Armand

This is a good followup story in this series. As usual the authors clean and clear descriptions of the geography allows you to feel like you are there. The geopolitical message continues to be relevent encased into an exciting story.

This authored has managed to put a fresh and clever face on this type of novel. Every bit was interesting, witty and felt real. My only regret was no follow up books and no movie.
You will enjoy it.

There are short parts in this novel that one revisits the beaty in the writing and character illumination of the authors previous (masterpiece)- Middlesex. However the novel in total in my opinion could have used significant pruning and the story was of limited interest.

As with the previous 2 books of this genre by the author, this book shines. In many ways I consider it the most complex yet compared to the previous 2 novels, all the action takes place in a relatively small space- in a convent.The characters are 3 dimensional, the politics within the convent mirror the larger political forces of that era. And the description of the honest spiritual yearnings of the nuns is balanced with the psychology of supression, rationalization and sublimation as attempts to maintain their sanity since these women were imprisoned from childhood.
I am very sorry its the last novel; hopefully there will be a 4th.

Nice information on Venice, and if accurate an unfortunately sad tale of arrogance and greed in present day Italy. The story line is secondary to the extremely detailed description of the main characters psyche; the ending is flat.