A brush with VENICE - our novel selection

It happened in Venice by Molly Hopkins is a highly entertaining, funny and witty read. The author has done a great job in bringing her very human characters to life, with their flaws and inconsistencies as well as endearing qualities, and real and engaging dialogue.  My first impression in the first pages was that it was a crossover between Sex and the City and Sailor Moon (I don’t know if that’s good or bad, I guess it would depend on whether you like Sex and the City and Sailor Moon…).  On the whole, even with Evie’s overall aloofness (and recurring desperation), and Lulu’s insanity, I found the book heartwarming, and it left me with a cozy feeling of fulfilment.

The title itself is misleading… or rather, the back cover is misleading, for whatever happens, DOES happen in Venice (and we’re all the more glad for it to happen, by the way); but nothing happens as we are led to believe on the back cover, meaning a story taking place IN Venice, and instead we see Venice in just a few chapters.  That’s not a bad thing, however, because there is a handful of other cities that take over some of the other chapters and give the book a wonderful balance. For Evie’s story, every city counts, as they mirror her emotions at the time and convey a feeling of completion for the issues that she has to come to terms with.

Together with Evie we walk into the heartbeat of each city, Dublin with its cheery people, Amsterdam with its fast-paced way of life and beyond-gorgeous architecture, Marrakesh with its color and noise and flavours… and Paris, where heartbreak and strength meet at the Arc de Triomphe, as well as London, where real life prepares Evie for each one of her travels and for learning more about herself than she ever bargained for.  The way each city plays into the story is fascinating, almost as if they were characters themselves, all described with high-quality imagery and sense of place, and with a soul and a fundamental connection with Evie. Of Venice itself, I can hear Evie saying that voices make Venice stand out “over and above anywhere else… voices as opposed to the screeches of breaks and the roar of cars and buses”, and I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful and original ways I have ever heard a city’s essence described, and that I fully agree with her, because in Venice you get a higher sense of humanity than anywhere else, at least of those super-highly touristic spots where you have thousands of people every day and all year round. Amsterdam and Dublin get captured very cleverly as well in the final notes, as Evie tell us her anecdotes as well as facts about each city (and which made me laugh really hard).

I laughed a lot at different moments on each page, the dialogue is that good. Although I have to admit that I found Evie (and Lulu, but that was the point of her) very annoying at times. Evie’s twin nieces were perfectly portrayed for reality and comic relief, and John’s and Nikki’s places for grounding Evie were absolutely fantastic, particularly by the last chapters. And speaking of Nikki, he and his Greek family were another great way of making us travel within the pages, even if it was a little over the top at times…  Three of my best friends in the world are Greek, so I really enjoyed laughing on their account, although my Konstantinos is not a lazy teenage waiter, my Spyros is not a bad-tempered middle-aged uncle, and my Nikolas is not a hot blooded body-builder. All are good-looking and all are taken, sorry girls.

It happened in Venice is a great summer read, light and funny, definitely chic lit for the smart chic… so, enjoy!

In the mood for a little more reading that involves a brush with Venice? We have two more novels that feature the city on the cover but will also take you further afield (you even get Lake Como, Falmouth and London, for example are thrown in for your delectation)!

Do you have enough romance in your life?Journalist Kirsty Bailey would have to answer no. She has the essential starter kit - a boyfriend - but somehow Joe seems to have skipped the vows of for better/for worse and gone straight to for granted.But then just as she's on the verge of settling for a swoon-free existence, Kirsty's magazine sends her to a majestic Venetian palazzo to attend the much gossiped-about Love Academy... Her undercover mission? To prove her editor's theory that this 'school for singles' is nothing more than an escort agency with a sexy accent and fancy glass chandeliers. But what if her editor is wrong and their promise of true amore is for real? Will Kirsty be able to resist the kind of moonlit temptations she's been dreaming of for years, or is her relationship with Joe going, going, gondola?If you think Casanova was a bad boy, just wait until you see what Cupid has in store for Kirsty...

A girl flees to Venice to escape her dangerous past in this electrifying novel of intrigue, psychological tension and suspense... For Lucy Riddick, Venice has always been the dream destination. A dream inspired by the pretty picture pinned to her mother's kitchen wall. To Lucy, Venice seems the ideal place to lose herself. And now she needs to do just that. The secret she's been keeping from her boyfriend and her friends has finally caught up with her and Lucy needs to disappear - and fast. There's no better time to pack her bags and head for Italy. But what if, when she sets foot in Venice, Lucy finds that the one thing she has been running from, the one thing she has been trying to escape, is already there, lying in wait for her? Time to run away again? Or time to end the chase, once and for all?

Happy reading from Sandra and the TripFiction Team – and click on the title to catch Sandra’s own novel La Sombra Detrás (in Spanish) here And our full collection of novels set in Venice can be found here

An Agatha Christie* cocktail, anyone?

A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry - glide through Europe to Venice. Review plus author interview can now be found here

VENICE under the watchful eyes of Guido Brunetti and Donna Leon

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

One of the authors who inspired us set up TripFiction was, of course, Donna Leon. One of the most long-standing authors to use location as a character in its own right, she brings the "feel" of Venice to the page through her descriptive prose. She is, in fact American by birth but has lived in, and observed Venice for the past 25 years. She has written well over 20 books featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, who tackles crime across the Laguna.

We would love it if you would talk to us and our wider community about which particular Donna Leon novels would feature at the top of your personal list - where should a first time Donna Leon reader start? Which is your personal favourite? Inevitably some of the books are just that much better than others, and knowing which ones to pick up can be a really daunting task. So, please help your fellow readers, both actual and armchair, by leaving a review on the TripFiction website and/or using the Comments Box below to share your favourites. Imagine, there might be one clear favourite but without your help we don't know which one that would be.....!

We set the ball rolling by reviewing the Donna Leon novel we have read most recently - A Sea of Troubles, her 10th Brunetti novel.  

This book is largely set on the fishing island of Pellestrina, and Commissario Brunetti is tasked with resolving the murder of two fisherman, a father and son. The former is universally disliked, the latter is truly mourned.

The writing is as languorous as the lapping waves along the canals, the food on Brunetti's table is delicious as only Venetian food can be, and the detecting is interspersed with the odd glass of Prosecco or Vin Santo. Bonsuan, the police pilot, navigates the waterways as Brunetti shuttles back and forth between the islands, perhaps past the island of San Servolo, gliding past Santa Maria delle Grazie and San Clemente and on to Saca Sessola. Paola, his ever supportive wife, is always in the background, voicing her thoughts, keeping his conscience, getting him to think things through carefully and providing sustenance (both emotional and via food). Reading Donna Leon, for us, is not overly challenging, but brings Venice to life and feels as comfortable as a well worn pair of shoes. “Donna Leon’s engaging books have been the cheapest way to travel to Italy for quite some time…” (amazon)

Ann Reddy  - regular contributor to the TF site - reviews our second Donna Leon novel, number 17 in the series, The Girl of His Dreams

"I picked this book to review because it is set in beautiful Venice. I have visited this city many times and feel that I know it quite well, that is as a tourist. 

The Girl of His Dreams is one of a series of crime books featuring the detective Guido Brunetti. It has a story running through about a religious sect. A priest, who also has an interesting past, is concerned that the charismatic sect leader is persuading people to part with their money and even sell their homes. 

The title of the story does not start until about a third of the  way in, when the body of a young girl is pulled out of the Grand Canal. Here starts the investigation into what? A murder? A robbery? An accident? The girl with the fair hair is from the gypsy encampment on the mainland. Here you get an understanding of the nomadic way of life and how they try to live outside the rules.

Brunetti is a compassionate character who despite 'orders' wants to find out what happened to the little girl. I am not familiar with the Brunetti character and this book did not really give me much more depth to him. Perhaps if I had read this series of books in order I would feel I knew him better. 

You will recognise the names of Venice and I could picture the vaporetti on the Grand Canal. The Girl of His Dreams gives you a glimpse of living in Venice and the fact that Brunetti does not like driving, reminds you of the magical waterways. 

A personal view, I would recommend that if you have not read any of Donna Leon's series of Brunetti crime books that you start at the first. I struggled to really connect with the characters and it was a slow start. However, I did picture beautiful Venice which brought back wonderful memories of my many holidays there".

All our Venice set novels can be found here

Share with us your favourite Donna Leon in the Comments Box below and let's see which one comes overall top!

Renaissance VENICE captured in fiction

The broad span of Renaissance Venice in fiction. Capture the feel, the smells and the people through these three books which truly capture period detail and life in the canal city...... and click on the links for more information. Available to purchase through TF (via the link) or from your local bookshop.



The mask depicted here is the type worn by doctors during this period and the long nose was stuffed full with pungent and fragrant herbs to protect from the stench of the streets (and people, no doubt) and to stave off infection.





1576. Five years after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, a ship steals unnoticed into Venice bearing a deadly cargo. A man more dead than alive disembarks and staggers into Piazza San Marco. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. Within days the city is infected with bubonic plague - and the Turkish Sultan has his revenge. But the ship also holds a secret stowaway - Feyra, a young and beautiful harem doctor fleeing a future as the Sultan's concubine. Only her wits and medical knowledge keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice.
In despair the Doge commissions the architect Andrea Palladio to build the greatest church of his career - an offering to God so magnificent that Venice will be saved. But Palladio's own life is in danger too, and it will require all skills of medico Annibale Cason, the city's finest plague doctor, to keep him alive. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2253

1527. While the Papal city of Rome burns - brutally sacked by an invading army including Protestant heretics - two of her most interesting and wily citizens slip away, their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed as the enemy breaks down their doors. Though almost as damaged as their beloved city, Fiammetta Bianchini and Bucino Teodoldi - a fabulous courtesan and her dwarf companion - are already planning their future. They head for the shimmering beauty of Venice, a honey pot of wealth and trade where they start to rebuild their business. As a partnership they are invincible: Bucino, clever with a sharp eye and a wicked tongue and Fiammetta, beautiful and shrewd, trained from birth to charm, entertain and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Venice, however, is a city which holds its own temptations. From the admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his Sultan's court, to the searing passion of a young lover who wants more than his allotted nights. But the greatest challenge comes from a young blind woman, a purveyor of health and beauty, who insinuates her way into their lives with devastating consequences for them all. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/235

1468. Sosia Simeon, a free spirit with a strange predilection for books and Venetians is making her particular mark on the fabled city. On the other side of the Grand Canal, Wendelin von Speyer from Germany is setting up the first printing press in Venice and looking for the book that will make his fortune.
A love triangle develops between Sosia, Wendelin's young editor, and the seductive scribe Felice Feliciano, a man who loves the crevices of the alphabet the way other men love the crevices of women. Before long, a dark magic begins to haunt Sosia and the printers: an obsessive nun and a book-hating priest conspire against them, and soon their fate hangs in the balance. Binding them all together is the poet Catullus - whose desperate and unrequited love inspired the most tender erotic poems of antiquity. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2438

SHARE THE NOVELS THAT FOR YOU HAVE CAPTURED RENAISSANCE VENICE IN THE COMMENTS BOX - WE HAVE LITERALLY ONLY SCRAPED THE SURFACE. HELP US BUILD A MEMORABLE LIST OF MUST-READS!

Venice and Varanasi - 2 novellas in one

We are always on the lookout for new books set in locations to feature on our site - and we are grateful to receive review copies from publishers and authors, and suggestions from around the world - and sometimes we come across truly memorable books. This is one of them!

A single book, two novellas. Why Venice and Varanasi in one book? Both cities start with "V"  (as a good a starting point as any...) and have in common "Tiny lanes, crumbling old palaces, the water....."

http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2068 In this book the locations are the real stars, Venice and Varanasi are beautifully brought to life and whether you are accompanying Jeff along a Venice Canal, or visiting a Ghat in the second novella, the reader is just drawn into another world.

Giorgione's"The Tempest"

VENICE

The first  novella is set in Venice and features Jeff, a journalist who embarks on a passionate affair with Laura from the States, during the Venice Biennale (it includes scenes of a sexual nature!). Jeff has certainly got the TripFiction idea, he gens up on Venice by reading Mary McCarthy's Venice Observed http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2123 and having enjoyed her description of Giorgione's painting "The Tempest" sets out to find it. The dark canals, the heat, the little campi and calli all star in this well written book.



VARANASI

Varanasi (or Benares) is the setting for the second part of the book and the narrator guides us through time spent in the city, his observations of the different ghats ("walking along the ghats is like going on safari"), the friends he makes, and the frenzy of  daily life for most of the inhabitants (but not all). The pulsating, noisy and colourful city simply lifts off the pages as if the reader were there too.  This is a city full of vibrancy and destitution and traffic and animal chaos - if you were to find yourself driving all you need is need a "Good horn, good brakes and good luck". This book is a pantheon of interesting events and experiences ....

The hotel which is featured appears to be real http://www.hotelgangesview.com/ 

Hope you enjoy this book as much as we did!

Com'era, dov'era in Venice - The City of Falling Angels

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt set in Venice. We review this book on the new TripFiction website here