A Review of The City of Falling Angels, written by John Berendt
Summarised by Melissa Stromberg.

Quoting Count Girolamo Marcello: "Sunlight on a canal is reflected up through a window onto the ceiling, then from the ceiling onto a vase, and from the vase onto a glass. Which is the real sunlight? Which is the real reflection? What is true? What is not true? The answer is not so simple, because the truth can change. I can change. You can change. That is the Venice effect."

Author, John Berendt is not as concerned with plot as he is with the stories of the extraordinary, eccentric Venetians, living and deceased, who fill the pages of his book, The City of Falling Angels. In what often reads like a gossip column, peppered with the names and dubious secrets of the rich and famous, Berendt seems, at times, to get mired in the details of unrelated events. As we read on, we find that our author and narrator is slowly peeling away layers of “truth,” asking questions and examining the account of each character, one by one, as he tries to unmask Venice, and discover what happened on the night of the fire that destroyed the historic Fenice Theatre.

Though Berendt does not state whom he believes was responsible for the fire that destroyed the Fenice, he presents the facts in the case, including the names of the accused and testimony from their family members, allowing the reader to decide for him or herself. In fact, the answer to this question of “who done it?” is not really the point.

Venice is a hauntingly beautiful, enigmatic place, the setting for Shakespearean plays and a tourist destination for millions each year, but few stop to consider that this quirky, small town divided by many canals is also a spectacular setting for real-life drama. Berendt invites us to linger a bit, and in the process, through his eyes, we are introduced to people and places we would not ordinarily encounter.

Venetians, such as the feuding Seguso family of glass blowers, the Count Marcello, the poet and others, seem to share a flair for the dramatic and an air of melancholy. Along the way, we also meet expatriate Brits and Americans who have made Venice their home. These individuals seem to share a common desire to escape their past and remake themselves in Venice, where they can easily assume whatever identity they choose. Among their stories, the swindling of Olga Rudge, Ezra Pound's long-time mistress, by the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is particularly scandalous.

Again and again, we find references to truth vs. illusion, but we also find themes of preservation vs. renewal. The Fenice is being rebuilt “as it was, where it was” (com'era, dov'era), but only the exterior shell will be the “original” Fenice, and changes are inevitable. In fact, the opera house has been rebuilt many times, each time in a slightly different way.

To visit the website for the newly rebuilt Fenice, go to http://www.teatrolafenice.it/.