Maybe it is that this is the first book I’ve been able to read guilt-free since August, when school started, but I really enjoyed this book. It was such a nice feeling to get lost in a story again, to be in bed at night, fighting sleep just so that I could finish another page, then another chapter etc. I also enjoyed that at certain points in the book, the story propelled me to the internet to learn a little bit more about Florence’s history. I always enjoy when a book sparks my curiosity and desire to learn more about a certain topic.

The main character, at the end of her life, lives in a convent, where she supposedly had greater freedom than she would have had, had she stayed living as a widow in Florence. It’s hard to say, of course, what one would do in such a circumstance, but I find it hard to imagine that I would have chosen the convent life. Life outside would have been harder perhaps but it would have offered a greater illusion of freedom, provided there was a certain amount of wealth of course. She had that to spare. I’m just thankful that’s not a choice that I have to make in my lifetime.