The Lantern: A Renaissance Mystery

By: Joanne Lewis

Narrated by: Nick Orfanella

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Lantern: A Renaissance Mystery, a 21st century American woman searches to learn the truth about the 15th century mysterious Italian girl who dared to compete with the most famous artists of the Renaissance. Across time and space, their lives collide as they battle abuse, disease, fear and prejudice in pursuit of their dreams. Along the way, they intersect with some of the most famous figures of the Renaissance including members of the Medici, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and a young Michelangelo.

©2012 Joanne Lewis (P)2013 Joanne Lewis

Hard to listen to

I think the story is pretty interesting but the narrator is AWFUL. The only thing he has to offer is being able to pronounce Italian pretty well. He has no sense of timing or syntax and he makes all of the characters sound dead and flat. Ruined the book, as far as I’m concerned. I’d give zero stars for performance but they won’t let me.

Italian pronounced incorrectly!

The story was intriguing, but the narrator mispronounced many of the Italian words. He should have done his homework before recording this book. Also, most of his female voices sounded the same. Annoying and confusing.

A Beautiful Journey

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction. The author transports us to Renaissance Florence in such a way that it made me feel like I was actually there. The customs, ways of thinking, sights and smells of the time all come alive in this book.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It was hard to put the audio book down as each chapter added interest and sucked me in more and more. There is suspense and mystery - not the heart pumping kind, but very much the page turner kind! The plot and the way of telling the story is very original and unexpected. The story is told from varying points of view but still feels very linear.

What does Nick Orfanella bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator creates interesting voices for the different characters with easily distinguishable accents and intonations. His acting ability helps bring life and emotion to the characters. It was fun to hear all of the Italian names pronounced with a properly sounding Italian accent. It definitely added another dimension to the book to hear him read it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I was lucky enough to be stuck in traffic for a 3 hour car ride and got to hear the last 3 hours of the book entirely uninterrupted! It made the traffic actually seem fun!