Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 About beauty October 11, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Second Mrs. Gioconda grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. In addition to an intriguing story about Leonardo Da Vinci and his apprentice Salai (there is some good information here, and it's relayed in a very interesting way), this is the story of beauty, both inner beauty and outward (appearance) beauty. I think that's why the story is written as it is, with the discovery of who posed for the Mona Lisa, and why she was chosen, coming at the end ... what we learn from the outward beauty Isabella and the inwardly beautiful Beatrice makes the ending discovery mean that much more, and the ending is very satisfying. Several pages of Leonardo's works following the story are interesting to look at.
I also enjoyed the way Konigsburg pained an in-depth portrait of Leonardo's personality, with all its intrigues and quirks. And the way Salai grew (the story begins when Salai is 10 and the majority of the story covers the next 7 years of his life, though it does briefly continue for a few years more to wrap things up) and showed some genius himself - not in the way he painted, but in the way he listens and learns (mainly from his friend Beatrice, but he also has an intuition for his talent of reading Leonardo's moods and knowing how best to help him) the very best way to assist Leonardo, is well-expressed.
Very glad to have read this book and will seek out more by Konigsburg.
 Certainly not my favorite... April 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had to read this for school. Maybe I would have liked it if I had just read it without worrying about the reading analysis that came after. But no matter. The book started off great. I really liked Salai's character in the beginning. His thievery was very funny and I liked how he threw up on the head of the man he was standing on :D because he ate too many cookies. But after that, it got kind of dull. Salai stopped his funny comments "Those scholars could get peed on by a horse and they wouldn't know what had happened without looking it up in a book!". Salai also seemed like a lying cheat, because he was selling Leonardo's private ideas and techniques for drawing to other artists in the area. And all throughout the story, there was no reference to the Mona Lisa! That's what the story is supposed to be about, right? The Mona Lisa was only referred to in the last chapter! What was the whole book for?
And, oh my gosh, there was absolutely no conflict in the story! I heard E.L. Konigsburg was good, but what happened to this book, we'll never know. The book's simply outrageous.
I give it 2 stars only because Salai was funny in the beginning. He actually made me laugh.
 Interesting, but not my favorite April 2, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was a pretty quick read for me. I picked it up because I am a big fan of E.L. Konigsburg, especially The View From Saturday. While I was interested in this story, it did not measure up to some of the author's other books, including The View From Saturday or The Outcasts From 19 Schuyler Place, although those are from a different genre.
The best part of The Second Mrs. Gioconda is the historical details that it incorporates. While it is historical fiction, it does allow the reader to learn a little about the life of Leonardo da Vinci and Italy during the late 1400s. The character of Salai is very entertaining through his mischief and candor, and helps connect the historical figure of da Vinci to everyday people from this time. The self-absorption of some of the royalty is also pretty funny.
Overall, this is a book I would recommend to readers with an interest in history. It is interesting, and provides opportunities to learn or to investigate more.
 Reinventing History? November 7, 2005
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
The basic rules of good fiction are to take an interesting character and plop him into some action, then ask "What if..." and then "And then what..." and finally, "So what?" Konigsburg takes the reader into the brain of Leonardo by way of his Puck-like apprentice, but with little about Mona Lisa the painting or the enigma. Perhaps it will lead young readers to more about DaVinci. Thoughtful, entrancing, but not exciting; I wonder how it would read if Konigsburg decided to write the life and time of Donald Trump.
The Second Mrs.Giaconda November 2, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Second Mrs.Giaconda, by E. L. Konigsburg, is a book about a poor, dogged, perverse boy living in Italy who stumbles upon Leonardo da Vinci... which changes his life forever. E. L. Konigsburg tells why Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait of an unimportant merchant's wife when tons of dukes and duchesses wanted their portrait done.
I thought that it was a good book that was thoughtful and well-written, but a bit slow and lacking action. Another book I would recommend by E.L. Konigsburg is From the Mixed-Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler.
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