This is a love story more than a travel story. And
not all of those thousand days are spent in Venice. I actually read the
sequel to this book "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" before I read this
book. I really don't think it matters what order you read them in
though.
De Blasi was in Venice for a job. With a few friends she
was scoping out some wine bars, working on an article. When she goes
to leave though she's told by the owner that she has a phone call. It
turns out to be a man who has admired her from afar. Many phone calls
later she agrees to meet him, and this stranger becomes a new journey in
life for her.
Peter, I mean Fernando, looks like Peter Sellers.
No really, De Blasi reminds us of this nearly ever chapter. He seems
sullen and moody to me and I'm not sure what the attraction is, but she
seems to like him well enough. De Blasi herself really likes the
physical things in life. Food, fabric, and other such novelties. Which
I can't blame her for. I'm obsessed with the same things myself. And I
think she's brave for leaving most everything behind to live somewhere
else, although I do think it was a little foolhardy. I would have liked
to hear more about the other people they interacted with, but it didn't
get beyond little snippets on anyone else.
So there actually
wasn't much of Venice described. There was some, and a lot of
description about food, but overall this was a love story and the story
of how she met her husband. Not what I was expecting but at least the
small amount of travel and food kept me through it. I did like the
descriptions of the food, De Blasi definitely deserves her spot as a
food writer as she is able to write about food in an evocative way. You
can almost taste it. It's a small book, and the back of it actually
has a bunch of recipes and a section on what to do in Venice. There's
also a reading group section.
Not a book for those looking to
learn about Venice I think, but if you want a little love story with
some food, this is probably going to be up your alley.
A Thousand Days In Venice
Copyright 2002
272 pages
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