The Venice Sketchbook

Rhys Bowen has spent much time in Venice, and is the perfect person to guide us, via fiction, into the city with a compelling story. We visit famous places, but also the small niches only an old culture and centuries of residents can provide. Two stories are told: one is the about the gutsy move of a teacher from a small English town to study art in Venice for a year. The year is 1938 and soon the teacher is trapped in the city. The second story is about a deathbed gift to the artist's niece to unlock a secret the aunt had kept all her life. This book is brilliant in portraying the difference in cultures, classes and personalities. The visual descriptions of Venice make you believe you are there. There is plenty of mystery, but it's subtle, not unlike the mysteries we encounter in our own lives. This is a book that is hard to put down, with beautiful writing to enjoy on your voyage.