Scherzo: Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice

by Jim Williams

MEET two unusual detectives. Ludovico - a young man who has had his testicles cut off for the sake of opera. And Monsieur Arouet - a fraudster, or just possibly the philosopher Voltaire.

VISIT the setting. Carnival time in mid-18th century Venice, a city of winter mists, and the season of masquerade and decadence.

ENCOUNTER a Venetian underworld of pimps, harlots, gamblers, forgers and charlatans.

BEWARE of a mysterious coterie of aristocrats, Jesuits, Freemasons and magicians.

DISCOVER a murder: that of the nobleman, Sgr Alessandro Molin, found swinging from a bridge with his innards hanging out and a message in code from his killer.

Scherzo is a murder mystery of sparkling vivacity and an historical novel of stunning originality told with a wit and style highly praised by critics and nominated for the Booker Prize.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Italy, Fantasy, 18th Century

390 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 1998

About the author

Jim Williams first hit the news when his early novels had the uncanny knack of coming true. The Hitler Diaries was published nine months before the celebrated forgery came out in 1983. Farewell to Russia dealt with a nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union months before the Chernobyl disaster. Lara's Child, his sequel to Doctor Zhivago, provoked an international literary scandal and led to his being a guest speaker at the Cheltenham Festival. Scherzo, a witty and elegant mystery set in eighteenth century Venice, was nominated for the Booker Prize. All of his fiction has been published internationally. Tango in Madeira is his eleventh novel.

From the author:

I was born in Oldham, England, the son of a coal miner and a cotton mill worker and grew up in circumstances that would today be considered poor. However I had loving parents and benefitted from a good education.

I have a degree in law and sociology and speak French, German and Spanish and have a smattering of other languages. Since 1970 I've been a qualified barrister, though I no longer practice. I am a Fellow of the Indian Society of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the founder and a fellow of the Institute of Applied Charlatanry. One of these qualifications is entirely worthless and I leave you to guess which.

The most important fact in my life is that I have had a long and loving marriage to a wonderful wife, and my grown-up family still gather with us most Sundays for a family dinner.

I seem to have a happy, easy-going nature and I take a great deal of pleasure in ordinary things such as walking or gardening. My wife and I enjoy theatre, ballet, opera, paintings and dancing at every possible opportunity.

Reviews

[Tiziana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a Carnival-themed mystery or at least in which Venetian masks had an important role, given that in Italy we are celebrating Carnival ( started on January 28th and ending today February 13th, which is Mardi Gras).

Perhaps it's the strangest mystery I've ever read and if there hadn't been some gruesome scenes and a couple of chapters, I could have given it 5 stars.
I rate it 3.7 instead, so I round it up to 4 stars.

___THE PLOT ___
Ludovico the German, a young 21-year-old eunuch, actor and singer in 18th century Venice, is hired by a Venetian nobleman, Signor Morosini ( Mr. Morosini) as a singing teacher for his daughter and as an entertainer in evenings with guests.
One evening, after a dinner attended by several aristocratic people, he and Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher, heading home, discover a corpse with a mask and cloak, hanged from a bridge.
It soon turns out that the dead man was a nobleman, a friend of Mr. Morosini and part of an important political body, the Council of Ten, which had an important role in the management of the Republic of Venice.
Among the alleys and canals of Venice, among the gambling houses and other vices and the political and religious intrigues, in pursuit of enemies or chased by enemies, the French philosopher and his new friend Ludovico will try to unravel the mystery and bring the truth to light.
__

The eighteenth-century setting fascinated me and I liked the fact that an actor-singer was narrating the story even more.
The inclusion of other historical characters increased my enthusiasm for reading as I proceeded with the story told. However, as I already mentioned, I would have shortened some chapters or even avoided them altogether and I would have avoided some crude scenes in the final part.

___ WHAT I LIKED __

__LUDOVICO, THE MAIN CHAARCTER__ I really liked the main character, who tells firsthand most of the events that led to the discovery of the body, its investigation and the solution.
Ludovico is a boy of only 21 years old, with a lot of life experience on his shoulders.
The fact of being a eunuch ( in those days young singers were emasculated before puberty, in order to maintain a high-pitched voice in adulthood), having had a hard life and having suffered abuse and being despised by society as a person, because neither man nor woman, did not undermine his good heart and soul.
In a story where the Venetian society of the time is portrayed at its worst, Ludovico and his humor and self-irony always managed to put me in a good mood.

___HISTORICAL FIGURES ___ The nice surprise was the participation in the story of 3 very famous historical figures, but since the whole plot takes place in the balance between truth and illusion (as is also the function of the masks), the author does not reveal the 3 official names to us well known throughout the world, but the real names of the 3 men. So if it had not been for my passion to check everything on Wikipedia, I would not have known about these 3 historical figures until the end, when the author reveals it.

- The first historical figure of the three I mentioned, leads the investigation and makes Ludovico his assistant.
I'm speaking of Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher , better known to the world as VOLTAIRE . In this book you will be able to read some of his real letters.

- Many films have been made about this historical side character. In this novel he is a good friend of Ludovico and his adventures are intertwined with some characters indirectly and directly involved in the crime.
I'm speaking of Jaque De Seingalt, a great Italian seducer and libertine, very well known to the world as CASANOVA .
In his memoirs, written in French as was the fashion of the time, they report his full name: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt . We find some extracts right here in the story

- The third historical figure I was referring to it's someone that seems to help the investigation with his knowledge, but actually he adds even more fog and illusion to a plot that is deliberately complicated and misleading for the reader.
He has a smaller role than the others, but I liked the inclusion because in real life, he was imprisoned and died in a stronghold which is located a few kilometers from where I live and I have visited it many times. So I know this character since I was child.
I'm speaking of Signor Giuseppe Balsamo, an Italian occultist, alchemist ( and many other things, including to be a charlatan), known in the world with the name of COUNT OF CAGLIOSTRO .

__ THE INTERTWINING OF THE MYSTERY __
Although at the beginning the book started with several chapters that seemed unrelated to each other and it took me at least 15% of the novel to be able to orient myself and fully get into the story, I must admit that the mystery plot was well thought out and the author managed to connect all the threads of the canvas in a skillful way.

I happened to read some whodunits with a complicated plot, where the author himself got lost, failing in the end to give a probable solution.
This is not the case: here everything adds up and the air of confusion that reigns is only a trick of false truths and illusions that the author wants to insert into his story.

___ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED __

-- The main narrator of the whole story is the young Ludovico, but his narrations are alternated with letters from Mr. Arouet to his nephew, from Signor Feltrinelli to his sister, from an elderly countess to an old lover of hers and extracts from Monsieur Jacque De Seingalt's memoirs.
Letters and memoirs were a little too long and a bit boring to me.

-- I knew that this wasn't a cozy mystery and therefore I could expect something more raw... but there are some scenes in one of the final chapters of the book, which are truly disgusting ( they represented imaginary scenes from Hell... and that is not my cup of tea !!!).
I read them quickly, but if they hadn't been there at all I would have preferred it and also it wouldn't have damaged the intrigue and mystery.

-- The depravity of Venice at the time told in a non-vulgar but quite clear way, in long sex-scenes that I would have preferred to be shorter... it was boring

-- You will have noticed that in my review I use the words Signor and Monsieur... this is because the author himself, in his book written in English, inserts not only these two words in Italian and French, but really MANY Italian words, typical of the place and time, but also not typical (and which he could therefore translate into English), many references written in French and also in Latin.
---> I am from Italy and of course I had no problems with Italian words.I also speak French and had no problem with that either.
Luckily Latin had the translation in a note, BUT THERE WERE NO NOTES WITH TRANSLATION for the dozens and dozens of Italian words inserted... how can an English-speaking reader read a book with foreign words inserted almost on every page and of which he doesn't know the meaning?
I have read books with medieval and Victorian settings that contained a small vocabulary for the words used at that time, so that the reader could fully understand everything.
In my opinion the publisher and the writer were negligent in this case.

__ IN CONCLUSION __
If I had read a review like mine before choosing the book... I WOULDN'T HAVE READ IT, because of the things mentioned among those I didn't like... also I really hate long length books.
But I have to admit that now that I've read it, overall I liked it.
--> So before marking it on your WTR shelf or discarding it, think carefully.

NOTE : English is not my native language, I hope I was still able to explain everything in an understandable way.

[Gwynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish. Hard to follow.

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much more than it appears on the surface. Yes there is a murder mystery, but it's the back story and the two main characters that push this book into the realm of the amazing. The setting is 18 century Venice. The main storyteller is a eunuch by the name of Ludovico, who describes himself as a preening coward. His counterpart and the foil to this extremely colourful character is Monsieur Arouet. Mr. Arouet is a taciturn, mysterious person who appears in Venice and somehow falls right into the middle of the murder of an upper class Venetian. Monsieur Arouet sets out to try solve this murder that seems to be part of some secret ceremony, and he uses Ludovico to help him as Ludovico has access into some of the upper class Venetian homes that he doesn't. The descriptions of Venice as it would have been in the 18 century are extremely realistic. And do we ever get a realistic look into the 18 century Venetian underworld while we follow Ludovico around! It was an era of extremes. Much richness and lavishness, and much poverty and despair. And it's not always the poor people who commit terrible crimes. The rich go to extreme lengths to cover up their numerous misdeeds and debaucheries. The word "scherzo" apparently means "joke" and this book is that too. It is so colourfully written and so realistic that it's like watching a play. I loved Ludovico. We see him as a young man of 21 who has been cruelly mutilated in order that he will retain his beautiful singing voice. He is insecure and almost expects everyone to hold him in contempt, but as he works with Monsieur Arouet he matures and and becomes a man who finds his place in his madcap world. I received this book as an early reviewer book, and am so glad that I did because I don't think I would have read it otherwise. I loved it!

[Ikebukuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, first because I love Venice and also because I love mystery. I liked the way the author set up a lot of secondary stories and characters in this book and a lot of plots. The writing was amazing, the reader has no difficulty to imagine the 18th Century Venice: mist from the laguna, shadows at nightfall… descriptions wasn't boring and help the reader to feel the atmosphere in the streets or in the palaces.


Une plongée à travers la Venise du 18ème, mystérieuse et sensuelle, où les puissants et les humbles se mélangent sous le couvert des masques et des ombres. On emprunte les canaux, les petites rues et les ponts en compagnie de Mr Arouet et de Ludovico, pour tenter de démêler les fils de ce crime à la sordide mise en scène. Un livre plein de mystère, érudit et cruel, à l’image de la Sérénissime, où les hommes et les femmes jouent le jeu de la trahison et du mensonge. On suit plusieurs personnages à la fois, des histoires d’amour et de libertinage se glissent dans les intrigues et comme souvent dans l’Italie de l’époque, la religion n’est jamais très loin des luttes de pouvoir. Les personnages sont complexes et leur évolution au cours de l’histoire particulièrement intéressante à suivre ; même si quelques fois j’ai eu l’impression de m’y perdre un peu avec le nombre d’histoires parallèles que l’on suit au fil du roman. J’ai particulièrement apprécié Ludovico, il est touchant à travers ses errances et à travers son jeu de la séduction et c’est avant tout le besoin de se sentir aimé qui le fait avancer. Les personnages féminins sont un peu maltraités : manipulatrices ou manipulées, les femmes n’ont pas toujours le beau rôle dans le roman mais cela donne du piquant à l’intrigue.

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’écriture de l’auteur, la richesse généreuse du vocabulaire avec ce mélange gourmand de mots italiens qui ponctuent les textes. On n’a aucun mal à imaginer les costumes, les palais vénitiens, le mouvement des gondoles sur les canaux… J’ai la chance d’avoir visité Venise et je n’ai eu aucune peine à retrouver l’ambiance si particulière qui fait tout son charme à la tombée de la nuit : ce monde à part, hors de temps où les voix sont étouffées par cette brume nocturne qui monte de la lagune certains soirs. Et comme dans beaucoup de romans se passant à Venise, la ville devient rapidement un personnage à part entière de l’histoire. J’ai beaucoup aimé l’ambiance, l’intrigue, les personnages… et j’ai passé un très bon moment de lecture.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read two very different yet intriguing reviews of this book and decided to crack this 18th century Venetian whodunit. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. Although I learned some new vocabulary ,which is always a treat, I found the reading to be torturous. The author notes that it is a "jeu d"esprit" novel that is part historical fiction, part epistolary novel, part mystery and part joke. Too many parts to create a cohesive read in my opinion. From the very beginning, I found it confusing to understand who was speaking and their role in the story.At least, that eased as I read on. It did not work as an epistolary novel for me. As for historical fiction- there was a mixture of eras, a mixture of characters from various time periods living concurrently - it did not work for me. As a mystery: the whodunit mystery was mildly interesting and the mystery of the identity of the detective less so. " Scherzo" means joke and the joke was on me. The author admits to have had fun in writing this book ,this reader had no fun in the reading of it.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5--Initially captivated by the notion of a mystery set in 18th century Venice—a perfect venue for a murky watered mystery—I took a chance on this BookBub offer. Unlike the many reviewers who report gradually losing interest, I progressed from indifference to something verging on engrossment. I must confess that save the two lead characters, the similarity among the names of the characters confused me. The second half of the novel was much more compelling perhaps because I mastered the characters but more importantly, because I gradually recognized that our protagonist who limned himself as all fluff and froth was actually built of sturdier stuff, a person of greater interest. Even though I minimally experienced the suspense I expected from a whodunit mystery (save that evoked in the extraordinary Dantesque segment of the tour of the deteriorated mansion), I enjoyed plumbing the more significant mystery of whether an individual whose physical integrity has been irrevocably violated can experience a sense of personal wholeness.

[Sarah Nurgat · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is often the case these days, my decision to read this book was based on its Kindle price (cheap at the time), the Amazon rating and reader reviews. It is very unusually written and I didn't quite know what to make of it at first. I carried on reading because I was intrigued; Williams does a great job of pulling you in. My favourite thing about the story was the main character Ludovico, a eunuch. He is self-deprecating and completely unaware of his own worth and intelligence, often making perceptive observations and then dismissing them. He is also a very human character with great sympathy for others, despite his own sorry situation. The story is really about him coming into his own, which I didn't expect at all.

[Lady Alexandrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had SO MUCH fun with this book! I am looking forward to reading more books by Jim Williams.

[Lefki Sarantinou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα μαγευτικό μυστήριο στη Βενετία του 18ου αιώνα! Απεικονίζει υπέροχα τη βενετική κοινωνία και τον γεωγραφικό χώρο της, μαζί με μία γρήγορη πλοκή!

[Alison C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
As its subtitle suggests, Scherzo: Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice, by Jim Williams, concerns a murder in Venice and the thoughts, deductions and conclusions of the private citizens who make it their business to solve the crime. One is a famous French philosopher, visiting Venice for reasons of his own and using the name M. Arouet; another is our narrator, Signor Ludovico, a castrato, sometime actor and general vagabond who gets by as well as he can. While Ludovico describes himself as a shallow person able only to see the surface of others, Arouet evidently sees some depth in him and takes him on as a sort of apprentice, sort of sounding board, as they try to discover the identity of the murderer; but that person might not be satisfied with just one death!.... This was an Early Review freebie from LibraryThing, and is not something I likely would have stumbled across on my own. I'm of mixed feelings about it: on the one hand, the story is interesting and the setting well-drawn; on the other, Ludovico tells us at the outset that he's an unreliable narrator and after a while his narration became tedious to me. There are also interjected sections - letters from various characters to "off-screen" relatives, one series of which in particular serves to add some (very lewd) humour to the mix and then is abruptly dropped. Eventually, I found myself slogging towards the end rather than savouring the tale or the writing, and by the end I didn't care whodunnit at all. So, a bit disappointing to me.

[Richard Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scherzo is a joyride through the mists and murky canals of eighteenth century Venice. It is a cavalcade of duplicitous struggles as all levels of Venetian society, from the alley thugs right up to the Doge's party regulars, engage in broad measures of deceit. A young, castrato tenor has had the fortune to find a patron, but his fortune soon becomes questionable as the murder of a wealthy, connected Venetian begins to bring out the worst in almost everyone near to the situation, including a Frenchman that may or may not be an important philosopher posing as chief detective.

Nothing and no one is as they seem. The writer has captured a wonderful slice of period voice and life as the main character's self-doubts and chagrin is mirrored everywhere he sees devious behavior, questionable motives and hidden agenda, even among the religious set. Maybe mostly among the religious set. Author Williams has wisely chosen a correspondence driven form, which is as historically accurate as it is clever. Fans of the period will rejoice in this book';s intrigues and the level of setting detail, plus, the author throws his readers a rare treat which is revealed at the end. I'm not saying'. Buy this book and be carried along with a smile on your face the whole time. Add a star if somewhat obscure references in Latin, French and Italian don't slow your read. In any case, they are all well bookmarked.

[Sabina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially a murder mystery, set in 18th century Venice, told by several narrators, but mainly a young castrato opera singer who is involved with solving the murder. Despite what this might sound like, this story isn't exactly action-packed. There are lots of subplots, dead ends and asides (Casanova makes an appearence) and nothing is quite what it seems. What makes this book compelling is the writing which is truly superb. Not exactly beautiful, but very clever, very elegant and witty. A great read!

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book showed up on my BookBub list for 99 cents . I was not familiar with the author but the description intrigued me since it was set in 18 century Venice and involved a castrato and perhaps Voltaire as the "detectives". I would give it 3 and a half stars. The murder is really just the hook to hang much more on, including philosophy, social commentary and politics. Maybe not as erudite as Name of the Rose, but he captures 18th century Venice in much the same was as Eco did the medieval monastery

[Ruby Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, entertaining and amusing. The eunuch Ludovico is hilarious, although ultimately courageous. His Casanova-like friend Giacomo is a deluded Lothario. Monsieur Arouet is enigmatic and I think he probably is, in fact, Voltaire. Scherzo will have you transported to the time and place, talking in strange voices and wishing you could hide, like the cast, behind a mask and commit deeds of daring, love and intrigue. Highly recommended.

[Marina Maidou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Διαδραματίζεται στη Βενετία, αλλά κάτι λείπει. Όχι οι λεπτομέρειες (μου αρέσουν οι λεπτομέρειες), ούτε η διαφαινόμενη αδιαφορία του συγγραφέα για το ποιος είναι ο δολοφόνος. Αλλά, για να είμαι ειλικρινής, ίσως όλη η ιστορία με το έγκλημα θα μπορούσε να λείπει εντελώς. Τόσο εύκολο να γραφεί, αλλά δύσκολο να διαβαστεί; Όχι, νομίζω ότι στην πραγματικότητα η αδυναμία του συγγραφέα είναι ότι η ιδέα του Σκέρτσου (Αστείου) πήρε τόσο μεγάλο μέρος του βιβλίου που στο τέλος έχασε την ταυτότητά του: να καλύψει μια τρομερή δολοφονία με το αστραφτερό, κομψό και λαμπυρίζον πέπλο που έχει η Βενετία. Κάτι που γίνεται εύκολα στα βιβλία αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας της Ντόνα Λεόν με τον επιθεωρητή Μπρουνέτι που διαδραματίζονται στην σημερινή Βενετία.
It's set in Venice, it has a crime, but something is missed. Not the details (I like details), not the somehow the author's few interest about who's the murderer. But, to be honest, maybe even the crime shouldn't be part of the story at all. Too easy to write, but difficult to read? No, I think in fact that the weakness of this novel is that the idea of the scherzo (joke) took so big part of the story that it lost its identity: to cover the horrible story of a murder with the lucent, elegant and sparkish veil which Venice has. Something that easily happens in Dona Leon's mystery fiction novels with Inspector Brunetti which are set in today Venice.

[Sue Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a DNF I'm afraid. Could not get into it, could not feel any enthusiasm for continuing it. Despite appearing to be a page turner with the book description I could not love it. I got to 50% and gave up.
I'll add a better review soon and elaborate upon why I disliked it but for now I'm definitely putting this one firmly behind me.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much as I usually enjoy historical mysteries and books set in Venice, this one didn't really grab me. The plot was kind of all over the place, and between the (deliberately?) messy structure and florid prose, I ended up skimming more often than not and didn't particularly care about the actual murder mystery or its solution.

[KT · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Such promising premise and such poor execution. It takes a special skill to make Venice sound boring.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Warning: brief plot spoilers are discussed.*
This story was set somewhere in either the 17th or 18th centuries, told through the eyes of a young opera singer who got thrown into a murder mystery among the higher society ranks of Venice, Italy. The book begins with a rather long preface about what should and shouldn't be believed, as well as a stern warning from the narrator that he, too, is a rather unsavory character and probably shouldn't be believed either.

I wasn't used to this style of writing before reading Scherzo so it took me awhile to really get into the book, but once I was in I was in. I think the manner in which the plot came together was rather smart; if you weren't paying close attention you'd miss it. Anonymous pieces of correspondence that at first seem insignificant, little bits of dialogue that at first appear to have no meaning, all slowly come together over the course of the book but at the end, is there even a conclusion? The murder was never definitively solved, no one person was ever brought to justice. But then again, was anyone ever really murdered to begin with? Wasn't it all just a jest for the sake of telling a good story? While I do understand that, I guess I just prefer more closure at the end of my stories.

I do have to say that I liked how events came to pass, even if it did come together a little more slowly than I am accustomed to. I also enjoyed figuring out who was who from the correspondence and random bits sprinkled throughout the story. It reminded me a bit of an Agatha Christie book, in that every person involved had something unsavory about their character, something to call the quality of their character into question. That part I enjoyed. Sometimes the dialogue seemed a bit too complicated just for the sake of being so, and this wore on my brain after awhile. If you aren’t paying attention, the tone of the dialogue could make even the more humorous situations appear almost somber. Unless that was the intention, I think the humor could have been better executed. While I did not completely dislike the book, I can’t say I loved it either.

A full review of this book is on my blog.

[Lianne]

I received a copy of this novel through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2...

This title is a DNF on my shelf. I will say that the historical details about Venice and the cultural and social aspects of the time period were nicely fleshed out. Characters talk about the political situation in Venice and the law-enforcing bodies that are present at the time. It gives the novel an atmosphere and instills in the mind of the reader that these characters are thriving and surviving in this world.

The story itself starts off well, the murder occurring within a few chapters and setting up the basis for the rest of the story. The characters have different impressions and thoughts about what happened to Sgr Molin, interlaced with other happenings going on in the characters' lives. At first I was not sure what to make of the novel because of these differing perspectives, plus the insertions of letters to loved ones and distant family members in between talking about other things going on in their lives and in the city. It gives the reader a sense of life at that time period but in terms of the story, I wasn't sure where it was going or what ties the characters of Ludovico and Monsieur Arouet to the murder mystery. I found there was nothing really keeping me invested in the story or the characters (I don't know, the narrative sort of left them rather bland in my mind).

Thus after 30% into the story, I had to put it down. It just would not be fair to drag myself through the rest of the novel and end up giving it a low review because I just could not get into it. I may pick it up again sometime in the future but for now other readers may have better luck than me and find this book of interest.

[Barbara Scott-Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 18th century Venice of Scherzo by Jim Williams is hallucinatory and filled with intrigue. La Serenissima hides in the mists and miasmas that hover over her canals and seep into her alleyways; her citizens creep through her streets cloaked and masked. Dark deeds are performed by hidden hands and mystery abounds.

Scherzo is ostensibly the story of a murder and its investigation but it is also the evocation of a particular time and a particular place brought to life in fascinating detail.

The protagonist is Ludovico, a castrato, mutilated as a boy to enable him to pursue a musical career. Ludovico is a colourful character who mixes with both high and low Venetians. He makes the acquaintance of the mysterious Monsieur Arouet, who may or may not be Voltaire and the pair attempt to solve the murder of a high-born citizen.

Written in Williams' gloriously flamboyant style, this is a romp through the lives of a variety of characters (including Casanova) taking in art, philosophy and secret societies along the way.

Though a possible culprit is found, there may not be a definitive solution to the murder mystery. Indeed there may not have been a murder at all.

The language is rich, the intrigue is tangled and the characters may not be who they claim to be. This is a wild tale about lies and illusion, with a narrator so unreliable even he doesn't know when he's telling the truth.

It's worth bearing in mind that 'scherzo' means joke (and 'Ludo' means 'I play') and there is much joking and playfulness in this wonderful book.

[Kay Sachse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jim Williams: Scherzo
When I was introduced to that book, I thought that it might be just the thing I liked: The story is mainly told by a young castrato singer who becomes part of a murder scheme in Venice in the late 18th century. That sounded just great but Williams apparently wanted much more of his story but also less: less opera singing, less real murder plot and less personal development of the characters. But those characters, especially young Ludovico, the poor eunuch, and the philosopher Arouet, possibly Voltaire, are just as enigmatic (or superficial) after reading 300 pages. Most parts of the story are told by Ludovico who describes his work for a nobleman in Venice and his share of the murder investigation after an important citizen of the town is brutally killed. But due to a lot of sub-stories about seduction, deduction, betrayal and whatsoever, I always lost track of the page-turning-idea of the book. As soon as things started to get interesting, Williams introduced something completely different that he might find entertaining or amusing, but – alas – I did not.
So, I have to admit that I was more than relieved when I finally reached page 300 which will leave the reader mainly just as puzzled and left behind as was to be feared after the first 50 pages.
I truly admire Williams’ imagination and phantasy but, well, this was definitely not the exciting or humorous read I was hoping for. What a pity.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scherzo by definition, frequently refers to a fast-moving humorous composition which may or may not be part of a larger work.

Scherzo the novel fits this definition well and is written as a historical murder-mystery set in eighteenth-century Venice. Our narrator throughout the novel is a now aged Ludovico il Tedesco, a castrato singer. Ludovico's narrative plus a collection of letters and excerpts from the broad range of characters makes the story move along and constantly kept me wondering what in the world was going to happen next.

Ludovico's character was very different and, due to his unique situation, was often put into hilarious situations. The plot of the murder was sometimes secondary to figuring out what each of the other characters was up to. Also, whenever it seemed like one part of the mystery was figured out, more pressing questions appeared.

This mystery kept me engaged and surprised to the very end. The cast of characters was wonderful, no wonder this is nominated for the Booker Prize. Recommended for lovers of historical fiction, murder-mysteries and even comedies.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for giving me the chance to read this book.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I understood the point of this book, nor did I pick up on a lot of the subtle jokes and jabs that were familiar to other readers. I didn't know that scherzo referred to something in particular and I didn't realize that this book was supposed to be a farcical look at 18th century literature. Because of this, I found the book to be a bit confusing and have a very unsatisfying resolution.

I understand that misdirection is an important element of mysteries but this just seemed to bounce around far too frequently. I was confused for a good chunk of it and often wondered what was going on, why a certain part of it was relevant, etc. i will definitely admit that I often read this book in small doses interspersed between grading and lesson planning so perhaps I wasn't of a sound-enough mind to pick up on this book's subtleties.

It wasn't the worst book I've read by any means but I didn't really enjoy it. Wouldn't recommend.

[Jaclyn Reding · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand what the author was trying to do, but the characterization fell far too flat and the writing was just too ponderous. There was very little sense of setting; other than the constant mention of gondolas and the tour guide glimpse at the Doge's palace and prison, it could have been set pretty much anywhere. I found the whole addition of the Casanova character gratuitous and oddly out of place in the story, as if the writer thought just because he was writing about 18th century Venice, he HAD to put Casanova in there somewhere when really there was no point....and then even "borrowed" from Casanova's own memoirs to fill action scenes for other characters, which I found lazy. I had to force myself through the last 100 pages and only because I rarely (if ever) don't finish a book. This just wasn't a pleasure to read.

[Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this book which,at first I thought it was self-published but then I realized after some research that it was nominated for the Booker Prize years ago. Set in Venice in 18th century, it is basically a story about a enigmatic murder which two unlikely sleuths ( a mysterious frenchman who may be Voltaire and a german castrato) will try to solve it. The period was masterly portrayed by Jim Williams ( I learn one thing ot two about Venice) and the plot was nicely weaved mentioning masked conspiracies, Freemasons, Kabbalah, Art and Philosophy. The title means literally "Joke" and I loved the fact that the murder victim was named Alessandro Molin which was the name of Jim Williams´s pseudonym before he settled with its current author name. I enjoyed it and certainly will check this author´s other books.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The murder mystery in this novel is really secondary. What shines above all else is the wonderful use of language - it's richly evocative, witty, and ironically oblique as descriptions of eccentric characters and earthy subjects drip from the page. I learned a great deal about Venetiann society and culture of the 18 century. It's a delightful read (if you don't mind the flowery, sometimes bloated, language of the era). I thought it could have been a bit shorter and the trickery played on the reader at the end was a bit suspicious (can't say more without spoiling the ending). If you like historical fiction and love language this one is for you.

[Jane Schwarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful novel filled with murder, intrigue, mystery and amorous adventures all set in 1700's Venice. With manners and affectations of the time and stylized language of the day. As the author suggests, not is all as it seems and accuracy may be forgiven for a more lively story and equally lively characters. As each persons account of events gets told, the reader's understanding moves further along until all is revealed but still a little mystery is left behind for the reader to make what they will.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good enough to keep my interest but I don't know if I would read anything else by this author. The writing was difficult to follow with so many random foreign language phrases. I resorted to looking some up online to be able to follow the story. Characters showed up and then randomly disappeared and the dialogue was very wordy at times. The premise and basic story were good enough that I wished he had just stuck with that and told the story.

[Marie DiCocco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book free through one of the daily Kindle emails. It was a strange book. Since I read Kindle books on my iPhone, I think it's sometimes harder to follow a book that jumps around like this one does. I had just finished reading 2 other books about Venice, so decided to finish up the run with this story. It was interesting enough for me to keep reading to the end, but I'm not sure why it was nominated for a Booker Prize and not sure that I'd recommend it to anyone either.