Perspective(s): A Novel

ISBN: 0374614601

Author: Binet, Laurent

Condition: New

One of The Washington Post's 50 Best Novels of the YearLonglisted for the 2026 Dublin Literary AwardAs full of epic characters as the Sistine Chapel ceiling . . . Sinfully fun to read. -Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker[A] thorough success . . . A dazzling romp. -Steven Poole, The GuardianHistorical fiction doesnt get much better than this. -George Cochrane, The Telegraph (5/5 stars)One of Vulture's Best Books of 2025 (So Far)A pulse-quickening murder mystery set in Renaissance Florence by the renowned author of HHhH.As dawn breaks over the city of Florence on New Years Day 1557, Jacopo da Pontormo is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart. Above him are the frescoes he labored over for more than a decade-masterpieces all, rivaling the works of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. When guards search his quarters, they find an obscene painting of Venus and Cupid-with the face of Venus replaced by that of Maria de Medici, the Duke of Florences oldest daughter. The city erupts in chaos.Who could have committed these crimes: murder and lse-majesté? Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation. Letters start to fly back and forth-between Maria and her aunt Catherine de Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and the scheming Piero Strozzi; and between Vasari and Michelangelo-carrying news of political plots and speculations about the identity of Pontormos killer. The truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot center of European art and intrigue.Bursting with characters and historical color, Laurent Binets Perspective(s) is a whodunit like no other-a labyrinthine murder mystery that shows us Renaissance Florence as weve never seen it before. This is a dark, dazzling, unforgettable read.