Venetian Stories - Hardcover

Rylands, Jane Turner

3.47

157 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375422323 ISBN 13: 9780375422324

Publisher: Random House USA Inc, 2003

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In these twelve wry and fascinating stories Jane Turner Rylands has brilliantly evoked the hidden and day-to-day life of one of Europe’s most mysterious cities. The thoroughly engaging characters who are the focus of these stories are from different backgrounds and various Venetian neighborhoods, but their lives—and the stories—overlap and intersect in surprising and playful ways. We meet such workers as a postman, a gondolier, and a mason; and from a different circle, an architect, the mayor, a visitor (an American decorator), a contessa, a baronessa, and an English lord. There are avenging ghosts, a deceitful husband, and a fiendish mother among these.

Through Rylands’ eyes we observe the amusing quirks and habits of the natives as well as of outsiders who are absorbed into this very closed society with all its rivalries, petty jealousies, and hierarchies. For all its elegance and sophistication, Venice comes to life as a small town. Suddenly, we have a sense of what is happening behind the seemingly inscrutable Gothic fa�ades of those timeworn palazzos lining the Grand Canal.

These stories draw us into a complex, scheming, almost farcical society, but the poignant subtext is the profound fragility of a city with an uncertain future. Jane Turner Rylands has written a book that is as memorable and luminous as Venice itself.

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Review:

"Engaging...Rylands writes with playful elegance and a crisp layer of understated wit."-"Los Angeles Times

""Rylands' stories are like a teaspoon of grated Parmesan washed down with a swallow of hearty red wine. They're a discreet indulgence." -"Salon.com

""For anyone who has been bewitched by Venice, the melancholy of "Venetian Stories" rings true, and it is, indeed, part of the enchantment of the stories and the remarkable city that inspired them." -"The Seattle Times
"
"Wry yet poignant tales, the best of which startle with Edith Wharton-like twists...a rare, insider's perspective of a city whose uncertain future makes its past all the more dear."-"Vogue"

"These well-informed and well-told Venetian Stories may be as good an insider's guide as any for the contemporary traveler to the city." -"The Commercial Appeal
"
"In magnificent prose.... The reader slowly sees the never-ending circle of gossip, intrigue, and heart-wrenching stories of diminished wealth, uncertainty, and gloom that occurs in a city that will never again be what it once was, in a society that is, perhaps, as polluted as the Grand Canal itself." -"Booklist
"
"These are charming tales of the personal vision of a city with a highly public character. . . . Smart and vivid." -"Kirkus Reviews

" "Everything is connected in this clever book of 12 linked stories: islands, people, whole interesting cultures. . . . Rylands's intricately worked mosaic will please anyone heading to Venice or dreaming of the next visit." -"Publishers Weekly"

"Reading Venetian Stories""is like taking a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. . . . The pleasure is in the ride. . . . Serenissimaniacs only need apply." -"Dallas Morning News
"

Engaging Rylands writes with playful elegance and a crisp layer of understated wit. Los Angeles Times
Rylands stories are like a teaspoon of grated Parmesan washed down with a swallow of hearty red wine. They re a discreet indulgence. Salon.com
For anyone who has been bewitched by Venice, the melancholy of Venetian Stories rings true, and it is, indeed, part of the enchantment of the stories and the remarkable city that inspired them. The Seattle Times

Wry yet poignant tales, the best of which startle with Edith Wharton-like twists a rare, insider s perspective of a city whose uncertain future makes its past all the more dear. Vogue
These well-informed and well-told Venetian Stories may be as good an insider s guide as any for the contemporary traveler to the city. The Commercial Appeal

In magnificent prose . The reader slowly sees the never-ending circle of gossip, intrigue, and heart-wrenching stories of diminished wealth, uncertainty, and gloom that occurs in a city that will never again be what it once was, in a society that is, perhaps, as polluted as the Grand Canal itself. Booklist

These are charming tales of the personal vision of a city with a highly public character. . . . Smart and vivid. Kirkus Reviews
Everything is connected in this clever book of 12 linked stories: islands, people, whole interesting cultures. . . . Rylands s intricately worked mosaic will please anyone heading to Venice or dreaming of the next visit. Publishers Weekly
Reading Venetian Stories is like taking a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. . . . The pleasure is in the ride. . . . Serenissimaniacs only need apply. Dallas Morning News
"

About the Author:

Jane Turner Rylands grew up in Ohio and graduated from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. She taught English for the University of Maryland’s European division for seventeen years. She has lived in Venice since 1973 and is married to Philip Rylands, the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

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