Book cover of The Orphan's Song by Lauren Kate shows title, author, and the backside view of a woman in a scarlet dress, holding a Venetian mask, and looking out at the waterline of Venice. Historical fiction.

The Orphan’s Song by Lauren Kate

Genre: historical
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: June 25, 2019

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books, and Lauren Kate for providing an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it.

Summary:

In 18th century Venice, orphans have few options. In the orphanage known as the Incurables, a young boy and girl meet secretly and bond over their mutual love of music and dreams of escape. Violetta, a gifted singer, is chosen for the widely-renowned coro. But she must sign a pledge that she will never sing outside the church. This chafes at her independent spirit and the more deeply she longs to sing on the outside. A chance comes and she embarks on a dangerous double life.

She met Mino as a young teen. Also an orphan, Mino has taught himself to play violin. As you might imagine, the two are drawn to each other because of their mutual love of music. He has a “token” of the mother who abandoned him as at the orphanage and dreams of reuniting with her. He also dreams of Violetta. But after his proposal goes wrong, he goes to search for his mother.

Will either find the freedom and love they long for?

My thoughts:

What worked for me:

The love between Violetta and Mino

The young people fall in love. Predictable. They are instantly drawn to one another. Standard fare in fiction. But what makes their romance believable is how Kate uses their mutual passion for music to draw them together. Both Violetta and Mino are passionate about creating music. (In real life, I’ve noticed that when one person is musically gifted, their romantic partner is, too.) It’s not insta-love, but it is an insta-bond: both are orphans, both love music, both are relatively ignorant of the world outside the Incurables. Love blossoms during their secret meetings.

It’s surprising that both are capable of loving other people. But in my opinion, that’s realistic, too. Sometimes lovers part ways and move on, learning to love other people. I think Mino in particular grew as a person through the influence of Ana, and I appreciated that he had the strength of character to embrace their relationship.

The pace

This isn’t historical mystery or suspense. I expected the story to unfold slowly and in one sense, it did. Things happen gradually; there’s not a lot of “big” action moments. (If you’re looking for guns and bombs and knifes, you’ll have to look elsewhere.) But the narrative moves forward smoothly, like a gondola steered along the Venetian canals by an experienced gondolier (in this case, the author!): quickly enough to make the story move forward, slowly enough to savor the sights of beautiful Venice and its mysterious masked citizens.

The characters

Mino and Violetta are both richly drawn characters. They have their strengths and weaknesses. I wish Kate had explored some of the secondary characters (like Laura, Violetta’s best friend, or Carlos and Ana) in more depth.There’s a great canine character, though: Sprezz makes a terrific companion for Mino at his lowest points and spurs him on to continue living when he despairs.

What didn’t work for me:

At several points, the plot hinged on coincidental meetings. Without giving away any of the plot, I’ll just say that it’s very convenient for two people to want to see each other to accidentally meet on a bridge. It’s possibly too convenient. After all, how many bridges are there in Venice? And they simply happened to be on the same one at the same time?

A second weakness involves the fate of Mino’s mother. Violetta finds a clue as to what happened to his long-gone mother and from there, comes to a conclusion that isn’t completely logical. It’s feasible, yes, but it’s a big step from the known facts to her conclusion. It’s also a bit strange that Mino acts upon her conclusion without much thought about the consequences or further investigation. (Though given his emotionally distraught state, that’s believable.)

Final Impression:

With gorgeous writing and great characters, this book evokes Venice at its high point. Some weak spots but a solid historical novel.

 

Bonus Tip for Writers:

Stories must have tension and suspense, even outside the suspense genres.

I’ve read quite a bit of “literary” fiction. One issue that pops up again and again is the prose. It’s usually gorgeous prose–things that would make a poet proud–but nothing happens. I’d wade through long paragraphs of description, musings, etc., and the story would stand still. Completely still. No tension, no suspense, no anything beyond beautiful prose. But simply because you’re not writing in the suspense genre doesn’t mean you don’t have suspense and tension in the story.

It’s got to be there. Otherwise there’s no reason to keep reading.

Kate does a terrific job of writing gorgeous prose and moving her story ahead. There’s always tension, even in her descriptions of Venice. It’s not the same type of suspense that drives a mystery forward, but it’s still there. Check out her novel and see what I mean.

This review of The Orphan’s Song also appears on Goodreads and Bookbub. If you’re looking for more terrific books about Venice, check out my Top 5 mysteries about Venice! 

As always, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this review, share it with others!