Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I don't know if this is a cultural difference (this book was written in German and translated into English) but I do not expect to encounter graphic descriptions of wife beating and rape in historical fiction. There is also WAY more sex in this book than I would have expected-- of the bodice-ripper, romance novel type. But it's the rape and beating that I note for other readers-- if you, like me, find such descriptions gratuitous and disturbing, avoid this book. The plot and story in general are interesting, thus the two stars, but the writing is wooden. Don't know if that is the translation or the original text, but unless you have a deep interest in artisanship/ art (which I do) you really don't need to read this book, in my opinion.