Niccolò Rising - Dorothy Dunnett

 Constance at Staircase Wit mentioned Niccolò Rising, by Dorothy Dunnett, as a potential summer read, and that reminded me that it was on my own TBR shelf so I decided that it would be my first big book of the summer, clocking in at 470 pages.. 

Book one in a trilogy, it is set in 1460 in Bruges, with forays into Geneva, Milan, and the Abruzzi region of the Italian peninsula. I confess that I struggled through the first 60 or so pages--there are a lot of characters, from all over Medieval Europe, and it took me awhile to even figure out who the main character was and whose story was being told.

Part of the confusion lay in the fact that the main character, Niccolò of the title, was called Claes and then occasionally Nicholas, and very rarely Niccolò. 

Claes is a distant poor relation of the widowed owner of a textile company in Bruges and works in the dye shop (yes, he works with the urine used to set the dyes). He is a clown and comic--hanging out with the son of the widow and other members of the firm--playing pranks, getting into outrageous mischief, and being beaten regularly for his antics.

But there is so much more to Claes. He is a charmer with a winning smile framed by adorable dimples, he is big and strong, quick and energetic, both mentally and physically. He is basically a savant when it comes to business--able to see the big picture, able to grasp how obstacles can be manipulated into opportunities, able to rapidly do the math and make canny speculations. Despite his seeming gregariousness, he can keep his own counsel as well as the secrets of others, which turns out to be a very profitable activity. And he is, apparently, phenomenal in bed. Women adore him.

I am hard pressed to come up with a similar character in literature. Dare I say that he is unique? Part Machiavelli, part Harpo Marx, part Warren Buffet, Claes who becomes Nicholas (his given name, Claes was a nickname) as his fortunes rise gives the reader a rollicking good time.

I won't give you any spoilers, but suffice it to say that he survives an avalanche (which he may or may not have triggered on purpose), several assassination attempts including a harrowing experience in a wine cask in a canal which is on fire, and an absolutely hilarious ride on the back of a hairless ostrich...but you have to read to almost the end of the book to reach this scene.

Final note: Nicholas could have coined the phrase, "revenge is a dish best served cold." It isn't until near the end of the book that it is revealed that Nicholas has been playing the long game...in fact, a very long game.

Now, I need to get and read book two in the series, The Spring of the Ram.

As I said at the beginning, this is the first book for the Big Book Summer Challenge, 2025.

April Showers

It's really spring, and we're having the rain (and snow) that comes with the rhyme! Thank goodness--my native flower garden is greening up, the onions and peas are in the ground, and I'm transplanting seedlings this week. Got the Roma and Money Maker tomatoes, tomatillos, and violas transplanted into larger pots so that their roots can develop before they go outside. Next, I'll do the various peppers, and then soon the other flowers. I'm running out of room, so I'll be assembling my second grow station to handle the overflow as bigger pots take up more room.

March flew by--the wrist is mostly healed, but now my right shoulder has been hurting from something or other. Hopefully, I will get that sorted soon as the garden is calling, and I must go.

I have a lot of books in progress and have finished a couple.

The Last Queen, by C.W. Gortner - this was a recommendation from Michelle at True Book Addict...Books, Cats, and More. I reread The Winter King with her in January, and she recommended this novel about Juana, Queen of Castile, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand and sister of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Known as Joanna the Mad, this was a fabulous fictional account of a princess of Spain who is married off to Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Flanders. They have a passionate love marriage until he becomes jealous of her inheriting her mother's kingdom of Castile. Really a wonderful historical novel about someone I knew very little about. I know everyone knows that it wasn't easy being a woman, even or especially a royal woman, in the 16th century, but Juana did her best to be the heir to her mother's crown. Her story makes Elizabeth I's achievements even more astounding.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q. Sutanto - loved this book so much. Set in San Francisco, Vera Wong is a Chinese Tiger Grandma who flexes her detective muscles when she discovers a dead body in her tea shop one morning and decides that he must have been murdered. I loved her spunk and her many flaws, which actually are far outweighed by her many virtues, not least of which is cooking massive meals for those she loves, might love, or might have clues that she needs to uncover. I also loved reading about her tea ingredients and what special brews she could concoct.

This is book one in a very promising series--book two was just released this past Tuesday, April 1--there is a great assortment of secondary characters who promise to have strong legs to help carry the series, including the classic reluctant police detective, a couple of surrogate daughters desperately in need of a Tiger Mom to help them find their full potential, a couple of surrogate sons who also need direction, and a real son who has no idea how ingenious his mom really is.

I hope everyone is able to clock some outdoor time this April--the best way, besides reading, that I know of to stay sane and functioning. Take care, my bookish friends, the world is getting weird, but we are a supportive community that shares common interests.