Welcome to Litsy!

A rather long-winded (for my money) account of an unlikely whirlwind romance. Is David a spy, a conman, or something far more strange?

Lots of detail about Venice for those who love books with a strong sense of place.

...the theme of Chairman Diesel was... Venice, or rather its famous carnival, which towards the end of the eighteenth century and of the Republic lasted for six months - a whole city singing and dancing for half a year in its campi and campielli, day and night, in a fatal fever of dissolution. So did this good man hold forth in a Venetian palazzo; he was the sort of conversationalist that would have explained the Trojan War to Homer.

A totally narcissistic city, remarked someone.

No, simply a city where there were no casual visitors, people who had come for reasons nothing to do with Venice, objected another.

Yes, yes, this was the point, said Curly-Head approvingly. It was like finding oneself in the entrance lobby of a bank or a hospital: you knew from the start that everyone there was thinking exclusively about current accounts, about phleboclysis...

I enjoyed this novel set in Venice. A delightful love story with 2 enigmatic characters and a wonderful, rich sense of place. Lots of textures of the art, streets and history of Venice. It‘s gently paced & lacks the suspense of conventional mysteries but makes up for it with the erudite tone & wit. The dinner party scenes are wonderfully satirical & the characters well drawn. The solution was risky & well handled. A great read for Venice travel.