About this title: A murder in Savannah inspired John Berendt's previous book, the blockbuster bestseller MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL. This time, the location is Venice, and the 1996 inferno which destroyed Venice's beloved opera house, La Fenice, serves as the touchstone for John Berendt's quirky exploration of the city and its most colorful inhabitants. As the investigation of the fire and the debate over how to rebuild progress, Berendt immerses himself in Venice's murky and occasionally explosive politics and has memorable encounters with artists, aristocrats, and American expatriates, among ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. Previous Owner's Inscription. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 09/2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press, London
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. Audience: General/trade. Commencing with the burning of Venice's La Fenice Opera house in 1996 Berendt uses his finction/reporting skills to paint a fascinating picture of Venice at the turn of the century. People who understand Italy and Italians will particularly relish this volume. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Some edgewear. No spine creasing. Pages unmarked, bright and tight. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 414 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781594200588ISBN:1594200580
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 414 p. Audience: General/trade. VERY gently used. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Large Print
Date Published: 2005-10-04
ISBN-13:9780375435386ISBN:0375435387
Description: New. Pages unmarked, Binding tight, Clean Copy, very nice clean book, appears never read, Dust cover has very light edge wear, Ships Next Business Day. read more
"Those familiar with this author's excellent 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' will know how well Berendt writes, and this is no exception. Set in Venice Berendt covers various issues relating to the fire which demolished the grand opera House of the Fenice in Venice. Along the way we are introduced to various 'important' figures in the story, which also includes Americans concerned with maintaining the cultural import of Venice with monetary backing and overseeing restoration work. While some Venetians find this pleasing enough, there are those who consider the rich Americans' intrusions offensive...
Berendt concentrates on this particular incident (the fire); so one does not get an overall view of Venice as such, but more of the machinations involved in the maintenance and care of Venice's historical and cultural treasures. While not as good as 'Midnight...' this is still a very good read. Berendt's cool and detached reporting allows readers to form their own conclusions about the issues covered in the book."
"I had not read " Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and had heard good things about it so when I came upon this book by the same author, I thought it might be an interesting read, especially since it is set in Venice, a city I had visited and liked. Unfortunately " The City of Falling Angels" did not live up to my expectations. The story running through the book is the burning of the Fenice Opera House , its investigation and subsequent efforts to rebuild it. However, the Fenice story was only a small part of the entire book. The greater part of the book was mainly about Venetian aristocrasy and wealthy American expatriates living in Venice. It really did not interest me to know who lived in the Piano Nobile of which palace on the Grand Canal and how far back their ancestors owned the buildings. Almost halfway through, I came close to putting the book down permanently. At that point I didn't care to find out whether or not it was arson, or if the Fenice would ever be rebuilt. Much of the middle of the book could have been cut out and it would have been just fine. I did learn a little about the city of Venice so it was not a total waste of time. Should I read John Berendt's other book? I can't decide."
"The author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil moves to Venice to get to know the city without tourists. He meets an odd assortment of characters, from the artisan who opened the first mask shop in Venice to the prosecutor investigating the fire that destroyed the city's great opera house."
"On January 29 1996, a sensational fire destroys the historic Fenice Opera House. A catastrophe for Venetians, made worse by the revelation that arson may be the cause. Berendt visits Venice shortly after the fire and intrigued by the ongoing investigation decides to write about it. The author encounters a rich cast of characters and takes the readers on an unusual voyage into the heart of Venice, adding elements of chaos, corruption and crime as the story unfolds.
I expected this book to be as good as "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" capturing the essence of the city and its inhabitants what I got was a disappointing and frankly boring narrative. The book started well, introducing the readers to a strange and amusing cast of characters but as the story progresses things crumble as each chapter stands alone and you are faced with a lack of a cohesive plot. I felt more than once like abandoning it but I was determined to finish."
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