Synchronicity Abounds: Second Lisa:
Art imitates life… life duplicates art… death
goes on
Second Lisa: art imitates life… life duplicates art… death
goes on
By V. Knox
©2012, CreateSpace
ISBN 10:
1478304626
ISBN - 13: 978-1478304623
Volume I: 424 pages/Full Version: 694 pages
In Second Lisa, the author often mentions synchronicity.
What could be a greater example of this than a book written about a second Mona
Lisa at the same time as an almost identical work, the Isleworth Mona Lisa, is
found?
The original was painted about 1504 and the second portrait
– deemed another authentic work of Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci – is
dated some 14 years later. It is as if a greater power conspired to bring
together two elements in time representing more than mere coincidence.
Ironically, Knox’s book is also a synchronic work in that it
focuses on the events of a particular time with special emphasis on linguistics
– the scientific study of human language. And boy, can this author flex her
linguistic ingenuity, not only as she dishes
up jaw-dropping prolificacy while contemplating the lives of Leonardo and his
sister Lisabetta Buti in the 16th century but also as she unveils
the linguistic confines and of Veronica Lyon’s autistic son, Jupiter, circa
2004.
Lisabetta claims to
be the authentic Mona Lisa rather than the historically accepted Lisa del
Giocondo. The author says her fictional work is based on an “obscure
census,” which reveals that da Vinci actually did have a half-sister named
Lisabetta. “I decided she deserved a more full life for her memory’s sake and
that of the millions of anonymous women behind great geniuses.”
Lisabetta did not even make it into the musty back pages of history books. As the person who loved her eccentric brother more
than anyone and guided the business of his artistic career, she expected to
garner at least some recognition.
“Being ignored burns like acid, but the truth
can expose the unfairness of history and remedy its indignities. Psychic
varnish can leach off my skin… I want to have my real name whispered on Earth
in the sanctuary of galleries and be written into the credits of Leonardo’s
life story.”
Although this never happened, Lisabetta’s
devotion toward Leonardo keeps her drawn to him and to her portrait even after
death. It is more than telling when she states: “A good artist copies a
likeness of his subject, but a master artist captures their soul.”
And so it was. “I remained beside Leonardo in
spirit form to honor our extraordinary bond,” she notes. Lisabetta adds that
the throngs of people who visit the Louvre in Paris each day to view the famous
painting do not realize that she is the woman inside the frame. As she peers
out from it, she knows she is destined to remain earthbound until she can “put
things right.”
To that end, Lisabetta conspires to seek the
help of the living – the unsuspecting young Veronica Lyons and her
challenged but psychically open son. “I
had a score to settle with fate and yes, I wanted to wipe the smile off Lisa
del Giocondo’s face... wherever or whenever she was.”
Second Lisa is actually a three-book series.
Book 1 gives the reader a view inside the lives of Leonardo, Lisabetta and
Veronica from birth to adulthood. Although it focuses on these primary
characters, a host of family members are brought into the mix resulting in a
fully fleshed out and intricate story that covers everything from the
mistreatment of women throughout history to loves forever lost.
The author also offers a profound exposé of
Veronica’s struggle raising her son while dealing with a phantom woman who
whispers in her ear. “The house is electric,” she notes. “It’s been that
way for days. The scent of violets lingers in every room.”
Of Jupiter she writes: “I am in awe of
Jupe’s logic: after we say goodnight, he asks me to turn on the dark rather
than turn off the light. I love that kid’s mind.” The reader learns how Jupiter
interprets his world down to such minute particulars as the acceptable shape of
his sandwiches and how many items can be set on his dinner plate at one time.
Then
one day, Jupiter tells his mother, “She wants to talk.” “Who?” Veronica asks.
“The happy lady,” he replies and points to a wicker armchair. “Her.”
The
author exhibits a propensity to explore, analyze, scrutinize, inspect and
dissect every character and event in
comprehensive detail. These intensive observations invoke to some
vexation as the reader hopes the story would simply rise up and move along.
There is little need to know how a cat catches a bird, to be offered a
protracted exegesis of the sights and sounds of a library or an in depth
explanation on the design of her teacup?
While
each one is presented with the author’s incredible creative flair – and there
is no denying that Knox is a supremely prolific writer - adding so many secondary
elements tends to stray from the natural flow of the overall story. And it
takes until Part 6 – some 350 pages in – before the real meat of the story unfolds and we learn of vital family
secrets, true motivations and the pretext behind Veronica’s banishment to the
opposite side of Canada, originally eluded to on Page 94.
In
spite of these things, the author succeeds in bouncing back and forth in time
with ease. However, be forewarned: this book demands much more than mindless
reading. It is a multifaceted story with so many intricately intertwined
elements that it requires a degree of diligence and dedication but the reward
will become obvious as you realize the immense capacity of this novice author
to captivate you beyond measure.
Very
few writers can encapsulate a moment in a bubble with such panache as V. Knox:
“The water was strong midnight rain, which
pulled me into sensual memories. I heard it pelt the windows and the roof, and
I squinted through it as it cried down the glass.”
Note:
Do not expect to glean everything from Book 1. As part of a trilogy, it leaves
the most monumental question still dangling: what does Lisabetta want Veronica
to do to set things right for her – to establish her as the real Mona Lisa?
Readers can purchase either a condensed version of Second Lisa that includes
the entire story or they can pick up Books 2 and 3 to find out.
To get your copy of Second Lisa, Book 1, go HERE.
Article on the Isleworth Mona Lisa - believed to be a younger version of the Louvre painting created 14 years later
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