On John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels

The Mysteries of Venice Come Alive in this Venetian Tale

Jul 1, 2009

From the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, comes a story full of art historical references including a first hand glimpse of Peggy Guggenheim's villa.

Just like with his New York Times best-selling hit, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berendt takes a city full of magic and illusion and creates a story, heavily based in the art and architecture of Venice as well as the politics behind them. Centered around the infamous burning of Venice's ornate opera house, the Fenice, Berendt goes beneath the overall veil that shrouds Venice and brings to life a colorful cast of players who all have a deeply seeded stake in the ongoings of the city and the art that it has created.

A View of a Floating Museum

Quite masterfully, Berendt creates a colorful stage for this novel, pulling the reader into the politics that governs a city that was once seen as a world power and center for art and culture. He paints a clear picture of the attitudes and annoyances of a people who quite literally live their lives on a floating museum.

The Fenice Arson Trial

As in Midnight, Berendt takes the trial of the burning of the Fenice and places it at the forefront of his novel. With that, the reader is given a clear depiction of the passionate approach that the Venetians take to their culture and the need to historically preserve what has come before all while taking into account what can be destroyed for politics and above all else-- for money.

It is easy to try and compare to two books as they are based on a similar idea-- taking a city and a trial and covering the story behind the surface. However, what Berendt does in The City of Falling Angels is quite different from what readers found in his 1994 novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. What Berendt does in his second novel, is take the hype of an arson trial and turns it into a portrait of the players that make up Venetian society. He takes art, architecture, the churches and the piazzas and makes them into a spell-binding and unique view of an old Italian city which for the most part, has been overlooked in recent years when compared to its previous status as a world power.

All in all Berendt's The City of Falling Angels is a quick and intriguing read that will leave a reader wanting not only more of Berendt, but also wanting more of this illustrious city and culture.

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt is available through Penguin Press with ISBN 1594200580.

The copyright of the article On John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels in Art Books is owned by Katherine Kuzma-Beck. Permission to republish On John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.