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Alibi
From the bestselling author of Los Alamos and The Good German comes Joseph Kanon's riveting tale of love, revenge and murder set in postwar Venice.
Winner of the Hammett Prize
It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as a U.S. Army war crimes investigator in Germany. But when he falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating experiences during World War II, he is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at war with itself, haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone, including his mother's suave new Venetian suitor, has been compromised by the occupation, and Adam finds himself at the center of a web of deception, intrigue, and unexpected moral dilemmas.
When is murder acceptable? What are the limits of guilt? How much is someone willing to pay for a perfect alibi?
Winner of the Hammett Prize
It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as a U.S. Army war crimes investigator in Germany. But when he falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating experiences during World War II, he is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at war with itself, haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone, including his mother's suave new Venetian suitor, has been compromised by the occupation, and Adam finds himself at the center of a web of deception, intrigue, and unexpected moral dilemmas.
When is murder acceptable? What are the limits of guilt? How much is someone willing to pay for a perfect alibi?
405 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 262 reviews
July 15, 2012
Anything World War II fascinates me to pieces, and the premise of this novel was no exception. Only problem: the premise was about the only exciting thing about it. At times, I was just forcing myself to get through it. But it wasn't all bad. The use of metaphors (especially with the canals) to represent Venice during the German occupation was very engaging. It is important to be educated in how each country handled the occupation and the war very differently, each displaying unique adaptation and ultimate "perceived" sovereignty in the preservation of its citizens and national identity. THAT was very fascinating. But the story itself simply regurgitated itself over and over, each time giving nothing really new to the plot. The characters that were supposed to be the most empathetic just were not able to elicit any real sympathy for their plight. But I guess that is the true tag of a complex character. Even still, there are complex characters in real life that, in spite of their flaws and "complexities", still manage to do the right thing. There is only one heroine in the novel who does endeavor at all times to do the right thing....and, well, for me, that just wasn't good enough. You can stop rolling your eyes at me now.
September 6, 2017
Even these days, walking round the Cannaregio at night, and especially when the mist lies low off the Lagoon, Venice takes on that strange, dreamlike quality, as if nothing is real... as if you're in a movie. Thus it is with the opening pages of "Alibi". I almost hear the voiceover in "The Third Man", almost rushed in order to throw us into the story more quickly. And once Adam and Claudia meet, walk the canals and become lovers, the mist of dreams descends.
And then the dream reaches that disturbing stage, no longer romantic misty. Reality starts to impose itself; the war, the concentration camps, anti-Semitism... but also age and decay. A leery old man like a praying Mantis over the ageing wealthy widow, the arrogant woman with a critical eye. And then the dream darkens, no longer a dream but that half-awake disfunction as things take on a more uncomfortable level...
...and the stage is set.
I found this book totally absorbing, like a Hitchcock thriller. It is a tale of misconceptions and uncertainty, a seeking after truth. It is a tale of collaboration and betrayal, death and survival. It raises questions about the value of life in a world at war and immediately afterwards... and where the boundary between revenge, a search for justice, and murder actually lies.
"The Germans had got away with murder, the whole world. Even in Venice, as beautiful as the music, everyone had an alibi, somewhere else when the air-raid sirens covered the sounds of people being dragged off. I didn't know. I didn't realise. I had my own life to consider. And of course everyone did."
And then the dream reaches that disturbing stage, no longer romantic misty. Reality starts to impose itself; the war, the concentration camps, anti-Semitism... but also age and decay. A leery old man like a praying Mantis over the ageing wealthy widow, the arrogant woman with a critical eye. And then the dream darkens, no longer a dream but that half-awake disfunction as things take on a more uncomfortable level...
...and the stage is set.
I found this book totally absorbing, like a Hitchcock thriller. It is a tale of misconceptions and uncertainty, a seeking after truth. It is a tale of collaboration and betrayal, death and survival. It raises questions about the value of life in a world at war and immediately afterwards... and where the boundary between revenge, a search for justice, and murder actually lies.
"The Germans had got away with murder, the whole world. Even in Venice, as beautiful as the music, everyone had an alibi, somewhere else when the air-raid sirens covered the sounds of people being dragged off. I didn't know. I didn't realise. I had my own life to consider. And of course everyone did."
February 21, 2010
Much more than a mystery, we get losses here in many forms, the heavy hand of history, the endlessness of violence once it is unleashed; we get the mutations of violence, deep irony, the pain of a good man who causes harm and the tortuous course of his effort to right his wrong as far as possible. We see the ease with which a whole culture aligns itself with those in power without regard to ideology or decency. These themes are tributaries to a broad theme that suggests moral decency is merely a matter of applying the right cosmetics and a tacit complicity of the whole community of the powerful.
Yes, as many Goodreads reviewers noted, the story does involve a strain of anti-Semitism and the devastating effect of such abuse on one character. But the main conflicts are not between Germans or Italians on the one hand and the Jews on the other. The violence in story time is instead between Partisans (Communists) and those who helped the Germans. The recurrent moral concerns are less about anti-Semitism than about the themes mentioned in the first paragraph.
The setting in Venice adds to the pleasure of reading this book if you’ve spent a little time there, especially on the Dorsoduro. You might have difficulty following some of the physical movements in the calles and canals of Venice, but it doesn’t really matter because the twist and turns of the plot are not dependent upon understanding exactly where in the real Venice the characters may be at any given moment. Kanon does a wonderful, amazing job of first making you doubt who is telling the truth, doubt which story is real, and then taking you through one twist after another, or maybe I should say through layers of truth, bringing you in the end to see that in immediate postwar Venice, keeping the cosmetic mask in place is so important that more crimes can be committed to to sustain the appearance of civilization.
The book presents many long dialogues. Many mimic life closely in the sense that characters sometimes argue without much coherence, that they repeat themselves, answer indirectly, repeat themselves again. I’m not sure whether Kanon wanted to achieve the realism of a transcript or a tape recorder or whether he was trying to increase tension by changing the words of the dialog just enough to give tiny increments of insight or information. For me it the repetition of the same essential idea in dialog was boring. For example, the same character in the same dialog repeatedly say, “You don’t understand.” Real life, yes, but for me it would be better to select good representatives from reality and let us understand that the rest is like that without making us drudge through so much. Maybe I just don’t understand, just don’t understand, don’t understand.
I’ve been told that publishers really do not edit fiction anymore. Maybe so. Otherwise I wouldn’t expect to see “. . . she said simply,” so many times; maybe not at all. The first time I noticed that particular phrase, I thought maybe Kanon added “simply” to connote the dignity of a simple or ordinary person (the speaker was a Communist or sympathizer right after WWII). But he does the same “said simply” with other speakers too. Whoever said to avoid adverbial modifications when attributing speech to characters?
My complaints are mild, perhaps not worth the space they take. Alibi keeps you going on several levels as you try to follow its turns, cheer for the lovers, and keep hoping for something to cleanse the most attractive characters. Don’t get your hopes too high. It’s a good book that can keep you interested, but it will not elevate your mood.
Yes, as many Goodreads reviewers noted, the story does involve a strain of anti-Semitism and the devastating effect of such abuse on one character. But the main conflicts are not between Germans or Italians on the one hand and the Jews on the other. The violence in story time is instead between Partisans (Communists) and those who helped the Germans. The recurrent moral concerns are less about anti-Semitism than about the themes mentioned in the first paragraph.
The setting in Venice adds to the pleasure of reading this book if you’ve spent a little time there, especially on the Dorsoduro. You might have difficulty following some of the physical movements in the calles and canals of Venice, but it doesn’t really matter because the twist and turns of the plot are not dependent upon understanding exactly where in the real Venice the characters may be at any given moment. Kanon does a wonderful, amazing job of first making you doubt who is telling the truth, doubt which story is real, and then taking you through one twist after another, or maybe I should say through layers of truth, bringing you in the end to see that in immediate postwar Venice, keeping the cosmetic mask in place is so important that more crimes can be committed to to sustain the appearance of civilization.
The book presents many long dialogues. Many mimic life closely in the sense that characters sometimes argue without much coherence, that they repeat themselves, answer indirectly, repeat themselves again. I’m not sure whether Kanon wanted to achieve the realism of a transcript or a tape recorder or whether he was trying to increase tension by changing the words of the dialog just enough to give tiny increments of insight or information. For me it the repetition of the same essential idea in dialog was boring. For example, the same character in the same dialog repeatedly say, “You don’t understand.” Real life, yes, but for me it would be better to select good representatives from reality and let us understand that the rest is like that without making us drudge through so much. Maybe I just don’t understand, just don’t understand, don’t understand.
I’ve been told that publishers really do not edit fiction anymore. Maybe so. Otherwise I wouldn’t expect to see “. . . she said simply,” so many times; maybe not at all. The first time I noticed that particular phrase, I thought maybe Kanon added “simply” to connote the dignity of a simple or ordinary person (the speaker was a Communist or sympathizer right after WWII). But he does the same “said simply” with other speakers too. Whoever said to avoid adverbial modifications when attributing speech to characters?
My complaints are mild, perhaps not worth the space they take. Alibi keeps you going on several levels as you try to follow its turns, cheer for the lovers, and keep hoping for something to cleanse the most attractive characters. Don’t get your hopes too high. It’s a good book that can keep you interested, but it will not elevate your mood.
April 3, 2013
I thought I would read a murder mystery as a break from more serious stuff but boy, was I surprised! This book is set in Venice right at the end of World War II, and the murder that occurs is not a mystery at all. The novel is more a psychological thriller. We SEE the murder happen, KNOW who did it, we know the motivation, we see their alibi in place, we even sympathize with the murderers. But what is the aftereffect of the murder on them as they try to figure out if the victim deserved to be murdered and as they try to keep their alibi intact? and what are the results of this murder on those around them? If their alibi is perfect, who WILL be accused of the murder?
After the Italians had surrendered and a rump government had been set up by Mussolini, the Germans had occupied much of Italy, including Venice. What happened during the occupation? This is a city where EVERYONE is compromised in some way. The narrator, Adam, the main character, is an American ex-GI who had been part of the de-Nazification program in Germany at the end of the war. He comes to Venice in 1946 to visit his widowed mother, who has returned to Venice to live in the beautiful, magical city she remembers from her younger, happier days, and in which it is also cheaper to live well than in New York. (Well, having been there recently myself and loved the city, I guess prices have gone up since 1946!!) Venice itself is a character: brilliant and murky in turn, romantic gondolas and dark winding canals.
Adam falls in love with Claudia, a young Jewish woman who survived life in a camp, and because of what he finds out from her, he becomes intent on investigating the past of an aristocratic Venetian doctor his mother plans to marry. He thinks he has it figured out, and then the author reveals something that subverts his assumptions, and then does it again. and again. calling into question everyone's motivation. Is murder ever acceptable? Some murders more than others? Are some cases of compromise with the Nazis worse than other cases? How far can you compromise for self-preservation? Is some guilt worse than other guilt? Is the perfect alibi really a net of guilt in which you are trapped?
The author does not go all soft and sentimental at the end. As much as I would have liked a different ending, I must admit the he stays completely true to the characters.
It all seems inevitable after all that had come before. Everyone is compromised.
I am glad the book includes a map of Venice inside the cover, but more detail, including more places the author mentions, might be helpful to anyone who hasn't been to Venice.
After the Italians had surrendered and a rump government had been set up by Mussolini, the Germans had occupied much of Italy, including Venice. What happened during the occupation? This is a city where EVERYONE is compromised in some way. The narrator, Adam, the main character, is an American ex-GI who had been part of the de-Nazification program in Germany at the end of the war. He comes to Venice in 1946 to visit his widowed mother, who has returned to Venice to live in the beautiful, magical city she remembers from her younger, happier days, and in which it is also cheaper to live well than in New York. (Well, having been there recently myself and loved the city, I guess prices have gone up since 1946!!) Venice itself is a character: brilliant and murky in turn, romantic gondolas and dark winding canals.
Adam falls in love with Claudia, a young Jewish woman who survived life in a camp, and because of what he finds out from her, he becomes intent on investigating the past of an aristocratic Venetian doctor his mother plans to marry. He thinks he has it figured out, and then the author reveals something that subverts his assumptions, and then does it again. and again. calling into question everyone's motivation. Is murder ever acceptable? Some murders more than others? Are some cases of compromise with the Nazis worse than other cases? How far can you compromise for self-preservation? Is some guilt worse than other guilt? Is the perfect alibi really a net of guilt in which you are trapped?
The author does not go all soft and sentimental at the end. As much as I would have liked a different ending, I must admit the he stays completely true to the characters.
It all seems inevitable after all that had come before. Everyone is compromised.
I am glad the book includes a map of Venice inside the cover, but more detail, including more places the author mentions, might be helpful to anyone who hasn't been to Venice.
February 10, 2014
This is a well written book that took me a bit of time to engage with as the plot moves quite slowly at the start. The action takes place in Venice in 1946 and events are narrated by the main character, Adam Miller, who has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother. He falls under the spell of Claudia, a young Jewish woman. Alibi explores issues of ethics and morality in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Kanon is one of my favourite writers and this book did not disappoint. I did find the main characters to be an impulsive and unsympathetic pair who are each sure of their moral superiority - which provides the impetus for much of the plot. It is a little hard to believe the main character, an American serviceman investigating Nazis in occupied Berlin, did not investigate his mother's Italian fiancé more thoroughly before he attempts to prevent the marriage, as he discovers he is mistaken in some assumptions only after certain tragic events transpire. Similarly, for someone who is meant to be a hardened investigator, he is remarkably trusting of those around him. Much of the plot is centered around Miller's desire to prove he was justified in taking the action that he did by carrying out his own investigation, which also has dire consequences for an innocent party. The plot is fairly predictable in the end. I think it would have been a more provocative book if Kanon had written a less "tidy" ending. That's about all I can say without giving too much away. I would recommend this book. It's an entertaining read.
February 14, 2024
I really liked the opening sequences, set in Venice right after WWII but I hated the middle chapters, finding them tedious. (A bozo guy commits a murder, and then seeks to help an extremely crafty detective solve it. Actually, he was seeking to "unsolve" the murder, but still?)
However, I absolutely loved the last sections and in particular the ending. Seldom is a crime novel brought to a conclusion as completely and as satisfyingly as was this one. The ending was brilliant and featured no loose ends or characters left hanging while you wonder what became of them.
The story itself was all about compromising your values, your ethics, and in the end, your morality. Everyone in the story faced these decisions on some level.
Inspector Cavallini was an inspired character; extremely smooth and polished, crafty and clever, ruthless and brutal, and driven by his own agenda. As we go along, we see that he does not solve crimes as much as he cleans up the aftermath. He had thrived in pre-war Italy and in Fascist WWII Italy. Clearly he was now in firm control of his fate in post-war Italy. After the Fascists and the Nazi's, this was going to be a cakewalk.
I would love to see where these fictional people were ten and twenty years later, since the ending of this novel did seem to be the beginning of several others.
However, I absolutely loved the last sections and in particular the ending. Seldom is a crime novel brought to a conclusion as completely and as satisfyingly as was this one. The ending was brilliant and featured no loose ends or characters left hanging while you wonder what became of them.
The story itself was all about compromising your values, your ethics, and in the end, your morality. Everyone in the story faced these decisions on some level.
Inspector Cavallini was an inspired character; extremely smooth and polished, crafty and clever, ruthless and brutal, and driven by his own agenda. As we go along, we see that he does not solve crimes as much as he cleans up the aftermath. He had thrived in pre-war Italy and in Fascist WWII Italy. Clearly he was now in firm control of his fate in post-war Italy. After the Fascists and the Nazi's, this was going to be a cakewalk.
I would love to see where these fictional people were ten and twenty years later, since the ending of this novel did seem to be the beginning of several others.
December 28, 2015
After really enjoying Kanon's Leaving Berlin, I was looking forward to reading other books by Kanon. This was my second, and I did not like it nearly as much. I was greatly taken in at the beginning by the setup and the atmosphere: Post WWII Venice and the problem of leaving (or not) the offences of the war behind. What, after all, does it mean to get on with your life when there are ex nazis and ex resistance fighters living on the same streets (canals in this case)? So it began quite beautifully, with moral quandry weaving in and out of the memories of war and the architecture of Venice. But as the plot develops it seems to go off rail a bit, with twists and turns that get increasingly unconvincing. By the end I didn't much care about the characters, as they had all become mostly unreal. I WILL, however, try reading more by Kanon. I like the way he weaves real history into his thrillers, and I think he is excellent at depicting an atmosphere. But mostly, I like that he (and his characters) struggle with moral quandrys of historical proportions.
January 16, 2011
I recalled reading this book a few years ago. It is a mystery occuring in post-war Venice. Kanon is a gifted writer, who has written this, a compelling, suspenseful mystery along with other notable novels, including the gripping historical, The Good German.
February 19, 2019
As I read this story, I thought of Lady Macbeth "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky.." Then I thought of a modern day Raskolnikov in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment as Kanon's protagonist Adam Miller dealt with the emotional consequences of his actions. Finally, the movie, Body Heat, starring Kathleen Turner and William Hurt came to mind. The author overcomes an unoriginal plot with dialogue and the Venetian setting in 1946. I finally concluded with the thought: "Trust No One!" as the author twisted and turned to his conclusion.
October 20, 2014
Venice, 1946, the city largely untouched by the war but the enmities still smoldering. A wealthy American widow returns in search of her youth spent here as part of a carefree expatriate community. She reconnects with an old flame, an Italian doctor, now himself a widower. They decide to marry. Her son, freshly discharged from the army in Germany, comes to visit her; he suspects his mother has fallen for a fortune-hunter but fails to dissuade her. He himself falls in love with a Jewish girl, who, at the mother's engagement party, identifies the doctor and prospective stepfather as the man who betrayed her father to the Nazis.
The son's implacable hostility to the marriage leads quickly to multiple complications, culminating in a violent and gratifyingly unforeseen plot twist. That's when this book really hooked me. The rest of the way I couldn't put it down. Kanon handles the myriad implications of his setup with skill. Who's lying? Who's to be trusted and who isn't? What were all these people really up to during the war? Layers of deception peel away, each revealing deeper mysteries, with the decaying beauty of the slowly sinking city pervading the whole thing. Money, politics, family, love and death. A great, entertaining read.
The son's implacable hostility to the marriage leads quickly to multiple complications, culminating in a violent and gratifyingly unforeseen plot twist. That's when this book really hooked me. The rest of the way I couldn't put it down. Kanon handles the myriad implications of his setup with skill. Who's lying? Who's to be trusted and who isn't? What were all these people really up to during the war? Layers of deception peel away, each revealing deeper mysteries, with the decaying beauty of the slowly sinking city pervading the whole thing. Money, politics, family, love and death. A great, entertaining read.
August 12, 2016
It's 1946 and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and to
try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as an Army war crimes investigator in
Germany. Adam falls in love with Claudia a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating
experiences during the war. Adam is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at
war with itself haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone has been compromised
by the occupation - the international set, the police who kept order for the Germans and
most of all Gianni Maglione the suave Venetian who happens to be his mothers new
suitor. When finally the troubled past erupts in murder Adam finds himself at the center
of a web of deception, intrigue and unexpected moral dilemma. What are the limits of guilt
and how much is someone willing to pay for a perfect alibi. This is a murder mystery, a
love story and a very good novel. I gave it a 4.
try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as an Army war crimes investigator in
Germany. Adam falls in love with Claudia a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating
experiences during the war. Adam is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at
war with itself haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone has been compromised
by the occupation - the international set, the police who kept order for the Germans and
most of all Gianni Maglione the suave Venetian who happens to be his mothers new
suitor. When finally the troubled past erupts in murder Adam finds himself at the center
of a web of deception, intrigue and unexpected moral dilemma. What are the limits of guilt
and how much is someone willing to pay for a perfect alibi. This is a murder mystery, a
love story and a very good novel. I gave it a 4.
April 27, 2013
I got into this book very fast. Loved the description of post war Venice and the people who returned to resume their "normal" lives. The plot and love story got on and I kept reading, intrigued. At some point it turned into pages of conversation that were harder to follow and care about. But I read to the end wanting to see how it resolved. I guess it didn't really. Bleah.
December 23, 2009
This is a great book by the author of The Good German. At times I didn't like the book but only because I didn't like what was happening. In some ways it reminds me of Theodore Drieser's An American Tragedy, really great book in my opinion!
July 5, 2021
Saved this one for months to read on vacation, but it was disappointing. The Venice setting post WW2 had a lot of potential, but the plot is thin and the narrator annoying. This is the second Joseph Kanon (Los Alamos) that I’ve tried and not liked. No more!
May 30, 2022
Set in Venice 1946 this is a tale of murder , occupation collaboration and treachery. I prefer Joseph Kanon’s tales based in Germany however this trip to the Adriatic is still a fine and well written read.
December 7, 2017
Author has a wonderful feel for Venice. He obviously has been there often.
August 27, 2017
Fascinating and insightful.
Clever plot with surprising twists, beautifully written. A deeply psychological story as well as a page-turning mystery. I found it hard to put down. I recommend it to all serous readers.
Clever plot with surprising twists, beautifully written. A deeply psychological story as well as a page-turning mystery. I found it hard to put down. I recommend it to all serous readers.
August 24, 2010
I did really like it, although by the end I was getting tired and a little confused.
Adam Miller, newly discharged from the army in Germany just after WWII, goes to Venice to stay with his expatriate widowed mother. He quickly becomes involved with a beautiful Italian Jewish prison camp survivor, and also with his mother's boyfriend, a native Venetian and old friend of hers. Complications ensue when it turns out that his girlfriend and his mother's boyfriend had a connection during the war.
Most of this book is wonderful. The characters are well-developed and credible, the exploration of the murky morality and shifting loyalties among occupied and occupiers is deftly presented, and the evocation of Venice is razor sharp. Kanon never lectures, but this book is one of the most competent I've seen on the matter of how hard it is to determine what's right to do. Every single character has complex, impossible, choices to make, and the results are tragic.
Perhaps the book is a little too long, and the plot becomes needlessly complex. Still, it ranks up there close to Alan Furst and that's about the highest compliment I can bestow.
Adam Miller, newly discharged from the army in Germany just after WWII, goes to Venice to stay with his expatriate widowed mother. He quickly becomes involved with a beautiful Italian Jewish prison camp survivor, and also with his mother's boyfriend, a native Venetian and old friend of hers. Complications ensue when it turns out that his girlfriend and his mother's boyfriend had a connection during the war.
Most of this book is wonderful. The characters are well-developed and credible, the exploration of the murky morality and shifting loyalties among occupied and occupiers is deftly presented, and the evocation of Venice is razor sharp. Kanon never lectures, but this book is one of the most competent I've seen on the matter of how hard it is to determine what's right to do. Every single character has complex, impossible, choices to make, and the results are tragic.
Perhaps the book is a little too long, and the plot becomes needlessly complex. Still, it ranks up there close to Alan Furst and that's about the highest compliment I can bestow.
December 24, 2007
The premise of this book is that once you do something morally questionable (even if you have a good reason), it's a downward spiral from there. I would say that the other lesson to be learned form this book is not to let someone talk you into something until you know all the facts.
In this book, an American (recently demobilized form the army after WW II) has come to Venice to visit his mother and think about his next step. He gets invovled with a woman whose family was killed in the war and she convinces him to help her get revenge. Of course, nothing is as clear as it seems and no one is as clean or as dirty as they seem.
This was a pretty good book but it got a little too involved with itself and I found myself thinking "yeah, yeah, I got the message." It remineded me a little of the Good German which also plays with the idea of "he who is without sin, throw the first stone."
In this book, an American (recently demobilized form the army after WW II) has come to Venice to visit his mother and think about his next step. He gets invovled with a woman whose family was killed in the war and she convinces him to help her get revenge. Of course, nothing is as clear as it seems and no one is as clean or as dirty as they seem.
This was a pretty good book but it got a little too involved with itself and I found myself thinking "yeah, yeah, I got the message." It remineded me a little of the Good German which also plays with the idea of "he who is without sin, throw the first stone."
January 2, 2024
The best part of this book was the setting. The descriptions of Venice and what happened during and after the war were good. Otherwise this book was dumb and confusing. 2-dimensional characters: the tragic beauty with no personality except to say "Ha." and cynically repeat the last few words the narrator said to her. The narrator was stupid, practically giving himself away at every turn. A hotel named Bauer and an incidental, off-screen character named Bauer? Why? The background of the narrator's parents in Italy and their connection to the doctor was murky, not much said at all about his father. It felt like so much information was intentionally left out for the sake of confusion/loopholes, and the ending was just...by that time I was just glad it was over. I do not understand the high praise for it on the cover. Do not recommend.
August 1, 2021
Књига се чита у једном даху, али сам се ја на крају разочарала! на крају нико ништа не плаћа! У венецији је битно само прживети! Макар газио по лешевима!
Да, може, ако мислиш да су радили нешто лоше...и то не једном!
Важно је да за то имаш алиби! Какав такав, али- алиби!
Читава историја Венеције, па и читаве Италије је таква! А од 1939.године, прво су били фашисти, учиниш услугу једном, па опет! Битно је преживети! Затим дођу Немци, опет исто, једном услуга, па још једном, битно је преживети! И мислити да ће то остати тајна! И на крају, ни најближем "пријатељу" не можеш веровати! То је та морална дилема која се стално провлачи кроз радњу...
Мислим да нећу читати ни једну његову књигу, бар не скоро!
Да, може, ако мислиш да су радили нешто лоше...и то не једном!
Важно је да за то имаш алиби! Какав такав, али- алиби!
Читава историја Венеције, па и читаве Италије је таква! А од 1939.године, прво су били фашисти, учиниш услугу једном, па опет! Битно је преживети! Затим дођу Немци, опет исто, једном услуга, па још једном, битно је преживети! И мислити да ће то остати тајна! И на крају, ни најближем "пријатељу" не можеш веровати! То је та морална дилема која се стално провлачи кроз радњу...
Мислим да нећу читати ни једну његову књигу, бар не скоро!
September 15, 2019
I'm not sure where to put this book.
Did I like it? Yes I did. However, there's also a big 'but' to that. I liked the book but somewhere half way I got tired of the ways Claudia and Adam were trying (Adam more than she) to minimize the consequences of their deed.
I understand partly, but it got on my nerves. If you are so adamant no one sjould be blamed for what you did, then why not turn yourself in?
And the end... Well it is a bitter one for Adam. Not at all turning out the way he had thought it would. No justice served and being caught in 'the Italian way'. For him not a nice way to end things.
Did I like it? Yes I did. However, there's also a big 'but' to that. I liked the book but somewhere half way I got tired of the ways Claudia and Adam were trying (Adam more than she) to minimize the consequences of their deed.
I understand partly, but it got on my nerves. If you are so adamant no one sjould be blamed for what you did, then why not turn yourself in?
And the end... Well it is a bitter one for Adam. Not at all turning out the way he had thought it would. No justice served and being caught in 'the Italian way'. For him not a nice way to end things.
April 21, 2025
The plot is great, full of suspense and a series of twists, some of them very unexpected. The historical background is interesting and makes for a rich setting, with many ethical dilemmas.
The characters are painted broadly. Not exactly central casting, but close. The main character is tortured, with an overly developed sense of justice. How do we know? Because the author tells us, over and over, mostly through dialogue. But despite the author telling us what we should know about him, he comes off more as naive and rather dense.
The dialogue is not bad, but there is too much of it. Kanon uses a lot of dialogue, often pages of it with almost no tags. It’s a stylistic choice, but a lot of it is really exposition. The biggest problem is repetition. We get beat over the head with the same facts, the same emotions, the same speculation, over and over.
I read this in Venice, which is a great setting. But Kanon mostly just alludes to places by name: the characters walk or boat from landmark to landmark, with little or no description. Being here it was kind of fun to have a picture in my head of the Redentore, or a feeling of how far from the Grand Canal to the hospital. And describing Venice in words is a daunting task. But Donna Leon manages a balance of “naming” and descriptive atmosphere.
And there’s the rub. Donna Leon is not considered to be great literature, more vacation reading. But I read a Donna Leon novel just before this one, and in almost all aspects it was better written than this one. By reputation, I had higher expectations for Kanon.
The characters are painted broadly. Not exactly central casting, but close. The main character is tortured, with an overly developed sense of justice. How do we know? Because the author tells us, over and over, mostly through dialogue. But despite the author telling us what we should know about him, he comes off more as naive and rather dense.
The dialogue is not bad, but there is too much of it. Kanon uses a lot of dialogue, often pages of it with almost no tags. It’s a stylistic choice, but a lot of it is really exposition. The biggest problem is repetition. We get beat over the head with the same facts, the same emotions, the same speculation, over and over.
I read this in Venice, which is a great setting. But Kanon mostly just alludes to places by name: the characters walk or boat from landmark to landmark, with little or no description. Being here it was kind of fun to have a picture in my head of the Redentore, or a feeling of how far from the Grand Canal to the hospital. And describing Venice in words is a daunting task. But Donna Leon manages a balance of “naming” and descriptive atmosphere.
And there’s the rub. Donna Leon is not considered to be great literature, more vacation reading. But I read a Donna Leon novel just before this one, and in almost all aspects it was better written than this one. By reputation, I had higher expectations for Kanon.
August 16, 2017
ALIBI
Set in Venice just after the end of WW II author Joseph Kanon delivers another winner with Alibi. Adam has just been discharged from the army where he was assigned to a division whose purpose was to help ferret out who the true Nazi zealots from the rest. Rather than going back home immediately he goes to Venice to visit his mother who has moved back to Europe from the States. One evening at a party thrown by a friend he meets a young woman named Claudia.
Claudia is a Jew who along with others was rounded up and sent to a camp. The two begin a very fragile relationship that both seem to need. One night Adam agrees to meet his mothers new boyfriend for dinner with Claudia accompanying him. As introductions are about to begin Claudia lashes out both physically and verbally at the mothers boyfriend Gianni. Claudia tells Adam that Gianni was the man who turned her father over to the Nazis which that led to his being sent to a camp and dying. This sets in motion a series of events and decisions that will leave some people dead, and others trying their best to avoid the consequences of their actions.
Us usual the author does a fantastic job of developing his human characters as well as the physical location that the story is set. Post WW II Venice comes alive under Kanons writing and makes it very easy for the reader to put themselves into the story. I look forward to reading the authors next book.
Set in Venice just after the end of WW II author Joseph Kanon delivers another winner with Alibi. Adam has just been discharged from the army where he was assigned to a division whose purpose was to help ferret out who the true Nazi zealots from the rest. Rather than going back home immediately he goes to Venice to visit his mother who has moved back to Europe from the States. One evening at a party thrown by a friend he meets a young woman named Claudia.
Claudia is a Jew who along with others was rounded up and sent to a camp. The two begin a very fragile relationship that both seem to need. One night Adam agrees to meet his mothers new boyfriend for dinner with Claudia accompanying him. As introductions are about to begin Claudia lashes out both physically and verbally at the mothers boyfriend Gianni. Claudia tells Adam that Gianni was the man who turned her father over to the Nazis which that led to his being sent to a camp and dying. This sets in motion a series of events and decisions that will leave some people dead, and others trying their best to avoid the consequences of their actions.
Us usual the author does a fantastic job of developing his human characters as well as the physical location that the story is set. Post WW II Venice comes alive under Kanons writing and makes it very easy for the reader to put themselves into the story. I look forward to reading the authors next book.
July 6, 2020
Since there was no synopsis of the book on the back cover (paperback), I was in for a surprise as to what this story would be about. With a beautiful cover picture of Venice, how bad could it be? Well, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't great either. The premise of the story starts out with an interesting view of post-WWII in Venice. I learned that Venice was basically left alone with little physical destruction.
As the story progresses, it becomes frantic and repetitive with little to relieve that tension; perhaps intentional, but it dragged. The dialogue between Adam and Claudia is often cryptic and often lacking any real depth. The character development was slim. One of my favorite characters is Bertie.
The redeeming value of the story is the twists at the very end. No spoilers from me. It wasn't enough for me to give the book 3 stars, but I think I am a tougher judge of books lately. It is not a difficult book to read but it does drag. Mostly I just wanted it to be finished.
As the story progresses, it becomes frantic and repetitive with little to relieve that tension; perhaps intentional, but it dragged. The dialogue between Adam and Claudia is often cryptic and often lacking any real depth. The character development was slim. One of my favorite characters is Bertie.
The redeeming value of the story is the twists at the very end. No spoilers from me. It wasn't enough for me to give the book 3 stars, but I think I am a tougher judge of books lately. It is not a difficult book to read but it does drag. Mostly I just wanted it to be finished.
November 12, 2019
I just picked this up because I had so enjoyed Kanon’s The Good German. Alibi, however, didn’t come close for me. Set in Venice in 1946, American Adam Miller and his widowed mother Grace are enjoying the good life in Italy. Adam works for a US agency, which is tracking down war criminals, although he seems to spend amazingly little time at work. He is in love with a Jewish woman, Claudia, who escaped the concentration camps by becoming the paramour of a Russian officer. When Grace becomes engaged to a local doctor Gianni Maglione, Adam fears that the doctor is simply after his mother’s money. The plot follows what to me seemed a tediously complicated path including others involved in various WWII and post-war activities. I found it difficult to identify with Adam, Claudia, or Grace or to care much about their parties, fancy dresses and jewels and plots.
January 31, 2021
Alibi is set in post-World War II Venice. Adam Miller, a US. army officer who has been investigating war crimes in Germany, visits his widowed mother in Venice. As part of the ex-patriot community, she has fallen in love with an Italian doctor who may have collaborated with the Nazis during the war. When the two are engaged to be married, Adam is compelled to conduct an investigation into this man's checkered past.
The story highlights the lines between collaboration, neutrality, and armed opposition to a fascist power. Adam and his girlfriend, Claudia, are caught in a web of deceit after the death of the doctor. The book is a psychological thriller, providing the same type of tension that a reader experiences from Crime and Punishment.
For those who like an action book with plenty of chase scenes, this is the book for you.
The story highlights the lines between collaboration, neutrality, and armed opposition to a fascist power. Adam and his girlfriend, Claudia, are caught in a web of deceit after the death of the doctor. The book is a psychological thriller, providing the same type of tension that a reader experiences from Crime and Punishment.
For those who like an action book with plenty of chase scenes, this is the book for you.
March 12, 2018
I had great expectations for this book because of my interest in crime fiction and in Venice as either a background or a subject in itself. The central idea is an interesting one: the problems faced by the Jews in Venice during and after WWII. But the story-line needed to be more direct. Kanon (and/or his editor if he had one) should have realized that the book throws in too much and is using too many conventions from various genres. Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, LeCarre, Dostoevsky, Highsmith, with a failed attempt at a Casablanca ending. Also Kanon's dialogue is too confusing at many points because he wants to give it the rhythms and truncations of 'real speech.' The book became tedious and repetitive very quickly, though I held on
August 28, 2020
I found the story alittle slow for the first half and even though the psychological shadows were building around the two main characters; it was still slow as woven into the tale were lots of love scenes and I didn't have alot of sympathy for them.
I felt that the war crimes investigator didn't have a good enough reason for the act that he committed and when he confronted his friend Bernie with his actions during the war, I wondered how he could do that considering that he had committed worse during his time in Venice. Another question I had was why Bernie had invited Claudia to his party where she met Adam, given his actions during the war towards Claudia and her father.
It is still a good read but needs persisting with.
I felt that the war crimes investigator didn't have a good enough reason for the act that he committed and when he confronted his friend Bernie with his actions during the war, I wondered how he could do that considering that he had committed worse during his time in Venice. Another question I had was why Bernie had invited Claudia to his party where she met Adam, given his actions during the war towards Claudia and her father.
It is still a good read but needs persisting with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2021
Very nice, again with the moody. This one is set in immediately post-WWII Venice. The hero is an American, recently released from the army, his most recent stint doing paperwork in Frankfurt for the de-Nazification teams. His mother has moved to Venice in an attempt to recapture the careless glitter of younger days in the pre-jet set. Venice is a major character in this work, and excellently presented. I almost feel I’ve been on a little trip there. The story is not exactly a murder mystery; that is, there is murder, and there are mysteries, but, well...that would be telling. Anyhow, I found it very well worth the reading, with good twists and good suspense. I kept seeing Joseph Cotten in the lead role, and Isabella Rossellini (yes, I know, it’s a fantasy, ok?) as the girl.
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