Search - The City of Falling Angels

I love the style this book is written in, You learn not only about the Fenice Opera house Fire ,Which Archimede Seguso master glass blower watched from his window and produced what is said to be his finest collection ever bowls and vases and such all black with orange ,red,and purple swirls a collection of over 100 pieces. This book is about all things venetian, History customs social stratus , The subtleties of going about things without offending.Last but not least a cast of players ranging from The everyday person to high society with tons of assorted important titles.If you loved "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" You will adore this book,Rich in history and intrigue. I actually read it in two days because I was mesmerized by Venice and all things venetian.

What a fantastic read! John Berendt does an excelent job weaving in the quirky characters of Venice amidst a terrible tragedy of the loss of the Fenice Opera House. His descrptions and moments with the people of Venice, both the American ex-patriates and the Venetians, were at once hilarious and incredibly moving. I love his writing and highly recommnd for anyone -- it will make you want to move to Venice...

Ultimately, distasteful.
This book begins in the same vein as "Midnight" but finally reveals itself as a disjointed account of several vastly unrelated scandals in Venice, both past and (at the time of publication) present. The author gives the impression of having chased down every possible party to the scandals in order to produce a book.
That being said, the descriptions of Venice, it's neighborhoods (if they can be called something so humble) and historical treasures are lyrical. It's a pity that they are so often simply used as a backdrop for a character or another shabby story.

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading this book. I requested it assuming it was a novel, since I really liked Berendt's novel "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". But, this one is non-fiction, an account of what the author discovers about Venice, Italy. The impetus for him to get involved was a fire that destroyed the La Fenice opera house in 1996. He goes into great detail about the circumstances of the fire, but gets to know all kinds of fascinating people and history in the process. It reads like a novel, but I keep running into references that link to people and places I know about. Lots of fun.

A really good book. John Berendt uses his decription style from the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to bring Venice alive in the same way.

Non-fiction about the arson of the Fenice opera house in 1996. Anyone going to Venice should read this one first....