In Lucia's Eyes

I LOVED "In Lucia's Eyes"! I enjoyed it so much that I may immediately re-read it. Segments resonated and clarified universal themes: love, education, cosmetic and internal disfigurement, etc. And, the manner of presentation was intimate, thought-provoking, and timely. Samples: "The profound peace I feel in libraries goes beyond silence. The paper doesn't just muffle sound but stills the roar of my thoughts... [and] things written down are easier to let go of." "The attraction of ruins is one whose explanation I shall expect in the hereafter! What allure could there be about a heap of rubble?" The Author's birth year (1956) and nationality (Holland) are significant in that the book takes place mostly in Amsterdam and much has changed, while other things have not... in 250 years! For me, the book's locale/subject had some meaning: I visited Amsterdam when I was about 20. At that time, "a must" tourist attraction was to view whores who were displayed in street-level windows. With only three days to see the sights, I went. Then, I was too young; but now, because of this book, I know more. With Lucia, in the 1750's, we listen to her step-by-step analysis of her life. She describes her peasant frivolities, her loving parents, how she comes to be educated, what friendships and employers augment her growth, and we mature with her. She details her love, explains the milieu of the social classes, the medical profession, and Amsterdam's bizarre attitude toward prostitution. And ultimately... Well, I was surprised with the ending, comfortable as it was. The developments are both enjoyable and eye-opening. In "In Lucia's Eyes", theatrics, ancestry, and cosmetics (or veils) are treated in more ways than one. The reader learns in the Author's Postscript (Arthur Japin, author, actor) that the BACKGROUND of an anecdote, a play the characters attend, exists. Jacques Japin (ancestor of the author?) wrote the play within, in 1747. We also learn that Lucia may actually be "buried in a churchyard of St. Paul's in Flatbush, New York". Even the typeface of the book is documented as having significant timeliness. Therefore, the depth is both playful and serious. Okay, so the book feels real and the details hit resonating chords. But more importantly, the theme is: "The blessing of love is not in being loved, it IS in loving." We, the reader, are shown the evolution of learning to accept oneself. Further, "We MUST give away the thing we most long for." And, writing DOES liberate. I agree. I gave this book a four-star rating (less than a perfect five), because there were a few transitions that were not as crystal clear as they might have been. Those wrinkles were momentary hiccups and that's all. Perhaps when I re-read the book, I'll blame the continuity snags on my own alertness when reading. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. Lucia had a happy childhood. She searched for

Japin's second novel is a beautiful work of historical fiction. His descriptions of the times, the places, the clothes and fashions and thoughts and activities - perfect. The dialogue, the attitudes, the games his people play - all dead right. Even Japin's weaving together the fictional and nonfictional source material (mostly Casanova's autobiography) is done most skillfully and believably. It is a beautiful work. I enjoyed every page of the book.

I love stories that steep you in the sounds, the sights even the smells of history. The Girl With the Pearl Earring is a book I adored. But that book now seems a beginner's effort to bring the past to life. Japin writes so believably as an 18th century courtesan, the book is like a found manuscript. The language is period pitch-perfect. And this is that rare book with something for both the mind and the heart. For the mind, a subtle and fascinating meditation on sense versus sensibility (yes, I recommend this to fans of Jane Austen), reason versus feeling. For the heart, there is a irresistibly developed love story, both suspenseful and poignant. You rarely find a contemporary author with these classical skills of story telling. Bravo!

In Pasiano, Italy fourteen years old virginal servant Lucia works in a noble house. There she meets seventeen years old just as virginal seminarian student Giacomo Casanova. The youngsters fall in love until she Lucia catches smallpox that scars her face terribly. Unable to face her lover, she runs off Giacomo before fleeing across Europe. She earns her way doing various jobs especially as a prostitute to those every other fallen woman rejected. Eventually she becomes Madam Galathee de Pompignac running a popular brothel in Amsterdam and using a sexy veil to hide her visage while also making her mysterious to her clients. Casanova, renowned as the seducer le Chevalier de Seingalt, meets his first love and they wager a war of words, wit, and a challenge to determine whose gender is the stronger. This fascinating historical tale provides a different look at Casanova through the eyes of his first love. Her trials and tribulations turn her into a strong intelligent woman during an era when females were not expected to show any wit. The period is vividly described, though at times the window into the mid eighteenth century overwhelms the battle of the sexes. Still Arthur Japin provides a solid gender war that humanizes the legendary lover as he competes in a fierce skirmish of the mind and the body against his greatest opponent, his first love. Harriet Klausner