The Gilder
Author: Kathryn Kay
Publisher: Kensington
Pub. Date: January 1, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0758263223
Pages: 304
Digital Price: $8.99
Print Retail Price: $15.00
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Art restorer Marina Nesmith’s life seems flawless, at least on the surface. But more and more, Marina is conscious of what she lacks – most especially, the courage to tell her teenage daughter, Zoe, the truth about her father. Then Marina is invited to return to Florence, where she learned her trade as a gilder years ago. In those heady days, she wandered the city’s picturesque streets and struck up a friendship with Thomas, an American photographer. He and his wife, Sarah, introduced Marina to a thrilling, bohemian world of art and beauty. Through them, she also learned about love, lies, and the way one mistake can multiply into many. Now, as past and present collide, Marina must move beyond the intricate veneer she’s crafted around herself and find the life that she – and Zoe – have been looking for…

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REVIEW

If you’ve ever wanted to know what Florence, Italy is like, read The Gilder written by Kathryn Kay, who spent five years living there. The Gilder gives a descriptive look at the streets, houses, churches and so much more, enabling me to feel as if I was there rather than sitting on my couch. The novel tells the story of Mariana Nesmith, a highly skilled gilding artist. Mariana can take any worn piece and make it beautiful. The story is told through a series of flashbacks that mix the past with the present. The flashbacks take the reader back to young Mariana at an impressionable age, while she searches for love and definition of self as she studies under a master artist. This enables the reader to understand how Marian’s years in Italy molded her into who she is today, teaching her valuable lessons in love, betrayal, friendship and forgiveness.

Though Mariana’s life seems perfect on the outside, it deeply lacks on the inside. Mariana wants someone to share life’s sorrow and joys with. She wants a confidant, a partner and desperately wants the courage to tell her daughter Zoe the truth she’s kept hidden from her for so long. Only when Mariana is invited to return to Florence does she meet Thomas and his wife Sarah. Through them, she is introduced to a new world of art and beauty as well as lessons in love, lies and mistakes that multiply. Now, her present and past collide forcing her to find a way to have the life she’s been searching for.

Mariana learns about restoration of the emotional kind through her work as a gilder and a trip to the past. As she struggles with what she should reveal regarding to her daughter, regarding her past, she begins to understand the complexity of life only worsens with secrets. The novel is complex, so make sure you’re awake for this one. Mariana is a character who found herself caught up in deceit while young and in search of love, self-discovery and forgiveness. The book looks at how her choices spiraled out of control and turned into bigger issues.

Well written, yet not a light read, this book is great for those who want a thought provoking read or enjoy travel. It’s not your typical romance and is full of complex characters and situations to entice the reader. While it wasn’t exactly a book with a lot of re-read value for me, I did enjoy it and think others will as well.

Rating: 3.5 (Good/Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 2 (Mild)

Reviewed by Tiffany