Venetian Vespers

A Novel

By: John Banville

Narrated by: Luke Thompson

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORKER RECOMMENDED BOOK • IRISH BESTSELLER

“A stylish escapade that even Henry James might relish." —Wall Street Journal

A masterful, enthralling new novel from the Booker Prize winner

Everything was a puzzle, everything a trap set to mystify and hinder me. . . .

1899. As the new century approaches, struggling English writer Evelyn Dolman—a hack, by his own description—marries Laura Rensselaer, daughter of an American oil tycoon. Evelyn anticipates that he and Laura will inherit a substantial fortune and lead a comfortable, settled life. But his hopes are dashed when a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, just before the patriarch’s death, leads to her disinheritance.

The unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice to celebrate the New Year at the Palazzo Dioscuri, ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo. From their first moments in the mist-blanketed floating city, otherworldly occurrences begin to accumulate. Evelyn’s already jangled nerves fray further. Where has Laura disappeared to? How to explain the increasingly sinister circumstances closing around him? Could he be losing his mind?

Venetian Vespers is a haunting, atmospheric novel from one of the most sophisticated stylists of our time.

Bravo

A well written novel delivered superbly. Having recently from Venice. We can only hope for a sequel.

Great performance of a middling story

Great performance but the story was ultimately unsatisfying - very clever deception with a morally compromised victim, yet it ultimately felt a bit pointless

Slow

Everything was just ok. I would not recommend this book. Characters were not believable was my opinion.

Suspenseful From Start to Finish

I do not think that I have ever read or listened to a book in which I thoroughly disliked each and ever character. A best, they are criminal. At worst, they are sociopaths. But the evil nature of the characters does not subtract one bit from this marvelously entertaining story. As a matter of fact, the story hinges on it. If you are looking for a sweet Venetian romance, save a credit. But if you have been searching for a story in which suspense begins to build in the first paragraphs and continues to the closing words, give "Venetian Vespers" a try. You will not be disappointed.

TOO MANY WORDS

AS ABOVE. THIS WOULD HAVE MADE A BRILLIANT SHORT STORY BUT BECAME TEDIOUS AND REDUNDANT