I’ve never been to Venice and other than, “It’s got canals”, i know nothing about the place, so i can genuinely say that any knowledge of Venice is not required to enjoy this book.
Our protagonist, Luca, is the oldest son of one of Venice’s finest gondola makers, and when he completely burns his bridges (literally) on his future at his family’s squero he is left homeless and penniless. Refusing to leave the city he needs to find a way to survive and rebuild his life.
We then follow Luca’s ups and downs as he takes the reader on a journey around 16th century Venice through every layer of life.
It’s certainly not a book of twists and turns and subplots and stuff, it’s really quite a simple story. But it is a wonderfully written story that gives the reader a real feel of life in historical Venice from the view of the working gondoliers and those they interact with that make this book so compelling.
Next up, ‘Bridge of Sighs’, a little short by Laura from this Venice of the past.
