- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (6 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753817802
- ISBN-13: 978-0753817803
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 781,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
1933: in a country rocked by corruption trials involving government, big business and the Vatican, people in the idyllic small city of Urbino, Raphael's birthplace, appear more concerned with love affairs than politics, their only worry an outbreak of spurious miracles. Then Count Malaspino returns after years away and his support for the restoration of Raphael's 'La Muta' ('the mute woman') drives a living mute to an act of violence. Does this woman know something terrible about Malaspino's past? Did she witness a literally 'unspeakable' crime that could shatter the peace of Urbino? Both a political thriller and an examination of our miraculous capacity for restoration, WAKING RAPHAEL recreates an Italy where the comic and the tragic, the romantic and the violent, are brilliantly evoked.
From the Inside Flap
1993: in a country rocked by corruption trials involving government, big business and the Vatican, people in the idyllic small city of Urbino, Raphael's birthplace, appear more concerned with love affairs than politics, their only worry an outbreak of spurious miracles. Then Count Malaspino returns after years away and his support for the restoration of Raphael's La Muta ('the mute woman') drives a living mute to an act of violence that triggers ugly rumours. Does this woman know something terrible about Malaspino's past? Did she witness a literally 'unspeakable' crime that could shatter the peace of Urbino? Her continued silence seems to be in everyone's interest except the gentle art restorer Charlotte Penton - and a television crew fronted by Donna Ricco, who can't shut up to save her life...or anyone else's. There are as many liars as 'mutes' in Waking Raphael...Charlotte's bitter divorce has left her incapable of expressing herself except through painting. Her assistant, Paolo, won't confess his infatuation to the glamorous Donna for fear of exposing his dangerous private schemes; Donna, in turn, lies about her feelings for him. Fabio's response to his fascist grandfather is to pose mutely as a statue of Raphael. Francesco, the ice-cream maker, knows it is suicide to speak out against Count Malaspino, who has always remained silent about his past - and present - life. But things cannot stay the same. The result is a case which involves Italy's foremost investigators of miracles, causes charges to be made to the Italian Committee for Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, turns Urbino into a circus of charlatans and gurus, and requires testimonies from several unlikely witnesses - two of them dead. Leslie Forbes' sensual novel intelligently and passionately evokes an Italy on the verge of a second renaissance while illustrating the often fatal, yet redemptive, consequences of telling the truth. 12.99 in UK only Born in Canada, Leslie Forbes has worked in London as a writer, artist and broadcaster for over 20 years. She is the author of four award-winning travel books, including the worldwide bestseller A Table in Tuscany (Italy's Barbi-Colombini prize for the best book on the food and culture of Italy), and the presenter of many celebrated BBC radio series, several based in Italy. Her first novel, the international bestseller Bombay Ice, was published in 1998 to huge acclaim, as was her second, Fish, Blood & Bone (nominated for the Orange prize). Weidenfeld & Nicolson The Orion Publishing Group Orion House 5 Upper St Martin's Lane London WC2H 9EA
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Silence is golden,
By A Customer
This review is from: Waking Raphael (Hardcover)
A wonderful evocation of all that is good and bad about Italy, told through real characters that love, hate, threaten, flirt, despise, adore, despair, condemn, drink ...and eat ice-cream. History is never really dead - or silent. Read this book and wonder who you are sitting next to in the café.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Screenplay waiting to be filmed?,
By
This review is from: Waking Raphael (Paperback)
I picked this up on the recommendation of my husband having finished my reading material on a short trip. It might be a cliche but I really did find it "unputdownable". The character descriptions are as vivid as the scenary, the plotlines believable and as anyone who has visited the area knows, the location is so vibrant, this is a film just crying out to be made. On the flight home I was already doing a mental casting..........
If anyone's looking for an undemanding but satisfying read, here's a recommendation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Compelling Story,
By Bookreporter - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Waking Raphael (Hardcover)
WAKING RAPHAEL is another worthy addition to the growing genre of history and art history thrillers populating bookshelves these days.
Charlotte, a repressed divorced Brit, has traveled to Urbino, Italy --- the birthplace of artist Raphael --- to restore "La Muta," one of his paintings. While removing previous repairs to the painting, layers of Urbino's history during the war unfold as well. Like the painting of the silent woman, the town's inhabitants and the novel's characters each have their own unique reasons for silence. The silence is, as they say, deafening. With a town's horrible secrets at risk here, the folks of Urbino will stop at nothing to ensure that their age-old mystery remains undiscovered. But this is not to be. A documentary company is shooting a film about the restoration. The on-camera talent is Donna, a dimwitted but attractive reporter, who cannot read even the simplest of text, but clearly has a sharp eye that something here is amiss. Charlotte and Donna begin to realize that the town holds a dark truth below its surface when the painting is attacked by a mute woman. There is some heavy metaphor about silence and breaking silence here. Charlotte is incapable of expressing her feelings. The true mute who lives in San Rocco on the periphery of the town says nothing. Donna speaks volumes, about nothing. The count lives a secret life of adultery, hidden from all involved. Each silence and awakening propels the story onward. With a narrative that was sometimes difficult to follow, WAKING RAPHAEL is redeemed by lush descriptions of Italy, the countryside and the people. The scenes involving food contain sumptuous writing where the reader can taste the tenderness of the prosciutto, the smoothness of the ice cream and gelato, and the delicate cheeses. Magic, religion, art and history weave together to make a compelling story. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara 10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
strong crime thriller,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Waking Raphael (Hardcover)
Middle age art restorer Charlotte Penton travels to Urbino, Italy to work on a fabulous project, restoring a faded Raphael painting, La Muta, The Silent Woman. The renovation assignment is difficult as Charlotte must first peel away the previous "repairs" to get to the basic masterpiece. Then she applies skill, experience and guesswork to mend the painting.Following Charlotte to Urbino is youthful Canadian media star Donna Ricco, who is the pretty girl frontal visage for an arts restoration program. Donna quickly finds the tedious meticulous work boring, but knows she must bear it if she is to get ahead in her career. When a mute woman defames the masterpiece, the two visitors see it differently. Charlotte is appalled but wants to learn why while a gleeful Donna sees a terrific story. As the two North Americans combine resources to learn the truth, they will open up secrets from the war and much more about grandmasters that the town's elderly want left hidden. This engaging tale hooks the reader from the moment that the mute woman desecrates La Muta because the mystery within a mystery is embedded in an incredible background tidal wave of art, history, legends with a hint of the paranormal, local politics, and religion. The lead duo is dynamic opposites except both have energy that will make a marathon runner feel like a couch potato. Fans of crime thrillers with an edge will want to read WAKING RAPHAEL and obtain Leslie Forbes' previous tales, BOMBAY ICE and FISH, BLOOD AND BONE as this reviewer plans to do. Harriet Klausner 6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting plot but gets lost amongst too many points of view,
By John Harpur - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Waking Raphael (Paperback)
An interesting plot combining bits of WWII outrages with what is happening in nineties' Urbino. The tale twists and weaves a lot due to a mulitude of characters introduced. Many of the characters are implausible and the book has to contrive various unconvincing vignettes around them to knit them into the story. My general reaction was that the reader was introduced to too many points of view which weren't prioritised and as the book draws to a conclusion I began asking myself who cares? Also there is an annoying habit throughout of introducing the criminals in short conversatiosn without their identifying names. They usually hint at violence to come, but at the end of the book I wondered why they were there at all, since their roles are both thin and thinly described. I agree entirely with the reviewers who wrote that the book took too long to read. It is not a page turner.
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