My Venice
And Other Essays
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A collection of "entertaining . . . unapologetically opinionated" essays from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti novels (The New York Times).
Donna Leon has won legions of fans and waves of critical acclaim for her international bestselling mystery series featuring Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti—not only for her intricate plots and gripping narratives, but for her insight into the culture, politics, family-life, and history of Venice. But outside of her mystery novels, Leon has also been writing essays on Venetian life and related topics for years.
In My Venice and Other Essays, the best of these essays are collected: more than fifty charming and insightful works ranging in topic from battles over garbage in the canals to the troubles with rehabbing Venetian real estate. Leon shares episodes from her life, explores her love of opera, and recounts tales from in and around her country house in the mountains. With pointed observations and humor, she also explores her family history, her former life in New Jersey, and the idea of the "Italian man."
Sure to please longtime Leon fans as well as anyone who appreciates the wit and wisdom of a master wordsmith, this volume offers "an intriguing glimpse at the strong views of an exceptionally interesting and entertaining novelist" (The Seattle Times).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Best known for her Venetian mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti (The Golden Egg, etc.), Leon turns to real life with this engaging yet overstuffed essay collection on everything from her adopted city to animals. Divided into six sections On Venice, On Music, On Mankind and Animals, On Men, On America, and On Books Leon muses, reminisces, and often complains about her Italian home of more than 30 years. While Venice isn't associated with cleanliness, Leon makes it clear just how dirty the city is in the bluntly titled "Garbage" and "Shit" (the latter of the canine variety). But in the titular essay, it's clear also that she loves the community feel and unforced camaraderie of her neighborhood, where the city's lack of cars means citizens are "forced to walk forced to meet." A music aficionado, with a particular penchant for the underappreciated Handel, Leon makes the arias and orchestrations come alive in "On Beauty and Freedom in the Opera" and "Confessions of an American Handel Junkie." Originally from New Jersey, though she's lived and taught in locations as varied as Saudi Arabia and China, Leon takes her native country to task on issues of obesity ("Fatties"), the Manhattan male ("The New York Man"), and fear ("The United States of Paranoia"). With most of the essays running no longer than three or four pages, the volume leans a bit too much on the side of quantity (there are 55 essays), but Leon's distinctive voice is reason enough to power through.
