One of my goals in 2019 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I bought the audio book of The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt at the Wall book sale for $4.

I love the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, based on another of Berendt’s books. I read that book many years ago, so when I saw this audio book I was happy to snatch it up.

Having always been fascinated with Venice, John moves there to see what it’s like to be one of the locals. He unintentionally comes at a time of upheaval, right after one of the grandest opera houses burns to the ground. The characters he meets living in Venice all have something to say about the Teatro de Fenice.

This book doesn’t so much have a concise story line, but a meandering group of stories and experiences. This is what Berendt is known for; observing and gathering these stories and tidbits and making a book with many interesting characters that happen to be real people. Like in Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil, this book loosely follows a trial, and that trial doesn’t end in a satisfactory manner. The City of Falling Angels gives an amazing, mysterious and magical picture of a Venice, which seems to be lost or stuck in a history all it’s own. Although the reader is not overly exciting, perhaps a little flat, Holter Graham does a fine job at conveying all the people living there. This book’s main character is the city it’s set in and how it effects all living in it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in true mysteries that are not gorey, books about Venice, real life personalities, or books about unique cities.

This book made me want to read more about Venice, more fiction and true stories about or set in that city. Do you have a favorite city to read about?