durmadan değişiyor: Unvanlar, ayrıcalıklar, makamlar, yeni gruplar esrarengiz bir çabuklukla bir gidiyor bir geliyor. İnsan her an yeni bir ayar yapmak zorunda; dün kudretli olan bugün gözden düşmüşe benziyor, ya da tam tersi.
...Roma kadar siyasi çekişmelerin zehriyle kirlenmiş başka bir şehir yok.

-Her daim pejmürde, toz içinde, kılıksız, her daim acayip, her daim ulaşılmaz MICHELANGELO. Ne büyük adam!...Roma'da çok düşmanı var. Görgü kurallarından haberi yok, hatta aslında kaba; günlerce tek kelime etmez, abus (somurtkan) suratlı, yabani, Neler söyleniyor hakkında...Peşin para alır, ama işi zamanında teslim etmez, hatta hiç etmez; yakışıklı oğlanların peşinde.
...Roma'da geçirdiği günlerin her anı ıstırap doluydu, her an çağrılma olasılığı yüzünden hazırolda beklemek zorundaydı.
...Zorunlu avarelik, işkencelerin en kötüsü...
...Michelangelo; kambur duruşlu, elleri çatlamış ve boğum boğum olmuş, saçı sakalı da taras taras. Burnu kırık; bütün yüzü çarpık gibi duruyor.

-(Michelangelo) Gençlikte ve aşikar güzellikte gördüğü tanrısallığın naçiz hizmetkarıydı. İnsan bedeni, mucize gibi bir hayatla dolu o beden, her hareketiyle, her duruşuyla öyle derinlemesine, öyle ahenkli bir tenselliğe sahipti ki gözleri yaşlarla doluyor, yüreği gümbürdüyordu.

-(Michelangelo-Sistine Şapel'de) Tonozlu tavandan ve pencerelerin üzerindeki kemerlerden aşağı, ona bakıyorlardı: Peygamberler, sibillalar, titanlar, destekleyici sütunların üzerindeki melek bebekler... Kendi yarattığı, içerlerdeki, kendisinin bile yoklamaya cesaret edemediği kaostan doğan yaratıklar. Kendi kuşkularının, umutsuzluğunun, acı ve korkusunun ete kemiğe büründüğünü görüyordu onlarda.
Gün be gün, yükseklerdeki iskelede, yukarı kaldırdığı kolu ile fırçayı kavrayan parmaklarına giren dayanılmaz ağrılarla homurdanarak yattığı yıllarda, yaratısının her zerresi sonsuza kadar belleğine kazınmıştı.

...Yüzü ter ve gözyaşıyla ve boya damlaları ile ıslanır, boğazı ve burun delikleri iskelenin çevresinde bulut gibi asılı toz ve ince parçacıklarla karıncalanırdı.

...Şafaktan gün batımına kadar, ışık iyi olduğu sürece yüksek iskeledeki yalnızlığı; geceleri, uykusuzluğun işkencesi. Bedeni tükenmişliğin, zihni kuşkunun acılarını çekerdi.

-(V.Colonna) Cinsel arzunun sarhoş edici coşkusuna güvenemezdi; ideal aşkın saflığına, iki benzer ruh arasındaki, mükemmellik modeli olarak gördüğü o destansı duygunun saflığına leke düşürmesinden korkuyordu. O ideal aşkı bozmamak için kendini geri çekerdi.

-Nereden başlarız arınmaya? Zihinlerimizde. Zihinlerimizi biçimlendirme, yöneltme hakkına kim sahip? Kendini kutsal olarak tanımlayan Kilise. Böyle bir tanım için pınar suyu kadar saf, kar kadar lekesiz, ateş kadar paklayıcı olması gerek. Ama Kilise pislik üretiyor. İbadet yüzeysel bir şey. Kardinaller, piskoposlar, en üsttekinden en alttakine kadar bütün rahipler kendilerini dünyevi tutku ve hırslara vermiş. Manastırlarda tembellik, ahlaksızlık kol geziyor...On Emir dürülüp bükülüp TEK EMRE dönüştürülmüş: BİZE PARA VERİN! Roma kokuşmuş, her yeri...
... Alalım süpürgeyi, süpürelim mahkemeleri, tarikatları, manastırları...
... Dünya malı seni zincirlemişse, Tanrı'ya doğru yükselemezsin.

-(Machiavelli) Papa'nın "Hükümdar" (Prens) kitabının basılmasına izin vereceği söyleniyor; basılırsa, gücün ne anlama geldiğini, yetke sahibi olmanın, hükmetmenin, düzeni sağlamanın, silah taşımanın ve tetikte olmanın, kısaca hükümdar olmanın ne anlama geldiği açık seçik anlaşılacaktır.
...Siyasetin kendine özgü çareleri vardır, kendi yolunu bulur ve bunun da sizin ve benim özel hayatımızda iyi ve kötü diye adlandırdığımızla hiç bir ilgisi yoktur. Önemli olan tek ölçüt vardır: Hızlı ve verimli çalışma. Bocalamamak, duraksamamak, koşulların tam da gerektirdiği yolu azimle seçmek. Sonuç alındığında o sonuca varmak için izlenen yolu kim umursar?
...Machiavelli; bir elçi, şair, filozof, dünyayı değiştirmek isteyen, kolay heyecanlanan, tuhaf bir adam.

-Dalgalarda çift çift oynayan yunusları seyrettim. Bir yunus eşini yitirirse üzüntüden ölür. Denizden doğan Venüs'ün oyuncu, sadık dostlarıdır onlar.

-(Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa tablosunda) En gizli ihtirasları gösteren, tabiatın bize döndürdüğü bir yüz bu; bir bilmece. Yüz canlı, anlaşılmaz bir biçimde kıpırdıyor. Dahice düzenlenmiş perspektifte parlak, açık seçik tamamlanmamış renkler, ışık ve gölge tonları, farklı derinlikler. Sanki bir pencereden içeri bakıyorsunuz. Öndeki figür kadın mı, erkek mi, yoksa çocuk mu, yetişkin mi, insan mı, şeytan mı, bilemiyorum. Bakarken o yüzün ifadesi değişiyor. O kısacık anda, önce zulüm ve hınzırca bir alaycılık gördüm; sonra hüzün ve şefkat ve en sonunda bana öyle geliyor ki dudakları ve gözleri gülümsüyor, esrarengiz bir tavırla, tatlı tatlı ve oyun oynar gibi.
-Sıradan bir İtalyanın ne olduğunu siz de iyi bilirsiniz...İlkesi yoktur, böbürlenir, zeki değil kurnazdır, yiğitlik gösterisi arşı alaya çıkar, ama aslında cesur değildir.

-Onur duygusu, utanma duygusu olmayan bir asker şeytanın oyuncağıdır, hadsiz hesapsız acılara sebep olur.

-...Bu oyundaki piyonlar düşünmez, hissetmezler. Baş kaldıran, satranç tahtasındaki taşlar gibi oraya buraya sürülmenin aşağılayıcı olduğunu fark eden, pek azdır.
...Bütün savaşları yıkım uğruna yıkım olarak gördüm. Çatışmanın nedeni ve amacı önemli değildi; askerler yalnızca birer figüran, ateş kusan tunç ve demir canavarların kölesiydi, şehirler ve köyler yalnızca birer hedef, savunmasız karınca yuvasıydı.

-Her şeye gerçekte olduğundan farklıymış gibi davran. Gerçekliğin karşısındaki tek silah kesinlikle budur, o çirkin, çirkin gerçekliğin...

-Rüzgar en çok en yüksek ağaçları sallar.

-Skandal kadar karlı hiç bir şey yok. İnsanlar içlerinin gıcıklanmasını istiyor.

-(Michelangelo)...Figürleri mermerden kurtarırken, acılarını, dilsiz çaresizliklerini hissedebiliyordu. Körleşmiş bir öfkeyle, bir bu heykel bir öteki heykel üzerinde çalışıyordu; sanki o zalim taşın içinden kendi huzurunu çekip çıkaracaktı.

...(Michelangelo), yirmi yıldır orada duran Davut'a (kendisinin yaptığı heykel-Floransa Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi'nde) her zamanki gibi içgüdüsel baktı.
...onlar için güçtü, cesaretti, haksızlık ve şiddete karşı soylu bir öfkeydi... Cesur Floransa Cumhuriyeti halkının simgesi...Devrim sırasında çoğu kişinin heykeli Medicilerin zulmüne karşı görünür bir protesto olarak kabul ettiğini hatırladı.

...(Michelangelo)...insanoğlunun hayvan ile Tanrı arasındaki acı dolu yolculuğunu resmetmek üzere seçilmiş olduğuna inanması...

...(Michelangelo)...varlığının bir parçasını yok oluşa terk edemeyecekse, yapıtını asla tamamlayamayacaktı.
O da potada kaynaşmayı bekliyordu. O da tekrar doğmak zorundaydı.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life of Giovanni Borgia is very popular these days. As usual with the Dutch writer Hella Haasse she presents a very erudit picture of the time: the Vatican court, the Italian imbroglio, and the main characters are beautifully brought to life. The main theme is the wrestling of these characters with their upbringing, their place in life and of course the meaning of life itself. Giovanni Borgia is victim of his obsessions, his counterpart Vittoria is a much wiser character.
This all seems very interesting, but I must confess it didn't really resonate: too much different stylistic levels, and a lot of confusion due to the great number of characters that aren't really relevant. (2.5 stars)

[Eileen Iciek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed, but not as good as .

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niet aan mij besteed. Te literair. Na 1 maand ben ik pas op 1/3e van het boek en het boeit mij niet. Rome, het Vaticaan, het gekonkel. 3 Sterren voor de moeite van Hella Haasse want er is ongetwijfeld heel veel research aan vooraf gegaan.

[Perugino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great literary exploration, chapters written from Vittoria Colonna's point of view especially.

[Ingrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Als je een boek zoekt om te lezen voor Nederlands dan raad ik je aan niet deze te lezen. Het is een boek met veel politiek waar je je doorheen moet worstelen :(

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisch boek, alsof je zelf in Rome bent in de zestiende eeuw. Al kan ik mij voorstellen dat als je weinig weet over wie, wie is, dit boek lastig te begrijpen kan zijn

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een Nederlandse klassieker gelezen voor de leesclub van de bib.
Het lezen zelf verliep niet vlot, ook 3 keer opnieuw begonnen en door de deadline van de bijeenkomst een weekendje enkel dit gelezen "van moetens". Maar dat was ook het moment dat het verhaal me meer aansprak en ik ook nieuwsgierig werd naar de afloop.
Want het heeft verschillende elementen die ik zelf graag las: historisch verhaal, hoofdstukken die door verschillende personages verteld worden waardoor je een rijkere en andere blik op de zaken krijgt en geschreven door een vrouw!
Na de bespreking moet ik zeggen dat ik het verhaal en het boek meer apprecieer. Ik stond er te weinig bij stil dat dit boek in 1952 geschreven werd. Logisch dat de taal vooral bij het begin stroever of oubolliger aandeed. Maar Hella Haasse blijkt haar tijd ver vooruit geweest te zijn. En kreeg zeker niet de erkenning die ze verdiende als ik artikels lees. Ik nam nu haar biografie mee uit de bib, want toch nieuwsgierig naar het verhaal achter deze vrouw!

[Brandy Hussa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is incredibly ambitious storytelling. Vignettes from a variety of perspectives and protagonists, often not in chronological order, offer pieces to a giant puzzle. It felt like I had to work very hard to keep the characters and their motivations straight and to piece together what was happening.

[Bobbie Blommesteijn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Veel woorden voor heel weinig plot. Ook heel verwarrend hoe ze wisselt tussen eerste persoon en derde persoon vertelstructuur.

[Renske Janssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've given this book less than five stars, I fully respect your opinion - I just think you're wrong.

[Vicki Kondelik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scarlet City by Hella S. Haasse takes place in early 16th century Rome, at a time when Italy was divided into many city-states, whose alliances were constantly shifting between the invading French and Spanish armies. Against this background, Haasse tells the story of Giovanni Borgia, an illegitimate son of one of the notorious Borgias (who should be familiar to fans of Showtime’s TV series The Borgias). But which one? Giovanni grows up believing he is the son of Cesare Borgia, but when the family falls from power after the death of Cesare’s father, Pope Alexander VI, Giovanni is brought up by various relatives, including Cesare’s sister Lucrezia, who refuse to tell him the truth about his parentage. He learns that Pope Alexander issued two decrees about Giovanni’s birth, one saying he was Cesare’s son, and one that he was Alexander’s own son. Soon he hears rumors that he may be the product of incest between Lucrezia and either her father or her brother. Another rumor says he is the son of Lucrezia and a servant, and another says he is not a Borgia at all. Giovanni’s quest to learn the truth of his parentage takes many fascinating turns.

The novel is not told chronologically; it begins with Giovanni as an adult, who has just returned to Rome after spending years at the French court and fighting for the French against the Spanish, and the story of his childhood is told in flashbacks. There are several narrators: Giovanni is the main narrator, but other chapters are narrated by Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and the poet Vittoria Colonna. The Scarlet City may be difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with the time period, but Haasse provides a timeline at the beginning of the book, and I think the unusual narrative proves rewarding, and makes for a rich tapestry of a book.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel centers around Giovanni Borgia, known as the Infans Romanus, or child of Rome. Although he was always acknowledged as a member of the Borgia family, it was never clear who his parents were - according to this book, even to him. He is intently focused on finding out. The characters in this book are all real historical figures, and the author tries to get inside their heads, with long passages of internal monologue. This, frankly, is where the book loses steam. All authors of historical novels must try to get inside the heads of historical figures to some extent, but doing it this way - with pages and pages of one person analyzing another's skin, or clothing, or manner of speech - is just really boring.

[Nara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yo, que no tengo ni pasado ni futuro en el sentido habitual de estas palabras, no me sentí en ninguna parte tan completo, tan libre, como cuando combatí en Navarra y el Delfinado y luego en Lombardía y ante Pavía. Si no llevar conmigo esta maldita inquietud, esa sensación de que sólo puedo justificar mi existencia mediante logros espectaculares, viviría incluso contento como mercenario, sin más posesiones que mis armas y mi soldada, sientiéndome uno del montón, siempre subordinado a las órdenes de otro. Pero un miedo secreto me obliga a probarme a mí mismo sin cesar que sí soy alguien.

[Janneke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Op zich is het onderwerp van dit boek wel interessant. Ik vind wel dat het erg langdradig gebracht wordt. Je kunt het hoe en waarom van alle bijfiguren niet echt volgen. Waarschijnlijk zijn ze allemaal een puzzelstukje in het ontwarren van het raadsel van Giovanni Borgia's afkomst. Maar het wordt er niet duidelijker op.
Wel een mooi historisch beeld van het begin van de 16e eeuw en de strijd tussen paus en keizer Karel V.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all I found this book a hard nut to crack. I very much enjoyed Haasse's style but at the same time I wonder if the way she presents the story isn't making it a lot more complicated than it has to be...

Full Random Comments review

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi historisch gegeven: hoe verloopt het leven van een bastaardkind (uit de Borgia familie?) in het Italie van het begin van de 16e eeuw.
De eerste hoofdstukken Wikipedia nodig gehad om de hoofdpersonen;( het boek wordt geschreven vanuit het perspectief van meerdere hoofdpersonen, een mooie stijl.) en alle historische gegevens te kunnen plaatsen Daarna een mooi meeslepend verhaal.