I never realized that eroticism and history could mix together and form a very interesting novel. If one wants to have that combination, then this should be the book that one should read.So, what is this about? This is a book written by Gioconda Belli, one of Central America's great writers. This tells the story of Juana La Loca and Philippe the Handsome. Juana is the daughter of Queen Isabella of Spain, while Philippe is from Flanders. The story begins along the time when Juana was arranged to be wed to Philippe, up to the point when she dies as an old woman of 76 years old.As a parallel story, it also tells the story of Lucia, an orphan from Central America, who is studying in a boarding school in Madrid. She befriends a historian, Manuel, and his aunt, Aunt Agueda.The main setup of the story is that Manuel first met Lucia in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, and remarked that Lucia resembles Juana La Loca very much, to the point that he invites her, a 17-year-old student, in his house, in order to relive the story of Juana La Loca. Manuel has a medieval dress that he insists Lucia wears whenever they would meet during the weekends.Thus, the story of Juana and Philippe and Lucia and Manuel become intertwined together, and the narration swings from first-person to second-person and back. Overall, I think it was a very interesting device.Now, the title is actually misleading. There isn't a scroll of seduction in the book. However, the story is indeed about seduction, and there's multiple instances of it. First, there's Manuel, a 30-something-year-old historian, seducing a 17-year-old girl. There's also Juana, seducing Philippe, back in the 16th century. And yes, there are numerous instances where sex becomes a major player in diplomacy.A little disturbing factoid in this novel is the fact that a body seems to inhabit multiple bodies. Lucia makes love with Manuel, but as who? As Lucia? Or as Juana? And who was she making love to? Manuel? Or Philippe? The book makes a good job of blurring the boundary between reality and hallucination.So did I like this book? Yes, definitely. This is not for youngsters, but I find it very well researched. I never knew of the existence of Juana La Loca before, but now I have a better idea of who she was. This may be fiction, it may be historical fiction, but it was a good read if one is interested in the history of Castile and Aragon back in the 1600's. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Der Klappentext hat mich sehr neugierig gemacht, denn ich liebe historische Romane und auch, wenn verschiedene Zeitebenen miteinander verstrickt sind. Und das ist der Autorin in diesem Buch auch wirklich gut gelungen. Zwar ist die Geschichte der Vergangenheit eine völlig unabhängige und hat nichts gemein mit der der Gegenwart, nur die Charaktere scheinen zu verschmelzen: Aus der Schülerin Lucia der Gegenwart scheint die spanische Königin Johanna aus dem 16. Jahrhundert zu werden. Während der Dozent Manuel die Geschichte von Johanna, der Wahnsinnigen erzählt, schlüpft Lucia immer mehr in diese Rolle, scheint zu fühlen und zu denken wie Johanna. Und ich als Hörerin habe mich genauso in die Vergangenheit zurückversetzt gefühlt. Ich habe viel gelernt über die spanische Königin Johanna, ihrer Ehe mit Philipp, dem Schönen, ihrem vermeintlichen Wahnsinn und ihrem traurigen Tod in völliger, unfreiwilliger Isolation.Aber natürlich gibt es auch einen Handlungsstrang in der Gegenwart, in dem es um die Beziehung zwischen Lucia und dem Dozenten Manuel geht. Nicht nur der Altersunterschied macht die Beziehung schwierig, auch die sich ankündigende Schwangerschaft und ein Geheimnis, das Manuel stets zu umgeben scheint. Diese Geschichte hat mir zwar auch gefallen, konnte mich aber nicht ganz so begeistern wie das Leben Johannas.Die Figuren sind alle sehr gut ausgearbeitet und gerade auch Johanna ist sehr einfühlsam beschrieben. Ich konnte mich wirklich in die Geschichte hineinfallen lassen und mit Johanna bzw. Lucia mitfühlen.Das Ende des Hörbuchs hat mich sehr überrascht – aber im positiven Sinne. Damit hatte ich gar nicht gerechnet, fand es aber einen gelungenen Abschluss – auch wenn Fragen offen geblieben sind, dies gibt mir aber Möglichkeit, mir meine eigenen Gedanken zu machen.Die Sprecherin Ulrike Hübschmann hat eine sehr angenehme, warme Stimme und passt hervorragend zu der Geschichte. Sehr einfühlsam spricht sie ihre Rolle ein und schafft eine schöne, wenn auch melancholische Atmosphäre.Mein FazitEin tolles Hörbuch, das mich gefesselt hat und mir das Leben der spanischen Königin Johanna aus dem 16. Jahrhundert näher bringen konnte. Die angenehme Stimme von Ulrike Hübschmann passt hervorragend zu der Geschichte, die sehr gut aufgebaut ist und wunderbar die Gegenwart mit der Vergangenheit verwebt.
What do You think about The Scroll Of Seduction (2006)?
Este libro es demasiado inesperado.Al principio la trama avanza lento y sin ningún objeto especial en la historia, pero conforme van pasando las páginas llega a captar la atención del lector (por lo menos para mí), es un libro muy histórico y contiene mucha información sobre el el siglo 15 y 16. En lo personal fué un libro intrigante y de aquellos que te dejan con un inesperado final.Así se califica como una verdadera novela histórica y contemporánea.Aunque contiene un léxico desarrollado, vale la pena poner los ojos en la historia y los sentimientos que despierta en el lector son muy diferentes a los cliché.Me encantó y lo recomiendo para lectores que amen la intriga y los giros inesperados.
—Brigitt Ramírez
Meh. Disappointed because I love Gioconda Belli's poetry and I loved Country Under My Skin. In the notes in the back, the author says that modern readers need a modern story or otherwise they wouldn't be interested in Juana La Loca, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel, sister to Katherine of Aragon (Henry VII's first wife). Philippa Gregory's enormous popularity belies that statement, and if a potboiler is needed for Queen Juana then it would be great if Ms. Gregory wrote it. The modern story - weird, not well-developed, extraneous - revolves around evaluating the character of Juana to determine if she really was mad. If the point was to show that she was not, it was not well-made. Juana seemed pretty loca by the end of this very sketchy exposition. If Ms. Belli had abandoned the modern story there would have been more space to write about Juana. I give it two stars rather than one because it piqued my interest in the story of Juana.
—Pamela_b_lawrencemsn.com
Numas férias em Tordesilhas fiquei intrigada com a história da Rainha Joana de Espanha, que foi encarcerada durante décadas no palácio local. A História retratou-a como louca mas ao ler este livro fiquei a saber que há muito mais intriga política, sexismo, e luta pelo poder do que loucura.Nos anos 60, Lucía está internada num colégio de freiras em Madrid após a morte dos pais num acidente de avião. Numa visita ao El Escorial, conhece Manuel, um historiador fascinado com a vida de Joana, a Louca, que propõe dar-lhe “lições” sobre esta rainha aos fins de semana, apenas com uma exigência – Lucía deverá vestir-se à época e entrar na mente da Joana… para o bem e para o mal.O livro vai alternado entre o século XX e o século XV/ XVI e vamos descobrindo como é que Joana chegou ao seu triste destino. Desde a sua paixão por Filipe, o Belo, até aos atritos com os pais, vamos descobrindo que o grande problema da rainha era ser demasiada apaixonada e senhora de si, numa altura em que as mulheres deveriam ser contidas e não mostrar qualquer emoção. E não nos podemos esquecer que reinar sobre um grande império era uma tentação demasiado grande para um ex-rei consorte, que foi dominado pela mulher, e um marido que nunca pensou chegar tão longe. Um livro muito bom, que recomendo!
—Margaret
