Reading Venice

VENICE-O-METER 7
Bloated historical novel set in 14th century Venice, marketed as “un’indagine di Dante Alighieri” (that’s right, Dante Alighieri investigates), though plot doesn’t really involve an actual crime-related investigation. Ironically, the character of Dante Alighieri is devoid of any psychology or thoughts that would bring him to life on the page.

All the featured females are servants or, more often, prostitutes; the only important female character in the novel is a classic prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold, the type of who also has a silvery, childlike laugh and enjoys memorizing poetry. We’re not spared a single cliché.
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• If you want to read a brilliant historical novel set in Venice and centered on an artist, go for Melania Mazzucco’s La lunga attesa dell’angelo. 
• If you want to read a crime novel set in Venice and meaningfully rooted in the city’s history, go for David Hewson’s The Medici Murders.