I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis was October's book for the nest book club (one of three I am participating in). I have not read a lot of historical fiction to this point so it was one of my first books. It is a little long (about 514 pages) but I didn't notice. It tells the story of the woman behind the famous portrait. Of course it is fiction but some of it is based in facts. I loved how descriptive it was. I could visualize the world Lisa lived in and imagine how limited her life must have been if it weren't for her independent spirit. The story has a lot of action and adventure with some romance but most of it is kept at bay. The storytelling is so compelling I actually mourned when one of the main characters was killed. Probably the best part was the description of the art world and the relation to one of my favorite artists, Leonardo di Vinci. I read it in a little over a week but probably could have made it through it faster if all I did was read. I think I will now go on to some of Kalogridis' other books, which I hope are just as good.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is haunting but beautiful and really a very pleasurable read. I give it five bookmarks out of five. This is something I hope to own one day so I can reread it and pass it on to my children.
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