Paperspine Blog

When we first meet Giacomo, it is the year 1490 and he is running for his life – running from a crowd who believes that he is a thief. Giacomo maintains that he isn’t, but that doesn’t matter much. He knows that he if he is caught, the punishment will be severe. He gets stranded on a rooftop, faced with an angry mob, and then suddenly, he is over the side.

Miraculously, he survives the fall and is rescued by Leonardo da Vinci, who takes him in and makes Giacomo his servant. Giacomo remembers nothing about his past, other than the few moments before he fell seven years ago. The only things he has are a simple wooden cross, a silver medallion with the face of a bird engraved on it, and a solid, red-jeweled ring.

Seven years later, da Vinci is working on The Last Supper  – and has been for two years. He has been commissioned by the Duke of Milan to paint it and, as time goes on, the Duke grows impatient. Da Vinci is given a deadline of Easter – when the Pope will visit. Meanwhile, his debts grow larger (they are living almost completely on credit at this point and the merchants are all threatening to cut him off) and even Father Vicenzo, prior of the monastery where the painting is being worked on, is pressuring him to finish.  He will not be paid until the work is complete.

The author, at the end of the book, added some information about the actual painting itself, which has not fared well throughout the years. Unfortunately, some of the attempts to restore the painting have done nothing but cause a bigger problem. We also find out where the author got the idea for the book. Both of these are interesting, so when you read the book, please don’t skip these sections!

Why won’t da Vinci finish the painting? And where does Giacomo come from? The answers – and the story behind it all – will both delight and astonish you.

I found Leonardo’s Shadow: Or, My Astonishing Life as Leonardo da Vinci’s Servant by Christopher Grey to be a fascinating read. It had a slight mystery feel to it and kept me wanting to read more. In fact, in the middle of me reading this book, my dog wanted to go for a walk. I couldn’t bear to put it down, so I took it with me. This is Christopher Grey’s first book but I hope he writes another book soon.