Thanks for this ARC!
My first read of the year and what a way to start off. I loved the format, super interesting. The prologue even makes me wonder if he really found these letters? It's more likely that that prologue is part of the fiction, but let a reader dream ;)
Now I'm off to google all the characters.
I saw that another reviewer wrote that this book reminded them of the Marriage Portrait, so I'm bumping that up my TBR as well :)

This is an intriguing book, a murder mystery set in Florence during the Renaissance and told through 180 letters exchanged between the top politicians and artists of the city, including the Duke, Cosimo de Medici, and Michaelangelo. Artist Jacopo Pontormo is found dead, surrounded by the frescoes he has been working on for 10 years in the San Lorenzo chapel. These frescoes are meant to be Florence’s answer to those in the Sistene Chapel in the Vatican – the death is a shock and an enigma. The Duke charges his second in command, Vasari, with the investigation and most of the letters that make up the book are communications between Vasari and others. In addition to painting the frescoes, Pontormo has also created a portrait of Maria de Medici, the Duke’s daughter, curiously painting Maria’s head onto a nude woman’s body. It is a scandal and the Duke and his family are desperate to make it disappear. Between the two main stories lines are others, including Maria’s elopement with her love interest (she has rejected her father’s arranged marriage with the son of the Duke of Farrara).

Altogether, Perspective(s) is a lively, entertaining book. The chapters are short letters, so the pace is fast, and it’s a ball to follow famous personalities through their communications. This won’t be for everyone, but if you’re intrigued by the Rennaisance and Italy, especially Florence, in the 16th century, you can’t go wrong with this well-written novel.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with the e-ARC of this book.

“Because to see is to think”

For my first Binet I got a murder mystery set in Renaissance Florence full of intriguing letters, groaning heroes, confused artists, swashbuckling scoundrels, persistent nuns, conniving Queens all in high movement. So, as they move here and there, doing this and that, we have changing perspectives and we see, then we do not see and then we see some more.

Brilliantly told. I really enjoyed it. It left me with such a kaleidoscope of perspectives. When does a perspective become perspectives? Because is there only one point of view or should we free ourselves from what chains us to a single position and roam about and explore different perspectives and thus come to understand more and more........... Maybe even to see that “I realise that times change, but you are not obliged to change with them.”

With pen, paper, messengers and horses Binet uses his letters to paint a web of communication to rival any social media frenzy of today. He engages in a dance of barbs, feints, thrusts, parries, ripostes - a finely drawn duel with many a nick where it hurts. In this case his pen has proved mightier than the sword.

An ARC kindly provided by the publishers via Netgalley

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

An Interesting premise is followed through by equally intriguing writing and formatting. Through a bunch of letters that frame each of the chapters is the mystery of who killed Jacopo da Pontormo and why? I loved this format and will have to find other books like it.

I was glad for the character key in the beginning of the book as the story progressed to recall who was who. The author starts out with an interesting prologue and explanation of how and why the story came to fruition, which I always appreciate! Might check out the authors' other books.

I loved this! I read the Marriage Portrait recently and this was such a neat way to dive deeper into the intrigue and politics of the Medici family. Impeccably researched history. Total page turner, honestly couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended for all lovers of art history, Italian history, mysteries, political intrigue, and good writing.

Loved this story - mysterious, decadent, dark, and intricate. A beautiful way to revisit historic Italy during the Renaissance.

This was everything that I was looking for from a murder mystery genre, it had that overall feel that I wanted and never felt like this wasn’t in the right time-period. The characters worked overall in this world and concept, I was invested in their story and can’t wait to read more from Laurent Binet.