Mapping the Edge: A Novel (urspr publ 1999; utgåvan 2002)

An interesting premise, but poorly executed. Mapping the Edge tells the stories of Anna, a woman who has vanished after a few days in Italy. I say "stories" because this novel follows two plotlines about Anna- two alternative accounts of what could have happened to her after she goes missing. A third storyline follows Anna's friends and family at home in England, who are trying to piece together the puzzle of her disappearance.

This novel felt like a literary experiment. Sarah Dunant is a fantastic writer (do yourself a favor and read [b:The Birth of Venus|28078|The Birth of Venus|Sarah Dunant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388195878s/28078.jpg|815591]) but she couldn't make this work. Other reviewers have said it before me, but she really should have stuck to one storyline and fleshed it out a bit more and left the reader with some answers at the end. ( )

Anna is a single mother living in London. The father of her child didn't even know she was pregnant and is not in the picture. Anna decides to go to Florence knowing that her daughter is well taken care of by the child-minder for a few days. The story is told from two points of view (actually three). One is Anna's best female friend, a corporate lawyer in Amsterdam, who flies over to London when she is contacted by Anna's other good friend, a gay man who is a surrogate father for Anna's child, when Anna is a day late coming home. The other point of view is Anna's in Italy except that two alternative scenarios are presented one after another. In one Anna has come to Florence alone and is kidnapped on her way to the airport on her return. In the other Anna has come to Florence to meet a lover. The lover didn't arrive on time but when he phones just before she is due to leave for the airport Anna goes to meet him and decides to stay longer. So in the one scenario, Anna's failure to contact home is beyond her control while in the other it is a series of errors that mean Anna has not been heard from. We don't find out which is true until the very end and therefore we don't know whether Anna is in danger or not.

It's a very clever technique and very readable as well. I'll be looking for more of this writer's books. ( )

I really really loved this book. birth of venus was a let down after this ( )

Dunant is vooral bekend is van haar historische romans als de geboorte van Venus. In dit verhaal dat zich afspeelt speelt in het Italië van nu boort zij een ander genre aan. Het boek is intelligent opgebouwd in verschillende lagen. Het is onderhoudend en spannend. De moeite waard om te lezen, zonder dat het boek bij mij nu een onvergetelijke indruk achterlaat. ( )

Well this was a strange one. A woman goes missing while on holiday in Italy, at home her friends and child wonder what might have happened and we are given two possible stories. There are elements in both that mirror each other but they are very different tales. I did like the way that the layers built on each other and the people in England who care about what might have happened to her add another dimension to the story.

I must say that I preferred Sarah Dunant's historical novel The Birth of Venus to this contemporary mystery but it is good to know that she is a versatile author who handles the various strands of this novel in an interesting way that kept me reading. ( )