Erika Bruni’s new novel, The Artist’s Bridge, is set in Venice during the height of the Renaissance and the search for a woman who can fulfill the role of a Renaissance Madonna. She is thirty-three years old when she marries a young man from Ethiopia and becomes involved in his world of business and politics. But when his business tanks, he assigns her to oversee the reconstruction of a monastery on Montalcino Hill, which was burned during the Spanish occupation that ended in 1559. When tensions rise between the two, their past begins to catch up with them as they struggle to understand each other and work together to rebuild the city where they both came from.
Bruni peppers her story with moments from the lives of key figures in European history, but it’s also clear that much of the book is told through Bruni’s voice alone. As a character who knows how to draw people into her stories, Bruni delves deeply into the minutiae of political, business, and religious life in the Renaissance age and captures the beauty of a time and the beauty of a place while at the same time creating an engaging narrative. The Artist’s Bridge takes on many historical themes, such as religious persecution and the role of religion in public and private life in the Florentine court. But the true strength of the book comes from how Erika Bruni, an educated and attractive woman, comes to appreciate the full meaning and importance of her role as an artist.
In The Artist’s Bridge, Erika Bruni shows a strength of character that most readers would be afraid of themselves from, but which actually makes her more human. Through her stories we come to appreciate that not all of us have the answers to difficult questions, even if we long to discover them. The Height Difference is a refreshing addition to the long list of biographies, memoirs, and novels about famous European personalities. It is written in a clear and precise style that will fascinate lovers of art and height difference who want to learn more about Erika Bruni, and it is a fun and easy read.