• The City of Falling Angels

  • By: John Berendt
  • Narrated by: Holter Graham
  • Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
  • 3.6 out of 5 stars (561 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The City of Falling Angels  By  cover art

The City of Falling Angels

By: John Berendt
Narrated by: Holter Graham
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.23

Buy for $20.23

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

It was a few years ago that Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil achieved a record-breaking four-year run on The New York Times best-seller list. John Berendt's inimitable brand of nonfiction brought the dark mystique of Savannah so startlingly to life for millions of people that tourism to Savannah increased by 46 percent. It is Berendt and only Berendt who can capture Venice, a city of masks, a city of riddles, where the narrow, meandering passageways form a giant maze, confounding all who have not grown up wandering into its depths. Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years of history, art, and architecture, teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Its architectural treasures crumble, foundations shift, marble ornaments fall, even as efforts to preserve them are underway.

The City of Falling Angels opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Venice opera house. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in Venice three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective, inquiring into the nature of life in this remarkable museum-city-while gradually revealing the truth about the fire.

©2005 High Water Incorporated (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Funny, insightful, illuminating...[Venice] reveals itself, slowly, discreetly, under Berendt's gentle but persistent prying." (The Boston Globe)

"Berendt has given us something uniquely different....Thanks to [his] splendid city portrait, even those of us far from Venice can marvel." (The Wall Street Journal)

"One of the longest-awaited literary encores in recent times....Teems with a diverse cast of aristocrats and lowlifes....Berendt's voice is gentle and tolerant, reveling in human complexities; he has no pretensions of offering anything more than a good story." (The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about The City of Falling Angels

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    160
  • 4 Stars
    177
  • 3 Stars
    118
  • 2 Stars
    65
  • 1 Stars
    41
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    134
  • 4 Stars
    78
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    102
  • 4 Stars
    87
  • 3 Stars
    47
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

HIGHLY TEDIOUS AND BORING

This book is like if some described what it's like to read Nat Geo History and People magazines. Total waste of time and money.

Honestly, the best part was the interview with the author at the end. I feel totally let down after reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I truly can't believe this was the same author.

Don't bother unless you like listening to interviews on rumored, potential suspects of a crime.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring, Tedious

Character development never happens in this book. Maybe the opera house is the character? I cared most about that and I learned a little about Venice which I always enjoy. The writing was flat and extremely boring, with lots of details but it felt like work to listen to it and keep it all straight instead of piquing my interest and losing track of time in the distraction of the story. Big snoozer. I made it about 3/4 through this one and gave up. Just not worth my time. I can't remember much about it - especially about any of the characters because they are all dull.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Berendt does it again!

Great book !
Really loved the characters and the setting, it’s truly a magical place. Berendt captures the setting yet again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mundane

Merely a “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” account, except it covered a couple of years and happened to take place in Venice. There were a few interesting characters, but more a long series of brief caricatures. The tale of corruption could apply to any crime in any city, but I guess if you have to pick a place to visit, Venice is better than Cleveland.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

interviews

if you like interviews then this one is for you.

I should have read the description.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ah Venice!

Loved getting lost in the story of Venice!! I was transported to the lagoon listening to each of the stories!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If You Love Venice, You'll Love this Book

Would you consider the audio edition of The City of Falling Angels to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They were so many interesting characters that I can't pick just one as my favorite.

If you could give The City of Falling Angels a new subtitle, what would it be?

Eccentrics Abound

Any additional comments?

I found this book to be fascinating. The history, the people the author meets and the Venetian culture are very well described.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Starts off Strong, Then Gets Petty

Any additional comments?

The book starts off strong, full of quirky characters and capturing the uniqueness of Venice. I am a fan of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and it felt lovingly similar to it... in the beginning. But somewhere about 1/2 through the book, the author focuses on a major scandal and controversy and the book becomes "He said, She said". It reminded me of: 1) Holiday fighting with my family where ancient aunts bring up decades old grievances, 2) Junior High Girls spattering about just want Jenny did, 3) a kind of b*tchy commentary. If you choose to read, stop when you get into the part where a couple dotes on an aged, wealthy invalid.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than you can imagine

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. It provided insight into a few personalities of Venice.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have linked even more of the history to present day events.

What three words best describe Holter Graham’s performance?

Steady. Comfortable. Competetent.

Did The City of Falling Angels inspire you to do anything?

Yes. It inspired me to listen to Peter Ackroyd's Venice: Pure City

Any additional comments?

Give it a go. You'll be surprised at what you hear.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Yawn.

I was so excited to listen to this. I loved Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- both the book and the movie. But I should have listened to the other reviews I read about this and saved my credit. Don't waste your time.

Of note: the narrator has a very soothing voice -- I did some of my best daydreaming while it was on...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!