In the heart of Venice, where reflections blur the boundary between the living and the dreamt, Life Stories 3: Serenissima — Behind The Masks unfolds as a metaphysical journey through memory, myth, and the mystery of existence.

Here, the City itself speaks — not as a setting, but as a living, breathing consciousness, shimmering between water and sky. Beneath its surface, three voices intertwine: the Monk, who seeks the divine through silence; the Mask Maker, who crafts identities from fragments of forgotten souls; and La Serenissima, the eternal City of Mirrors, whispering truths about illusion, time, and the soul’s longing to return to light.

The novel explores gnostic cosmology, reimagining the beginning of existence as both tragedy and revelation — the fall into form, and the remembrance of what lies beyond it. Through dreamlike vignettes, mythic symbolism, and cinematic prose, the story reveals Venice as more than a city: it becomes a metaphor for consciousness itself — suspended between the seen and unseen, between paranormal memory and divine imagination.

Each chapter moves fluidly between dimensions — from misted canals and hidden monasteries to celestial realms where gods and humans mirror one another. Through Sophia’s reawakening, the narrative exposes the illusion of time, showing that past and future are but reflections in the water of the now. Every mask, every persona, is a veil concealing the ineffable — until, at last, comes the Great Unmasking: La Grande Mascherata, the dance of souls stripped of illusion, where beauty and divinity are finally seen without disguise.

Blending urban contemporary mysticism with ancient myth and spiritual psychology, this is a novel of awakening — a mirror held to existence itself. It asks: What if life is the great masquerade — and we, the masked gods, dreaming ourselves into form?

Written with lyrical intensity and cinematic imagery, Serenissima — Behind The Masks brings together the sensual and the sacred, the human and the divine. Like Venice, it exists both inside and outside of time — a city, a soul, a memory, forever on the verge of revelation.

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Store Description

We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

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Pbshop.co.uk Ltd
Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road, Fairford, GL7 4BX, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.

Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.

Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
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Right of cancellation

If you are a consumer you can cancel the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE RIGHT OF CANCELLATION

Statutory Right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us, Paperbackshop-US, 901 Penhorn Avenue, Unit 6, 07094, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.A., 44 1285 712917, of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. You can also electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". If you use this option, we will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a cancellation on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel with contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us or Paperbackshop-US, PaperbackShopUS, 801 Penhorn Avenue Unit 5, 07094, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.A., 44 1285 712917, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your cancellation from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of cancellation

The right of cancellation does not apply to:

the delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
the supply of digital content (including ebooks) which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not cancel it once delivery had started.

Model withdrawal form

(complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To: (Paperbackshop-US, 901 Penhorn Avenue, Unit 6, 07094, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.A., 44 1285 712917)

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*),

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)

Name of consumer(s)

Address of consumer(s)

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)

Date

* Delete as appropriate.

Shipping Terms

Books are shipped from our US or UK warehouses. Delivery estimates allow for delivery from either location.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 14 business days	7 to 14 business days
First item	� 0.00	� 0.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.