Gioconda by Lucille Turner

Gioconda – a study of the life of Leonardo da Vinci – is a first novel by Lucille Turner, imagining the
life of the artist, from his humble beginnings as a precocious but solitary child to his infamy in the art
world and beyond. Leonardo is a child with a wild imagination and a curiosity beyond anything which his family can comprehend. The beginnings of his vision are portrayed as entirely logical and its development as a struggle as he attempts to fit his way of thinking in with the rest of society. Leonardo later moves to Florence where he develops his work, culminating in the production of his most famous piece, the Mona Lisa. The text questions the mysteries of da Vinci’s life, including his relationship with the girl behind the smile of la Gioconda. Turner purposely isolates the young da Vinci, whose work and thinking processes transcend him to ‘lonely heights’. She builds up an enigmatic portrayal of a man attempting to convince others of his vision and beliefs. His constant battle with the minds of men leads only to further isolation and segregation from a world that can't quite understand his way of thinking. Compulsive and intuitive, this is a great first novel. [Megan Agnew]