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Tell Them of Battles, Kings and Elephants
Tell Them of Battles, Kings and Elephants | Mathias Enard
"In 1506, Michelangelo -- young but already renowned sculptor -- is invited by the Sultan of Constantinople to design a bridge over the Golden Horn. The sultan has offered, alongside an enormous payment, the promise of immortality, since Leonardo da Vinci's design had been rejected: "You will surpass him in glory if you accept, for you will succeed where he has failed, and you will give the world a monument without equal." Michelangelo, after some hesitation, flees Rome and an irritated Pope Julius II -- whose commission he leaves unfinished -- and arrives in Constantinople for this truly epic project. Once there, he explores the beauty and wonder of the Ottoman Empire, sketching and describing his impressions along the way, and becomes immersed in cloak-and-dagger palace intrigues as he struggles to create what could be his greatest architectural masterwork. Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants -- constructed from real historical fragments -- is a story about why stories are told, why bridges are built, and how seemingly unmatched pieces, seen from the opposite sides of civilization, can mirror one another"--
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DannyOlda
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Pickpick

A pleasant, very interesting historical fiction read. I could've read much more.

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charl08
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Pickpick

Beautiful story: Enard imagines Michaelangelo's journey to design a bridge for the Turkish ruler.

43 likes3 stack adds
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charl08
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Like my vanished country, over there, at the other end of the sea. Now it lives only in stories and in the people who tell them....

34 likes1 stack add
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Niso
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Heading to 16th century Constantinople for a little break...

#weekendreads #historicalfiction #history #booksintranslation #historicalfic #frenchlit

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Redwritinghood
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#indiebuddyreads This is a unique fictionalization of Michelangelo‘s trip to Istanbul to design a bridge for the city. Apparently, construction was begun on the bridge, but it was significantly damaged by an earthquake and never finished. The writing is immersive, drawing the reader deeply into the mind and emotions of the various characters. Not a lot happens, but I still enjoyed reading this brief, beautiful book nevertheless. 4⭐️

Adventures-of-a-French-Reader I keep a good memory of the reading. It's totally my type of books. 5y
76 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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ClairesReads
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Mehso-so

firmly in the wanted to love, but did not category for me. It is inarguable that this is a beautifully written novella. Ever sentence, on every page, is perfectly measured. It is richly descriptive, and evocative of time and place. In spite of all this, the narrative felt flat. Although I could admire the beauty of the writing, the story, the characters, and the observations failed to move me, and at many times failed to engage me.

37 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ClairesReads
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Translated fiction for #indiebuddyreads

mklong I hope you like this one Claire! 5y
ClairesReads @mklong thanks Katie- it‘s certainly beautifully written so far 5y
29 likes2 comments
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mklong
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Pickpick

This novel uses Michelangelo‘s actual letters and drawings to imaginatively fill in the gaps and tell a story of his early 16th century trip to Istanbul. It‘s a good story, well told, but I don‘t really have much more to add than that.

45 likes1 stack add
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Redheadrambles
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This probably deserves more than the 3-star rating I have given it. I came to view this as a quaint picturesque type endeavour, more artistic feeling than plot. Open any page and you will be well rewarded with some elegant and delicate prose, some lovely impression of 16th century Constantinople and the workings of Michelangelo but ( and here I lower my voice to a whisper ) it was just a teensy-weensy bit ... dull ?

ClairesReads Just getting started 5y
Redheadrambles @ClairesReads it is a complete 180 from Machines like me ! 5y
22 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
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Pickpick

In this book, fiction draws its inspiration from history with a capital H. The beautiful writing of Mathias Enard sends us through time and space to the Constantinople from the 1500s with Michelangelo as our fellow traveler.

25 likes3 stack adds