Date published Spring 2008
ISBN 978-0-385-33974-2
Historical Fiction
Trade Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
With no recollection of his life before turning up on the streets of Florence in 1340, a young boy seeks not only to find himself, but must struggle day to day to stay alive. He stumbles upon two other young boys and they form what on the surface could be called a friendship yet in reality is a bond of survival. He calls himself Luca and because he has no past and no name; they give him the surname of Bastardo. They go along, bartering what they can; including their own bodies, just to survive until one day, for a single gold coin, one of the boys sells Luca to a man. Not just any man, but Bernardo Silvano—a man who provides a special entertainment to the men of Florence.
In Silvano’s house, a house of many rooms, Luca receives his first bath, a good meal, and a beating he will never forget. From there he is thrust into the horrors of childhood prostitution with one appalling twist; Luca does not age. At least not like the rest of us. Twenty years in our life is but one of his. While many would love to be young forever, for Luca it is a curse. A curse that keeps him in sexual servitude long past the time inflicted on the other children. In a moment of daring, Luca escapes and embarks on a journey of not only physical distance, but one which reaches the farthest corners of the mind.
On his journey he meets and spends time with many of the most creative talents of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—DeMedici, DaVinci and a host of others. It is after two hundred years he confronts his own mortality.
I had a difficult time reading the first part of IMMORTAL simply because of the subject matter. Child abuse and prostitution are not subjects for the faint of heart, even when told in a story about a long ago time. If I were not reading IMMORTAL for review I would not have continued on as the beginning is not a book to sit and savor. It does not carry the reader to another time and place and yet at the same time, Ms. Slatton brings the rich tapestry of the fourteenth century to life. She paints a picture rich in texture and imagination. It is worth picking up IMMORTAL just to sample Ms. Slatton’s writing.
Aside from subject matter that is difficult to read, even in a fictional account, there is one thread that seemed to be dropped—that of the letter that holds the key to Luca’s past. At the very moment he breaks free of his prison, from the very room where the letter was housed, he flees. The letter is the very key to his existence and he just leaves without even looking for it! While I understand why Ms. Slatton chose not to have him seek the letter out, and there are references later in the book, it is too vital to his life for him not to have at least looked for it. The story lost all credibility for me at that moment.
In part two where Luca begins to age, ever so slightly, and he meets so many historical Florentine notables, I felt little emotion. At times it felt like a tour to meet great people, the most talented artists the world has ever known. But it could have been anyone. The ending was disappointing, not because of how it was done, but because it was predictable. Similar to how M.J. Rose ended THE REINCARNATIONIST, while Ms. Rose’s ending was stunning in its brilliance; Ms. Slatton’s in IMMORTAL was calculated and predictable.
IMMORTAL is not a book for someone sensitive at heart when it comes to child abuse and prostitution, even in a fictional account taking place centuries in the past or someone looking for escapist reading. Ms. Slatton is an excellent writer—it is the telling of the story, this story that does not show her amazing style. Perhaps it is the first person point of view that creates a wall between the reader and Luca, leaving little emotion to pull from the pages.
IMMORTAL is a book for someone seeking a new and talented author and a reader who seeks in his or her own way to meet the great artists of the past.
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