All the Lost Places
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
When all of Venice is unmasked, one man's identity remains a mystery . . .
1807
When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn't until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.
1904
Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato.
"Introspective, surprising, and achingly beautiful."--Booklist starred review
"Dykes's pen is fused with magic and poetry. Every word's a gentle wave building into the splendor that is All the Lost Places, where struggles for identity and a place to belong find hope between the pages of a timeless story."--J'NELL CIESIELSKI, bestselling author of The Socialite
"Luscious writing, authentic characters, and an ending that satisfies to the core of the spirit, this novel is another winner from Amanda Dykes."--HEIDI CHIAVAROLI, Carol Award-winning author of Freedom's Ring and Hope Beyond the Waves
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This lyrical dual-narrative historical from Dykes (Set the Stars Alight) dives into the histories of Venice, Italy, and Venice Beach, Calif., as it follows two men in search of spiritual fulfillment. In 1904 San Francisco, Daniel Goodman, recently out of prison for committing robberies, lives in an abandoned railcar and longs to return to his estranged mother in that city, from whom he's been hiding out of shame. After a visit from his cousin, Daniel learns his mother is in financial trouble and he contemplates committing one last heist to help her. Instead, he stumbles upon developer Edward Wharton, who hires Daniel as an Italian translator for a real estate project aiming to bring the culture of Venice to California. To cinch the job, Daniel offers to give Wharton his copy of a rare memoir that Daniel's mother gave him and that Wharton is eager to add to his new library. The book tells the story of Sebastien Trovato, who was abandoned as a baby and taken in by artisans in early 19th-century Venice. He becomes curious about where he came from and embarks on a search that leads to surprising answers that affirm he is loved "by a God who flung the stars, hovered upon waters, and cradled his life with care." Elegant prose powerfully evokes historical Venice ("There was shadow and song in every stone"), and Daniel's quest to atone for his thieving past testifies to the power of redemption. Fans of Jaime Jo Wright will want to take a look.
