The City of Fallen Angels

The City of Falling Angels opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in Venice three days after the fire, John Berendt - famous for his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - becomes a kind of detective-inquiring into the nature of life in this remarkable museum-city-while gradually revealing the truth about the fire.

In the course of his investigations, Berendt introduces us to a rich cast of characters: a prominent Venetian poet whose shocking "suicide" prompts his skeptical friends to pursue a murder suspect on their own; the first family of American expatriates that loses possession of the family palace after four generations of ownership; an organization of high-society, partygoing Americans who raise money to preserve the art and architecture of Venice, while quarreling in public among themselves, questioning one another's motives and drawing startled Venetians into the fray; a contemporary Venetian surrealist painter and outrageous provocateur; the master glassblower of Venice; and numerous others-stool pigeons, scapegoats, hustlers, sleepwalkers, believers in Martians, the Plant Man, the Rat Man, and Henry James.

by far the most important character int he book is the city herself. Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years of history, art and architecture, teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Its architectural treasures crumble — foundations shift, marble ornaments fall — even as efforts to preserve them are underway. Venice is a city of masks and riddles, where narrow streets and passageways form a giant maze that confounds the uninitiated and deepens the sense of mystery

A few facts from this book about Venice that you may or may not know:

Venice has the cleanest air of any city because there are no cars and methane gas which burns cleanly is used for heating.

It is also the quietest city with a sound level of 32 decibels, while for the average city it is 45 decibels, again because of the absence of traffic.

There are 443 bridges in the city of Venice, although I have seen other figures bandied about, including 500.

During his occupation of Venice, Napoleon razed to the ground 176 religious buildings, 80 palaces along with their decorations and art treasures and his agents confiscated 12,000 paintings and sent them Paris where they now reside in the Louvre.

The Venetian Mafia control the water taxi business in Venice, along with the money lending operation in front of the Municipal Casino, which incidentally residents of Venice are not allowed to enter due to a very old statute still on the books.

The permanent population of Venice has now shrunk to 70,000 although an estimated 7 million tourists visit the city each year.

Well why don't you read the book for yourself? I do recommend it highly although the tone might be considered a trifle gossipy, however I found it fascinating.

You may also be interested in the list of the ten books that John Berendt thinks are essential reading on Venice and I found this fascinating site which has a fairly exhaustive list of books on Venice, both fiction and non fiction.

I found this book to be a witty and urbane tour through the private (as opposed to the tourist) Venice. It also had a godssipy tone. Along with Berendt we encounter an extraordinary roster of Venetians and expatriates--the people who actually live in Venice. And what a collection of eccentrics and oddballs! I was hooked from the very beginning in which Berendt describes the spectacular fire that destroyed the Fenice opera house, as seen through the eyes of the people who were on the scene, including the 87-year-old master glassbower of Venice, who watched from his bedroom window a mere 30 feet away from the blaze and then went to his glassmaking factory and started work on a series of bowls and vases representing the awful fire.  Couldn't put it down. Didn't want it to end. I'm sure that this has nothing to do with the fact that I love Venice!

Comments

[Brenda]

Me, too!
Me, too!
I love his books...this one was a rather indecent peek inside, behind the lace curtains and wrought iron window grilles of the upper echelon of Venezia society.
Good choice, Jerry!
Ciao,
Brenda

[Jerry]

It is funny Brenda how some have trashed his books as being gossipy. I quite like hearing the 'inside scoop' in all of its glory! *smile*

[Chiocciola]

I very much enjoyed this book too! I remember I had some minor beef with it but now I don't remember what it was so it must have been minor.

[girasoli]

I also loved this book, although for some reason it took me a very long time to get into. The tour I took inside La Fenice meant so much more after reading about the fire. I did not know that the mafia controlled the water taxis. Interesting facts.

[Jerry]

If the beef has been forgotten than it was minor indeed! LOL

Susan - we missed La Fenice when we were in Venice. I guess we'll have to go back then!

Venice seems like such an interesting society - I doubt anyone from the outside ever really knows what is going on.

[Annie]

Great review! I enjoyed this book, gossip and all, but I didn't enjoy it as much as "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." That one is hard to top. I wonder what he will write about next?

[Jerry]

Thanks Annie. Funny thing with me - I didn't like Midnight at all. I had no sympathy for Williams and thought he was a nasty bit of work.

[Annie]

I thought he was nasty too but I loved many of the other eccentric characters. Maybe since I've lived in the Southern USA my whole life, I could relate to all those crazies. :)

[Jerry]

I can imagine Annie. Folks here in my neck of the woods are pretty calm and 'conservative'.