The City of Falling Angels

So. Challenging. To. Read. I was fighting back tears of boredom. I wanted to love this book, since it takes place in Venice, but I couldn't finish the book. Writing style is bland, slowly paced. I would not recommend this book.

Although I opened the book with great anticipation, I found it surprisingly boring. Berendt pads the story with numbing descriptions of palaces and mansions. He spends so much time eyeballing ceilings it's a wonder he survived with his neck intact. Adding insult to injury, he then veers into a Reader's Digest history of Venice, with profiles of famous former inhabitants. All of which can be found elsewhere. Midnight... was a classic work. This book was simply unnecessary.

This is a deliciously gossipy book about a small town which just happens to be one of the world's treasures. For whatever reason, people *talk to this author and provide insights into the heart of a city that few tourists ever really see for what it is. I read this book just after spending two weeks in Venice and found that it corroborated in great detail so many of my own impressions. Venetians talk about it, sometimes with mixed feelings, but they do talk about it.

There is very little that I liked about this book! I had to make myself finish the book. I will admit that I had more of appreciation for the book after the book club discussion, but I would not recommend it for just pleasure reading.

The premise of the book is good. But - Berendt fails to pull off the the connecting of rich characters around a central theme he did so successfully with Midnight. The book lacks continuity and lacks a beginning a middle and an end. One gets the impression that he took the template of Midnight and trys to fit Angels within the same format. He does not pull it off. The book is not quite a travel log, it's not quite a mystery and it fails to demonstrate investigative prowess. I was suspect of his ability to get the provincial Venitians to bare their souls to him. The book ends with a thud. If you start it and think it is worth sticking with against the hope that he pulls it all together with a climactic ending, you'll be disapponted .

I really liked Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I didn't find this book a difficult read, just a tremendously tedious one. There is absolutely NO plot to this book. It's just one person's "story" after another. I got to a point where I didn't care about Venice or about the characters, I just wanted the book to end and be far away from me. At least in Midnight, the characters' stories were centered around a central plot. Not so here. There is a fire in Venice's main opera house. That's all the plot there is. From there it's just the main "character" doing interview after interview of people. And not having to do with the fire either. Just non-stop boring stories.

My title says it all. Great writing. Clever dialogue. Nice descriptions of Venice. But there's no story in this book. Nothing to pull you forward other than a lukewarm "leitmotif" about the theater fire. Starkly different from "Midnight" because that book had a strong story that kept you turning pages -- with pleasure. When a movie bombs you tell friends, "Wait to see the DVD." As for The City of Falling Angels, wait to check it out of the library.

I'm giving this one star because the electronic edition costs more than the paperback print edition. This is ridiculous as what does it really cost the publisher to sell an electronic edition of a book? I imagine it costs them nothing once it's converted. . .

This author's sojourn in Venice, Italy produced a journal of interesting people and places. The burning of the Fenice Opera House in January 1996, a specular fire due to either carelessness or arson, and the icon's eventual restoration shapes the narrative. Colorful characters--American property owners, glass blowers, lawyers, art devotees, schemers, manipulators, and poseurs--appear and speak. The fire investigation plods on as fingers point to criminals, then politicians, then bureaucrats, then workmen. Enterprises of American invasion and restoration and exploitation for personal gains compete with the vanities, bureaucracy, and sludge of the Venice system. Testimony from selected inhabitants gives credence to Shakespeare's nostrum that "all the world's a stage." I found this nonfiction piece long and languid and speed-read in many places. In the past Venice may have attracted poets, ex-patriates, aristocrats, writers, and movie stars, but this probably one-sided picture of Venice today is not flattering. Almost makes one wonder if its slow inundation might be a benefit of climate change.

Starts out with interesting descriptions of various characters central to the Venetian society and has interesting historical comments. I found myself intrigued and wanting more.
After about a third of the book, it totally bogged down into an overly detailed chapters on the sale of part of a palace and then the restoration battles after the fire of the Fernice. Frankly I started to skip pages and then whole sections, because I was so bored. Gone was the original charm. It became "and then x said and did.." The flavor was gone. I finally skipped to the last few chapters but found nothing to redeem it. It is being given away soon. Maybe someone will like it.

The City of Falling Angels

John Berendt rang the bell with his highly regarded Savannah book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1995). Its 216 weeks on the New York Times nonfiction best seller list is still the record. His encore book, "The City of Falling Angels" (2005) about Venice does not live up to the expectations created by "Midnight". The new book fell from first place to last place on the NYT non-fiction list in just eight weeks, and that in the Christmas season.

How come? Surely Venice is as interesting as Savannah, Georgia, not that Savannah lacks attractions. For one thing, Berendt never found the handle for "Angels," never figured out how to weave the many strands of his story, from his chance discovery of the city's clandestine pigeon eradication program to its problems with the mafia, into a coherent narrative. What he ends up with seems more appropriate for an issue of, say "The New Yorker." (Indeed, earlier in his career Berendt served as editor of "New York Magazine".)

Start with the Talk of the Town, the short pieces that lead The New Yorker. Berendt's account of his short trip in Venice's oldest gondola, with uniformed gondoliers fore and aft, would make a splendid vignette. Ditto his account of a visit to Archimede Seguso's glass works where he observes the master create stunning vases. Begin the body of the magazine with his character sketches of Venice's glitterati and literati: Peggy Guggenhein for one of the former and Ezra Pound for one of the latter. He writes colorful portraits of both (and many others), although it is not clear that Berendt comes up with much that was not already well known. For example, the Guggenheim Collection garden where Ms. Guggenheim is buried with her pet dogs is a popular stop for American tourists. And the circuitous and controversy-plagued route by which Ezra Pound's papers ended up in the Yale University Library was well known by the time "Angels" appeared.

Turn next to the occasional New Yorker feature, "Annals of Crime." The backbone story line of "Angels" is the account of the fire that destroyed La Fenice, Venice's grand old opera house. Was the fire an accident? Or arson? The loss moved the people of Venice to grieve as deeply as the burning of Independence Hall would affect us. No sooner was La Fenice destroyed than the civic will to restore it set in motion the eight-year long project to do so. Out of the ashes arose many stories: the investigation to determine the cause of the fire; the influence pushing and pulling to determine who would win the restoration contract; the infighting for credit and opening night tickets among the cast of do-gooders who had a hand in the restoration.

There's more, plenty for a cover to cover Venice issue of the magazine. But that, amply spiced with the delicious names he drops along the way, is what Berendt gives us in "Falling Angels."

End note. Thanks are due Jack and Lee Mortimer whose titles for their 1950's series of muckraking books, "Chicago Confidential," "New York Confidential" and "Washington Confidential," I borrowed for this review. By the way, the store currently lists new hard cover copies of "Angels" for $3.30 plus shipping.

"Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?" -- Deuteronomy 4:33 (NKJV)

If you have ever been to Venice, surely you've wondered what it's like to live in one of those palazzos and to be there when the city is under water in the winter. The native's Venice and the day tripper's Venice couldn't be further apart in perception and vantage point.

John Berendt managed to meet a lot of real Venetians and to spend extended time there. Gradually, some of the doors to what the tourists never see were gradually opened to him. Surprises waited inside.

His time there overlapped with the burning down of the Fenice Opera House and its difficult reconstruction. That's the main focus of the book, but there are rewarding side canal visits to subjects such as the Save Venice organization, maintaining the heritage of Ezra Pound, and playing a role in Venetian culture and society. While that combination may sound a little out of focus, realize that there's a mystery in the middle of riddle here. Who did what to whom in Venice? Who will take the blame? Who will steal the credit?

The three main stories are examples of a bigger theme, residents trading on interest in the glorious past of Venice to gain unearned benefits in the present. Normally, that would be unattractive, but Mr. Berendt manages to capture the "glamour" that the outsider sees that makes the fight over the remnants of Venice more interesting than the typical selfish squabble.

I recommend listening to Holter Graham's unabridged (no pun intended) reading as a way to capture the reverence for things Venetian that makes the events more interesting. Awe and caring are in his voice in a way that your own "mental" voice won't be. As a result, the story becomes more dramatic, grander, and decadent . . . at the same time.

Although the base story isn't as interesting as in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, there's plenty to attract here.

Some people may tell you that this book will add a lot to your enjoyment of going to Venice. I doubt that. In fact, it may reduce it. The topic is really human character, seen through the mirror of Venice from the native's point of view.

In the opening salvos of this engrossing tale of place and people, John Berendt outlines his mission of filling a perceived gap in the English-language literature about Venice. His predecessors, he claims, used Venice as a backdrop for the misadventures of travelers, and never explored the experiences of either the native Venetians or the city's long-term foreign residents.

Using the 1996 dramatic burning of the Fenice opera house and its protractedly delayed rebuilding and reopening as both brackets and running narrative thread, Berendt delves into stories of Venetian-style betrayal with an attitude of dark humor and wide-eyed observation. A few of these address Venetians, but the most researched and vividly told are the three tales of Anglophones expatriates gone awry. Berendt quotes Henry James' letter to one of these, Ariana Curtis, in reference to Robert Browning's unfortunately-named son Pen (alas for the offspring of writers), who also resided in Venice: "There seems but one way of being sane in this queer world, but there are many ways of being mad!"

Personally, as another erstwhile American living in an equally odd if completely different expatriate/immigrant milieu, the fallen Anglos of "Fallen Angels" ring quite familiar: how the crossing of cultural boundaries, the shifting of personal contexts, the removal of original social constraints can bring out the very worst in people.

The first of Berendt's case studies is the Curtis family, American-Venetian aristocracy whose fifth generation self-destructed over monetary squabbles. The second, and saddest, is that of the Reynolds, an American couple who manipulated their way first into control of Peggy Guggenheim's Venice collection before insinuating into the graces of Ezra Pound's elderly and addled mistress, the musician Olga Rudge, whose estate they also tried somewhat successfully to seize. Finally, Berendt details the politics behind the implosion of the American foundation, Save Venice.

The book is interesting more for these histories than for the Venice evocations, with their delineations of Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century Europe's and America's cultural figures and movements. Educational for those of us not so familiar with them, and replete with juicy gossip for more knowledgeable readers.

The Venetian characters are there, as well, intermingling with the assorted sordid relocated Anglos plus with their own dodgy epics. Feuding glassblower family the Segusos, tragic poet Mario Stefani, and the Fenice arson suspects all are skimmed by the spotlight - yet less brightly than the foreigners, showing less dimension.

Regardless of that shortcoming, "Falling Angels" is a involving portrait of human nastiness in a beautiful but decaying place. I cannot attest to his depictions of Venice, not having been there, but accurate or not this tome allows me to feel as if I had.

In 1996, a fire started in the Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy. And not just any fire. A fire that would consume not only most of the beautiful building, along with it paintings, frescoes and history in this last of it's kind building. No, this fire consumed almost a decade in the life of Venice. How did the fire start? Was it arson? Was it negligence? Who had the most to gain? Was it the Mafia or was it the contractors that were working on the remodeling? These are just some of the questions that drew John Berendt to extend his stay in Venice and try to capture the city and it's people in print.

In the course of the investigation, Berendt introduces us to many of the citizens of this city. We meet Archimede Seguso, a renowned glass maker, that watched the Fenice burn and then created over one hundred glass vases to memorialize it. Of course, most of these pieces still haven't been seen by the public because they are tied up in a litigation of a weird brotherly feud. We meet the Rylands - Jane, an American Expat and her British husband that waylaid a poor old lady and took her incredible achieves for their own profit. The woman was Olga Rudge, the famous Mistress of writer Ezra Pound, who's writings and letters were worth a small fortune. And we meet members of the Save Venice foundation, a non-profit organization that was created to help restore buildings and art in the city of Venice. But an implosion of the group was caused by mixing too many people with large egos wanting the Title and prestige involved with this organization.

I will readily admit I had high hopes for this book. I thought Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil about the city of Savannah, Georgia was fantastic! He did such a wonderful job describing the beauty of the city, as well as the eccentricity of it's people. Not so much with Venice, although he certainly tried. Maybe it's the fact that I just don't understand the Venetian culture the way I do culture in the US. Or maybe this book was more about the glitterati instead of just the average folks. Either way, it fell short for me. I really didn't get a chance to CARE about the people in this book. There were too many exceedingly shallow people that cared more for their titles and their parties than they did about anything else. The back story of the Fenice fire just seemed to get lost in it all. And since reality is never as cut-and-dried as fiction, we still don't know what really happened that night at the Fenice.

I did enjoy learning more about Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge. And I was intrigued about the side story of the poet Mario Stefani, a man that took his own life during this time period. But reading about the Save Venice Organization and their constant bickering over whose name would be at the top of the stationery and who got the best seats for a gala rather turned my stomach. As did the story of the Rylands and how they swindled a poor elderly woman AND her family out of their birthright. Maybe my expectations were just too high for this one. Venice is a beautiful city, one I'd love to visit some day. But this book didn't do much for me! Like a Seinfeld episode, it was a whole lot about nothing.

Considering part of his background as a periodical columnist and editor, John Berendt could have chosen illustrated magazine articles as the medium by which to publish his vignettes of life in Venice. Lucky for us readers, we do not have to search here and there. He has done the work of assembling all his observations and research into the fascinating 400 or so pages of his "The City of Falling Angels."

The warp of the larger story, of course, is Venice itself -- the water, the boats, the architectural beauty, the hierarchy of royals, their watchers, famous residents, year-round citizens, skilled craftsmen, seasonal tourists, Carnival goers, and the conflicts among them all, including the international organizations ostensibly dedicated to saving the city. The mix is lively, intense, and intricate.

The central thread is the most recent destruction by fire, in early 1996, of the Fenice, Venice's fabled opera house, and the supremely laborious, bureaucratic, legal, commercially contentious, artistic, and years-long struggle to restore the glory.

Berendt's writing is vivid, of the fire itself, of every person he encounters, of celebrities and workers, shopkeepers, palace owners, writers, politicos, and connivers alike. Though appreciating that Berendt is verbally adroit in all his descriptions, yet in our visual age one is left with wanting to see the pictures themselves -- of the flames, the shell of the Fenice, the boats, the faces and persons of the famous, the buildings. Again, we are fortunate, for however piqued may be one's curiosity, there is the Internet, with the capability of drawing up as many as one would like. Fun, no end.

Of the many characters, I could recommend many, but outstanding is Count Girolamo Marcello, a man of fine intellect and perception, who speaks like a poet. Here is but one of his observations:
"The rhythm in Venice is like breathing," he said. "High water, high pressure: tense. Low water, low pressure: relaxed. Venetians are not at all attuned to the rhythm of the wheel. That is for other places, places with motor vehicles. Ours is the rhythm of the Adriatic. The rhythm of the sea. In Venice the rhythm flows along with the tide, and the tide changes every six hours."

You will find out. Fascinating.

Perhaps you remember John Berendt's strong novelistic narrative drive in his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? And perhaps you recall the excellent movie version that was made from the book? This book, The City of Falling Angels, is a different kettle of fish.
Had I not visited Venice in November of 2007 and roamed around that enchanting city for six days and nights, I would have found this book heavy sledding indeed. It's all about Venice and the disastrous fire that destroyed the interior of La Fenice, the Venice opera house in January of 1996. This book is a non-fiction account of Venice, its people, and its politics by a man who has a genuine love of the city.
Unfortunately it spends a great deal of time on non-Venetians and their efforts through the Save Venice charity to restore the city's glorious buildings. The politics and internal squabbling of the leaders of the organization are described in too much detail. Berendt is an elegant writer who is somewhat snobbishly obsessed by the successful and wealthy.
Was the opera house severely damaged by arsonists? Was a Venetian poet murdered or did he commit suicide? And what happened to Ezra Pound's estate? Berendt tries to build suspense by raising these questions and delving into rivalries among American city saviors and all sorts of legal maneuvering.
To get through this book, you'll have to resurrect your skimming skills. There are nuggets here to be found amidst the falling angels of the great city, but they come at the cost of heaving slogging through minutiae.

A somewhat different look at Venice and its people. A very many interesting characters are brought to life with Berendt's words, he does write well and even though some people and circumstances weren't as interesting as others and perhaps induced a little boredom it was still written in true Berendt fashion and I knew I wouldn't be bored for long before another interesting character popped up and said hello.

I did learn quite a few things from this book, it is centred loosely around the Fenice burning down and the court case afterwards but along the way we delved into quite a lot of history of Venice and its inhabitants and I loved reading how as the water rises they just simply build up a bit higher so that there are actual houses and whatnot underneath the current Venice city, Napoleon's being one such house.

It was a great non-touristy look at Venice, Berendt lived there for a while and started off in the "not tourist season" because he wanted to see the real Venice.

THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS (Non-Fiction-Venice, Italy-Cont) - VG+
Berendt, John - Standalone
The Penguin Press, 2005, US Hardcover - ISBN: 1594200580

First Sentence: "Everyone in Venice is acting," Count Girolamo Marcello told me.

In January 1996, La Fenice (the Phoenix) was destroyed by fire. Was it an accident, or was it arson? Berendt's book is a non-fiction look at more than the investigation, but a true study of the history, culture and people of Venice.

I loved this book. No, it's not on the same level as Berendt's first book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," but it's a very different book. "Midnight" was about a murder and followed a very specific cast of characters.

In this book, the central character is the city of Venice and it was fascinating. Berendt excels at sense of place so real with the city. I really did have a sense of the lady beneath of veil of whom one catches intriguing glances.

I loved learning about some of the history of the people; Ezra Pound and his mistress Olga, the glassblower and his sons and part about Francesco da Mosto, who hosted "Italy Top to Toe" on the Travel Channel recently, about the politics and how the city runs, or doesn't, and the dissension within the organization Save Venice. All the sub-stories wound about as do the canals of Venice and I was enthralled.

I am not normally a non-fiction reader, but this was a one-sitting read for me.

I recently picked up City of Falling Angels since I enjoyed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil so much. I was extremely disappointed. In fact, I went back and re-read Midnight to make sure it was as good as I originally thought it was (and, in fact, I enjoyed it more this time around). Maybe it's unfair to compare the two books, but this book probably wouldn't be getting so much acclaim and I wouldn't be reading it without Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (deservedly) paving the way to Berendt's notoriety.

Part of Midnight's appeal was the covert (and sometimes overt) negative undertones of the city. The way you felt every story was exaggerated, but could have happened. When in the first couple of pages, one of the characters in Venice came right out and said Venetians lie all the time, I was taken aback. That right there destroyed the subtlety and the fine balance between frivolous and malicious.

Plus the characters were just pretty boring, and Berendt's wonderful descriptions and anecdotes used in Midnight were MIA or couldn't save the characters. I don't have the book in front of me, and I can hardly remember any of the characters. They didn't seem to have the mischevious sparkle or quaint tarnish Savannah socialites had. I'm sure it must be hard to live up to the bar previously set by Midnight, but that's what happens when you write such a great book!

City of Falling Angels seemed to play it safe. All of the characters were pretty middle-of-the-road. No one seemed especially heinous or very funny at all (though I did enjoy the desriptions of the Carnival costumes). This book, to me, was just sort of blah...

John Berendt, arrived in Venice in 1996 shortly after a fire had destroyed the city's famed Fenice Opera House. Berendt uses the symbolic fire, and the dubious circumstances surrounding it, as a jumping off point to explore the unique and strange world of Venetian culture. Berendt imbeds himself within high Venetian society, spending several years rubbing shoulders with the many wealthy American expatriates living in the city. In addition he spends time getting to know simple artisans, and the members of the intellectual community. What emerges from Berendt's narrative is a city cloaked in an enigma of deceit and duplicity. Venice is a city loosing ground to the rising sea water, all the while trying to prevent the loss of its identity to foreigners who; are paradoxically trying to "save the Venice".

I enjoyed, The City of Falling Angels. Each chapter is a different vignette about life in this most unique city, ranging from the struggles of locals to hold on to their way of life and worrying about the future of their beloved city, to the absured scenes of Carnival. The book nicely weaves in the story of what becomes of the Fenice and what becomes an arson trial, into the larger story. The fire and arson are not so much a who - done - it, as much as a literary device becoming metaphor for the city itself.

I have not read Berendt's more acclaimed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, so I don't have that to compare it to. However I picked up this book more as a sort of travel logue of Venice and found it to be a light read and good snap shot of the city.

Considering part of his background as a periodical columnist and editor, John Berendt could have chosen illustrated magazine articles as the medium by which to publish his vignettes of life in Venice. Lucky for us readers, we do not have to search here and there. He has done the work of assembling all his observations and research into the fascinating 400 or so pages of his "The City of Falling Angels."

The warp of the larger story, of course, is Venice itself -- the water, the boats, the architectural beauty, the hierarchy of royals, their watchers, famous residents, year-round citizens, skilled craftsmen, seasonal tourists, Carnival goers, and the conflicts among them all, including the international organizations ostensibly dedicated to saving the city. The mix is lively, intense, and intricate.

The central thread is the most recent destruction by fire, in early 1996, of the Fenice, Venice's fabled opera house, and the supremely laborious, bureaucratic, legal, commercially contentious, artistic, and years-long struggle to restore the glory.

Berendt's writing is vivid, of the fire itself, of every person he encounters, of celebrities and workers, shopkeepers, palace owners, writers, politicos, and connivers alike. Though appreciating that Berendt is verbally adroit in all his descriptions, yet in our visual age one is left with wanting to see the pictures themselves -- of the flames, the shell of the Fenice, the boats, the faces and persons of the famous, the buildings. Again, we are fortunate, for however piqued may be one's curiosity, there is the Internet, with the capability of drawing up as many as one would like. Fun, no end.

Of the many characters, I could recommend many, but outstanding is Count Girolamo Marcello, a man of fine intellect and perception, who speaks like a poet. Here is but one of his observations:
"The rhythm in Venice is like breathing," he said. "High water, high pressure: tense. Low water, low pressure: relaxed. Venetians are not at all attuned to the rhythm of the wheel. That is for other places, places with motor vehicles. Ours is the rhythm of the Adriatic. The rhythm of the sea. In Venice the rhythm flows along with the tide, and the tide changes every six hours."

You will find out. Fascinating.

Perhaps you remember John Berendt's strong novelistic narrative drive in his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? And perhaps you recall the excellent movie version that was made from the book? This book, The City of Falling Angels, is a different kettle of fish.
Had I not visited Venice in November of 2007 and roamed around that enchanting city for six days and nights, I would have found this book heavy sledding indeed. It's all about Venice and the disastrous fire that destroyed the interior of La Fenice, the Venice opera house in January of 1996. This book is a non-fiction account of Venice, its people, and its politics by a man who has a genuine love of the city.
Unfortunately it spends a great deal of time on non-Venetians and their efforts through the Save Venice charity to restore the city's glorious buildings. The politics and internal squabbling of the leaders of the organization are described in too much detail. Berendt is an elegant writer who is somewhat snobbishly obsessed by the successful and wealthy.
Was the opera house severely damaged by arsonists? Was a Venetian poet murdered or did he commit suicide? And what happened to Ezra Pound's estate? Berendt tries to build suspense by raising these questions and delving into rivalries among American city saviors and all sorts of legal maneuvering.
To get through this book, you'll have to resurrect your skimming skills. There are nuggets here to be found amidst the falling angels of the great city, but they come at the cost of heaving slogging through minutiae.

A somewhat different look at Venice and its people. A very many interesting characters are brought to life with Berendt's words, he does write well and even though some people and circumstances weren't as interesting as others and perhaps induced a little boredom it was still written in true Berendt fashion and I knew I wouldn't be bored for long before another interesting character popped up and said hello.

I did learn quite a few things from this book, it is centred loosely around the Fenice burning down and the court case afterwards but along the way we delved into quite a lot of history of Venice and its inhabitants and I loved reading how as the water rises they just simply build up a bit higher so that there are actual houses and whatnot underneath the current Venice city, Napoleon's being one such house.

It was a great non-touristy look at Venice, Berendt lived there for a while and started off in the "not tourist season" because he wanted to see the real Venice.

THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS (Non-Fiction-Venice, Italy-Cont) - VG+
Berendt, John - Standalone
The Penguin Press, 2005, US Hardcover - ISBN: 1594200580

First Sentence: "Everyone in Venice is acting," Count Girolamo Marcello told me.

In January 1996, La Fenice (the Phoenix) was destroyed by fire. Was it an accident, or was it arson? Berendt's book is a non-fiction look at more than the investigation, but a true study of the history, culture and people of Venice.

I loved this book. No, it's not on the same level as Berendt's first book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," but it's a very different book. "Midnight" was about a murder and followed a very specific cast of characters.

In this book, the central character is the city of Venice and it was fascinating. Berendt excels at sense of place so real with the city. I really did have a sense of the lady beneath of veil of whom one catches intriguing glances.

I loved learning about some of the history of the people; Ezra Pound and his mistress Olga, the glassblower and his sons and part about Francesco da Mosto, who hosted "Italy Top to Toe" on the Travel Channel recently, about the politics and how the city runs, or doesn't, and the dissension within the organization Save Venice. All the sub-stories wound about as do the canals of Venice and I was enthralled.

I am not normally a non-fiction reader, but this was a one-sitting read for me.

I recently picked up City of Falling Angels since I enjoyed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil so much. I was extremely disappointed. In fact, I went back and re-read Midnight to make sure it was as good as I originally thought it was (and, in fact, I enjoyed it more this time around). Maybe it's unfair to compare the two books, but this book probably wouldn't be getting so much acclaim and I wouldn't be reading it without Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (deservedly) paving the way to Berendt's notoriety.

Part of Midnight's appeal was the covert (and sometimes overt) negative undertones of the city. The way you felt every story was exaggerated, but could have happened. When in the first couple of pages, one of the characters in Venice came right out and said Venetians lie all the time, I was taken aback. That right there destroyed the subtlety and the fine balance between frivolous and malicious.

Plus the characters were just pretty boring, and Berendt's wonderful descriptions and anecdotes used in Midnight were MIA or couldn't save the characters. I don't have the book in front of me, and I can hardly remember any of the characters. They didn't seem to have the mischevious sparkle or quaint tarnish Savannah socialites had. I'm sure it must be hard to live up to the bar previously set by Midnight, but that's what happens when you write such a great book!

City of Falling Angels seemed to play it safe. All of the characters were pretty middle-of-the-road. No one seemed especially heinous or very funny at all (though I did enjoy the desriptions of the Carnival costumes). This book, to me, was just sort of blah...

John Berendt, arrived in Venice in 1996 shortly after a fire had destroyed the city's famed Fenice Opera House. Berendt uses the symbolic fire, and the dubious circumstances surrounding it, as a jumping off point to explore the unique and strange world of Venetian culture. Berendt imbeds himself within high Venetian society, spending several years rubbing shoulders with the many wealthy American expatriates living in the city. In addition he spends time getting to know simple artisans, and the members of the intellectual community. What emerges from Berendt's narrative is a city cloaked in an enigma of deceit and duplicity. Venice is a city loosing ground to the rising sea water, all the while trying to prevent the loss of its identity to foreigners who; are paradoxically trying to "save the Venice".

I enjoyed, The City of Falling Angels. Each chapter is a different vignette about life in this most unique city, ranging from the struggles of locals to hold on to their way of life and worrying about the future of their beloved city, to the absured scenes of Carnival. The book nicely weaves in the story of what becomes of the Fenice and what becomes an arson trial, into the larger story. The fire and arson are not so much a who - done - it, as much as a literary device becoming metaphor for the city itself.

I have not read Berendt's more acclaimed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, so I don't have that to compare it to. However I picked up this book more as a sort of travel logue of Venice and found it to be a light read and good snap shot of the city.

First, my observation about the one- and two-star reviewers. They appear to be laboring under one of two misconceptions.

The first would be that Berendt intended an exhausting social history of Venice. He never makes that claim anywhere that I'm aware of.

Second is that some people may over-romanticize Venice. Berendt writes about "long time glass blowers" because Murano is an important part of Venice. He writes about old, aristocratic families because they are, too. Venice is NOT Smallville, USA.

Now, that said, my take on the book?

The political picture is very good, but could have been filled out even more, to show just how politically dysfunctional Venice can be. The Save Venice split, and other foibles of the socially arrived and the arrivistes probably could also be fleshed out more.

In other words, Berendt seems to have fallen somewhat between two stools with this book. I think expanding both narratives, integrating them even better, and some judicious editing, would have made this a five-starrer.

That said, it is a solid read, if a bit convoluted at times. It's lower-to-middle four-star territory.

Oh, and who tagged this as "literary fiction" and "historical fiction"? The book is non-fiction. Maybe things like that are the cluelessness from which some of the poor ratings stem.

My wife LOVES Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. When we met, I had neither read the book or watched the movie. Since she brought it up enough while we were dating, I decided to give John Berendt a shot.

Loved the book (MitGoGaE) and didn't like the movie (which was disappointing because I love Clint Eastwood and John Cusack.)

The love of that book led me to read this one.

Unfortunately.

The problem with writing novels based on actual events that you are around for is that you run the risk that nothing interesting can happen. In The City of Falling Angels, events happen. The characters (the people) are all described in depth and the location is also painted in detail.

Note that lack of the "interesting" in my descriptions, though.

Interview with a Vampire made me want to visit New Orleans. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made me want to visit Savannah. The City of Falling Angels didn't make me want to visit Venice... it made me want to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil again.

Like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this book provides a strong sense of place and fine descriptions of some of the characters of Venice and their interactions--not always positive. There's also a dose of history, a little mystery, and a strong sense of how things are done -or not done - in Venice.

The City of Falling Angels is a non-fiction piece that examines the places and people that populate the city of Venice during the non-tourist season. Part history lesson, part travelogue, with a touch of the National Enquirer type of investigative reporting that keeps you titillated with its "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" approach.

Utilizing the fire that destroyed one of the city's cultural landmarks, the Fenice Opera House, as the glue which holds the various stories together, Berendt interviews a variety of Venetians with backgrounds ranging from titled nobility to the man who developed and sold the rat poison that has made him a millionaire. We are taken on vicarious explorations of grand palaces and tiny cottages and given a tantalizing peek into the public and private lives of Venice inhabitants. From public servants, like Casson, the bulldog-like prosecutor intent on convicting someone (anyone) for the fire, to the likes of Peggy Guggenheim, Ezra Pound and his former mistress and the Seguso family (designers and creators of beautiful and expensive Murano glass pieces).

The story of the fire becomes almost secondary as Berendt traverses other avenues in pursuit of additional stories and alternate truths. Of course, all of the interviews must be viewed with a bit of skepticism when one considers the advise given to the author by Count Marcello who tells him, "Venetians never tell the truth. We mean precisely the opposite of what we say". It is ultimately up to the reader to choose what portions are fact and what are seductive fiction.

The timing could not have been more propitious. Celebrated author John Berendt arrived in Venice for a short visit, just as the ruins of the city's world famous opera house, the Fenice, were still smoldering. How had it happened and who was to blame? The entire city was abuzz with these questions. And Berendt caught the fever. He extended his stay in Venice in order to seek answers, and in the seeking, he tells a true story about the city and its history that is panoramic in its scope and riveting in its detail. This book, by the way, is not a novel, it is a work of non-fiction but you would have to go very far indeed to find a novel as fascinating as this.

Although Berendt never mentions the fact, it is helpful for the non-Italian speaking reader to know that the word Fenice means Phoenix--and even as the opera house's ruins cool and the long years of rising from the ashes begins, we meet those dogged (and competing) law enforcement officers who investigate the fire and those from organized (and disorganized) crime circles who lurk in the shadows. We meet tenth-generation titled Venetians and we are observers of the social whirl of competing groups of prominent International philanthropists and various hangers-on, all of whom have one eye toward saving Venice form crumbling forever into the lagoon and the other eye toward self aggrandizement.

The competing contractors seem intent on nothing less than robbing Venetians blind. The machinations of a pair of under qualified but myopically aggressive art museum directors play out like a great Hitchcock film, with all of the suspense and glamour one would expect in a city that epitomizes romance behind masks and history filled with mystery. We are taken into the household of what is perhaps the most illustrious glass blowing family, from their apartment overlooking the ruined theater to the furnaces of Murano. We meet fascinating people from Venice's past, as well as her present, ranging from expatriate literary giants to the obscure itinerant plant seller, in a city where there are more old masters than gardens.

Venice's nickname is "Serenissima", meaning "the most serene" and while serenity may be the over all effect of this city, still currents run deep and there is a lot of intrigue going on just under the surface. As one of the most compelling of contemporary Venetians, Count Girolamo Marcello says, "Venetians never tell the truth. We mean precisely the opposite of what we say".

In so many ways, the author evokes the enticing yet claustrophobic atmosphere of the Venetian alleys and canals. This is a long book, but one, like a visit to the city itself, you wish would not end. Of course, John Berendt is the author of the blockbusting best seller, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", which put Savannah, Georgia, on everyone's travel list. Now he has done the same for Venice. We wonder where he is going next and hope he won't wait another ten years for his next compelling yarn.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

This book obviously generates the whole spectrum of reactions. Having not read Midnight, I came to it with no expectations. The attraction for me was Venice. I have been reading a lot about Italy lately, and no other book has been anything like this.

I found Berendt's writing style extremely easy to read and very descriptive. I was really caught up in every little story he told, and his characters are some of the most memorable I have ever encountered - and they are real people! In many ways Venice is like a theme park. It is hard to believe people really live there. So I was fascinated to read about some current and previous residents of Venice. It was also interesting that so many people who presume to treat Venice as their own are actually expats or even foreigners.

In short, I loved it and would read it again. I felt that I was getting insight into "the real Venice," or at least one of its guises.

I basically liked this book, although I wouldn't stop reading here about Venice. First I'd like to refute some of the negative reviews. A lot of them complain about the plot and the characters and what a terrible novel this is. Good Lord, are these people so out of it they don't know they're reading NONFICTION? And right up front, the author says this is an account of the people he met in Venice and what actually happened. This isn't a Michelin guide, either. He got to know both expatriates and Venetians and so what if a lot of them were rich people? A lot of people complained the book was boring. I didn't think so, except for the part about all the infighting at the American organization Save Venice. I really didn't care about these men's egos and it had little to do with the city. On the other hand, the book tied in with several other books I've read this summer, including The Master by Colm Toibin (which is a novel about the life of Henry James) and a new book by Jane Rylands. This book put her in a new light for me, all right. I liked her writing, but she sounds like some piece of work. I didn't think it at all odd that Berendt, who probably got a lot of money and fame from his first book, had connections to the rich and famous. Most people wouldn't have the opportunity to go to Venice except as a tourist for a short period, and would never get inside this world. There was quite a bit of interesting information about the city's history, architecture and art. However, anyone who is interested in a subject can't stop with one book. I've already done additional reading on La Fenice, which has burned down three times so far. If a book provokes my further interest in its subject matter, then to me it is worth reading. I'd say if you find certain chapters or parts of chapters boring, skim over them. I'm now anxious to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and I have been to Savannah.

I read (skipped) through this boring book in less than a week because it was so uninteresting. There was no theme and no cohesiveness. It jumped from one discussion of a family to another family and it was hard to understand where he was going with his story. (There was not much of a story.) The first part was interesting about the fire of the opera house and then the last chapter where you read that the opera house was being restored. However, the middle part seemed to be just gossip about various families.

It's about the burning of the legendary opera house The Fenice in Venice.
The book gives a great detailed description of Venice and its surroundings. With real names of the people involved in the reconstruction of the Fenice.
The Fenice was burned down in the early part of the year 1996, the author arrived a couple of days later and decided to stay and find out about all the rumors regarding the legendary opera house. There were accusations of arson and negligence among others.
The names are real and the story is true. It gives a glimpse view of this romantic city and its habitants. I found it specially amusing the source where the author got the name of the novel.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because of the confusion of the names. Even though it is a real event and there is a list on the back of the book with the names of all the persons mentioned throughout the novel, not being used to Italian names, at times it can get quite confusing.

This is an uneven book. One of the main problems is that the main story - that of La Fenice - is simply not as interesting as the main story in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The other stories were interesting, but the narrative thrust of the book is seriously weakened by the lack of a compelling central story. The most interesting part was the story of Jane Rylands (author of Venetian Stories) and her wrangling in on Ezra Pound's archive. This was a compelling story that might have been able to carry the book and was the only part I found myself wanting to read more about. Other parts of the book do tend to be heavy on the actions of expatriates and the wealthy, although there are some sections on regular Venetians. While interesting, the book can be seen as an example of sophomore slump.