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Library Aisles
- architecture
- art
- boats
- book about books
- classic
- crime
- essays
- fiction
- food
- ghosts
- graphic novel
- Henry James
- historical fiction
- history
- in translation
- italiano
- music
- non-fiction
- novella
- passing through
- personal favorite
- poetry
- psychological
- romance
- Ruskin
- satire
- short story
- supernatural
- thriller
- travel
- Venezia (book in Italian)
- Vivaldi
- written by a woman
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The Garden of Angels, by David Hewson
VENICE-O-METER 9Historical thriller set in Venice, both during WW2 and in the late 1990’s This page-turner allows you to learn a lot about Venice under German occupation during WW2 — and about the production of…
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La sindone del diavolo, di Giulio Leoni
VENICE-O-METER 7Bloated 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…
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Vipere a San Marco, di Paolo Forcellini
VENICE-O-METER 8Preposterous crime novel whose plot is rooted in a puzzling faith in both the local police and, even more laughably, the local press. The only female character is never mentioned without a nod…
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The Bellini Card, by Jason Goodwin
VENICE-O-METER 8Historical detective novel set in 1840’s Venice “The Venetians are traders, Yashim. Everything in Venice is for sale.” “So this is Venice,” Palweski muttered […] “How ghastly” One of the highlights of my life…
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A Beautiful Crime, by Christopher Bollen
VENICE-O-METER 8Crime novel set in Venice I admire Zadie Smith mostly as a voracious, omnivorous reader, and often find our favorites overlap. In a feature in The Guardian, she listed Christopher Bollen as a master…
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The Medici Murders, by David Hewson
VENICE-O-METER 9Crime novel set in both current-day and 16th century Venice Why, yes, we are aware that the Medici were a Florentine family. But there is a Venice connection — what scholar Stefano Dall’Aglio…
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The Haunted Hotel, by Wilkie Collins
VENICE-O-METER 3Gripping Gothic novel and/or crime novel set in London, Ireland and Venice “…the wonderful city of the waters…” “… the dismal island…” It’s one of those books that makes you stay up late…
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Adriatic: A Concert of Civilizations at the End of the Modern Age, by Robert D. Kaplan
VENICE-O-METER 3Personal travelogue masquerading as a history book
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Senso, di Camillo Boito
VENICE-O-METER 8Psychological short story / novella partly set in Venice Like Death in Venice, Senso was famously adapted for the cinema by Luchino Visconti. Both are brief stories are set in Venice and chronicle…
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Dead Lagoon, by Michael Dibdin
VENICE-O-METER 9An Aurelio Zen investigation set in the inspector’s native Venice Michael Dibdin’s Dead Lagoon was published over 30 years ago, in the early 1990s, but his observation about a Venice in crisis —…
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Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin, translated by Lisa C. Hayden
VENICE-O-METER 1 Historical novel set in 15th century Russia, in which the main character, a healer, makes a stop in Venice on his way to Jerusalem. The healer and his companions stay at a…
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Italian Hours, by Henry James
VENICE-O-METER 7 Collection of essays about Italy, some of which focus specifically on Venice
