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Losing Venice
Surrounded by beauty, can you learn to live beautifully?
Travel marketing executive Mark Vandermar leads an itinerant life. Elsewhere is where he calls home, so it’s no surprise when he’s called to Venice to help craft the Venice Tourism Council’s new campaign to attract skittish post-September 11 American tourism dollars.
As he gets to know Venice’s colorful campos and canals, his relationship with Venice grows more complex and its fascinating history both influences him and becomes a mirror reflecting the turbulence of the early twenty first century. In addition to Venice, Mark’s journey of discovery unfolds among some of Europe’s most captivating locales, including Prague, Budapest and the Greek islands where he encounters a cast of compelling characters that lead to life-changing consequences.
The geography of his new life is marked with discovery and reinvention, but what he really seeks is to learn to live beautifully, to find a place and a person to call home.
Like the finest expatriate novels, Losing Venice is as richly textured as its fabled locales and dives deeply into the possibilities, perils, and pleasures of learning how not not to be lost.
If you’ve ever wondered why people still write novels, reading Stavrou’s, Losing Venice, might answer your question. This funny, poignant account of failure that turns to success is not a perfect novel but a beautiful one. It captures a moment and place that, though in the recent past, seems as distant as Hemingway’s Paris and as important. A reminder of what the business of literature, of living is. All lovers of the art of writing and romance should read it.
George Crane, best-selling author of Bones of the Master and Beyond the House of the False Lama
Travel marketing executive Mark Vandermar leads an itinerant life. Elsewhere is where he calls home, so it’s no surprise when he’s called to Venice to help craft the Venice Tourism Council’s new campaign to attract skittish post-September 11 American tourism dollars.
As he gets to know Venice’s colorful campos and canals, his relationship with Venice grows more complex and its fascinating history both influences him and becomes a mirror reflecting the turbulence of the early twenty first century. In addition to Venice, Mark’s journey of discovery unfolds among some of Europe’s most captivating locales, including Prague, Budapest and the Greek islands where he encounters a cast of compelling characters that lead to life-changing consequences.
The geography of his new life is marked with discovery and reinvention, but what he really seeks is to learn to live beautifully, to find a place and a person to call home.
Like the finest expatriate novels, Losing Venice is as richly textured as its fabled locales and dives deeply into the possibilities, perils, and pleasures of learning how not not to be lost.
If you’ve ever wondered why people still write novels, reading Stavrou’s, Losing Venice, might answer your question. This funny, poignant account of failure that turns to success is not a perfect novel but a beautiful one. It captures a moment and place that, though in the recent past, seems as distant as Hemingway’s Paris and as important. A reminder of what the business of literature, of living is. All lovers of the art of writing and romance should read it.
George Crane, best-selling author of Bones of the Master and Beyond the House of the False Lama
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2018
39 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Scott Stavrou
4 books44 followersScott Stavrou is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Losing Venice (People's Book Prize short-list 2019), the literary satire/humor collection Hemingway Lives: the Super-Secret, Never-Before-Published Blogs of Ernest Hemingway (PEN/Hemingway Award), the travel/humor book Wasted Away, the award-wining stage play Picketing with Prometheus as well as two original screenplays (Slapping Plastic & Changing Time Zones).
Stavrou has written fiction and non-fiction for numerous print & online publications. In addition to writing, he serves on the Board of Advisors for Write Away Europe, where he is also a Creative Writing Instructor.
Stavrou is from Las Vegas and a graduate of Georgetown University. Before becoming a writer he worked in advertising and PR and he has lived and worked as a writer in San Francisco, Venice, Prague, and the Greek islands where he and his wife presently call home.
More of Stavrou’s writing can be found at ScottStavrou.com and on Medium and Twitter.
More info. at ScottStavrou.com
Twitter Follow @ScottStavrou
Stavrou has written fiction and non-fiction for numerous print & online publications. In addition to writing, he serves on the Board of Advisors for Write Away Europe, where he is also a Creative Writing Instructor.
Stavrou is from Las Vegas and a graduate of Georgetown University. Before becoming a writer he worked in advertising and PR and he has lived and worked as a writer in San Francisco, Venice, Prague, and the Greek islands where he and his wife presently call home.
More of Stavrou’s writing can be found at ScottStavrou.com and on Medium and Twitter.
More info. at ScottStavrou.com
Twitter Follow @ScottStavrou
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2018
Interesting read and tour of (primarily) Venice and Prague. Both cities are described in great detail- both the physical setting and cultural history. The novel also touches on the emotional turmoil inherent to becoming an expat, making a new city your home, and rediscovering how to live and love in a foreign place.
August 4, 2018
Novel set in VENICE, the most touristed but under-explored place in the world
“..seeking roots in a watery city that supported itself on nothing more than submerged wooden piles…”
Mark Vandermar has had a little indiscretion with his boss’s wife and has summarily been dispatched from California to Venice, where he works for the tourist authority. It is post 9/11, Bush is still in control, war is being waged by the Americans and the author sets his novel against the backdrop of the era, reflecting on the egregious and occasionally up-lifting acts that happen on a world stage. And on Mark’s personal stage too…
Once in Venice, Mark struggles to keep himself gainfully occupied at work, so he becomes adept at learning to entertain himself, often under the influence of alcohol. His late afternoon starts at Campari-o’clock when the sun disperses a reflection of the Irn Bru-coloured alcohol onto one pre-ordained key on his computer (a sort of modern-day sun-dial really), he knows it is time to unscrew the bottle top. There are many jolly japes, like a drunken rearrangement of Campo restaurant furniture in the middle of one night, or the theft of a 600 year old painting with a horse (which he names Rocinante, which of course is named after Don Quixote’s horse) from a church in San Pantalon, which becomes part of the fabric of his home… even though he fully intends to return it immediately the next day, but doesn’t. Directing rude Americans in the wrong direction has him and the barman reflecting on tourism in the city and just for the fun of it, he invents an alter ego (a count no less) to try and glean some details on a missing person. He even tumbles into one of the canals, which I would have thought might mean an untimely end for this young man, bearing in mind some of the bodily liquids and detritus (not to mention rat droppings and the like) that have landed in the canals over the centuries.
He meets an artist (the girl of the bridge) for whom he falls, even though she will not tell him her name. After her disappearance and parting note which she leaves for him, he starts to languish once again. But the doldrums are broken up with a quick visit to Prague where there is a little ceremony (no spoilers) that is intended as a goodwill gesture but has implications for him further down the line.
He is of course in the travel industry and once a week the ferry to Corfu in Greece passes by his window, the Greek Siren calling him to distant shores every time he spots it. His wanderlust keeps being reignited.
Yes, this is a bit of not-so-young man’s (35, is that young?) romp around Venice, but it is more than that. The observations of place (mainly Venice but also Prague and Hydra ) are on point and perceptive, Mark lures his readers down the side streets and literally into the canals from his home base at Campo Santa Margherita in the Dorsoduro, where you can feel “..the beating pulse of the real life of Venetians.”
In terms of TripFiction this novel is a little gem… the author is like a personal guide to the city, steering his readers perhaps to Codroma, an Osteria that he frequents (off the beaten track, please note!), over to Torcello and to Mestre for “normal” shopping…. The storyline, well, that is a little loose and can feel sometimes like a medley of assembled observations that the author is keen to share. They are often very informative, but don’t always necessarily bind together to make a forward moving story. Sound bytes, what would the literary equivalent of that be, I wonder….Overall it is well written and an enjoyable novel.
“..seeking roots in a watery city that supported itself on nothing more than submerged wooden piles…”
Mark Vandermar has had a little indiscretion with his boss’s wife and has summarily been dispatched from California to Venice, where he works for the tourist authority. It is post 9/11, Bush is still in control, war is being waged by the Americans and the author sets his novel against the backdrop of the era, reflecting on the egregious and occasionally up-lifting acts that happen on a world stage. And on Mark’s personal stage too…
Once in Venice, Mark struggles to keep himself gainfully occupied at work, so he becomes adept at learning to entertain himself, often under the influence of alcohol. His late afternoon starts at Campari-o’clock when the sun disperses a reflection of the Irn Bru-coloured alcohol onto one pre-ordained key on his computer (a sort of modern-day sun-dial really), he knows it is time to unscrew the bottle top. There are many jolly japes, like a drunken rearrangement of Campo restaurant furniture in the middle of one night, or the theft of a 600 year old painting with a horse (which he names Rocinante, which of course is named after Don Quixote’s horse) from a church in San Pantalon, which becomes part of the fabric of his home… even though he fully intends to return it immediately the next day, but doesn’t. Directing rude Americans in the wrong direction has him and the barman reflecting on tourism in the city and just for the fun of it, he invents an alter ego (a count no less) to try and glean some details on a missing person. He even tumbles into one of the canals, which I would have thought might mean an untimely end for this young man, bearing in mind some of the bodily liquids and detritus (not to mention rat droppings and the like) that have landed in the canals over the centuries.
He meets an artist (the girl of the bridge) for whom he falls, even though she will not tell him her name. After her disappearance and parting note which she leaves for him, he starts to languish once again. But the doldrums are broken up with a quick visit to Prague where there is a little ceremony (no spoilers) that is intended as a goodwill gesture but has implications for him further down the line.
He is of course in the travel industry and once a week the ferry to Corfu in Greece passes by his window, the Greek Siren calling him to distant shores every time he spots it. His wanderlust keeps being reignited.
Yes, this is a bit of not-so-young man’s (35, is that young?) romp around Venice, but it is more than that. The observations of place (mainly Venice but also Prague and Hydra ) are on point and perceptive, Mark lures his readers down the side streets and literally into the canals from his home base at Campo Santa Margherita in the Dorsoduro, where you can feel “..the beating pulse of the real life of Venetians.”
In terms of TripFiction this novel is a little gem… the author is like a personal guide to the city, steering his readers perhaps to Codroma, an Osteria that he frequents (off the beaten track, please note!), over to Torcello and to Mestre for “normal” shopping…. The storyline, well, that is a little loose and can feel sometimes like a medley of assembled observations that the author is keen to share. They are often very informative, but don’t always necessarily bind together to make a forward moving story. Sound bytes, what would the literary equivalent of that be, I wonder….Overall it is well written and an enjoyable novel.
June 11, 2018
Evocative and thoughtful
This moving work truly evokes the essence of the magical place that is Venice. The all-too-human protagonist tries to find his place as an expat in various places in Europe, and along the way chases love and other adventures. I eagerly turned the pages, keen to find out what he would get up to next.
This moving work truly evokes the essence of the magical place that is Venice. The all-too-human protagonist tries to find his place as an expat in various places in Europe, and along the way chases love and other adventures. I eagerly turned the pages, keen to find out what he would get up to next.
June 24, 2018
For those of you who follow my blog, I like to recommend books and write book reviews. You'd know that my son has also just returned home from backpacking in Europe with colorful stories and memories to cherish for a lifetime. In honor of his adventure I picked up and devoured a funny, sweet, and amazingly well-written novel called Losing Venice, by Scott Stavrou, Rogue Dog Press. My son did not manage to visit Venice on this trip, but he did travel to Prague, which was just one of the many colorful backdrops to Stavrou's novel.
Travel marketing (tourism) executive Mark Vandermar is living what most people would consider an interesting and cushy life, ensconced in the tourist-packed city of Venice. Vandermar is lonely and droll and mischievous in his solitude (sometimes the main character's sense of humor does him no favors).
Vandermar has been sent off to a place for work, in a city where tourism abounds, due to a bad choice he made at his former place of employ. Quite honestly, he has little work to do in his little office of the Venezia Tourism Council that overlooks the graffiti on the British Consulate across the Grand Canal. Mark likes to stare at this graffiti, organize his desk and ... well, drink ... that's for sure.
He spends an inordinate amount of time positioning his Campari bottle just so on his desk precisely at the moment when "the afternoon sun slanted through [his] office window and it began to cast a beckoning red-hued shadow that generally stretched out to touch the back edge of [his] computer at three o'clock." This signaled cocktail hour at the office!
For those of you who don't like to drink, you might be put off with all the drink talk, the drunken escapades that yielded a multitude of hangovers, the falls into the canal, and late-night shenanigans in the campo.
But for those of you who do approve of a moderate amount of drink talk and some raunchiness, this novel was hilarious! At its heart is a sweet little love story in which each of the two main characters are soul-searching for their definition of meaningfulness and happiness in both their personal life and work endeavors. The story quickly advances to a pivotal purpose: Mark's quest to find a no-named chestnut-colored hair artist with whom he had one brief, but lovely encounter, who has all but vanished from his life.
Set during the younger Bush's term in office, there is some political discourse in addition to lively narrative about what it means to be American, or what is perceived as "Americanness", and not all of it is flattering.
But my favorite parts of the novel were the descriptive passages about Venice: "I took drinks and newspapers in many campos, savored being unknown while sipping a caffe macchiato or a small glass, un umbra ... I strolled across the small bridges of the city and worked on tailoring a new costume for my existence, one that I could fit well and which would be [of] my own design. There was an enchanting freedom in the anonymity of being abroad, a competing elixir of exile brewed from being outside the culture..." Connor Heath, did you feel this way as well on your Great Britain/European backpacking trip?
Now for the tender love story bit. Stavrou writes: "I could see her chestnut colored hair pulled up under the edges of it [a black velvet hat], and I sat and watched as she worked diligently on her painting, switching between the brushes she held like chopsticks in her left hand as she created a small world of her own on her canvas."
And that in large part is what this humorous, touching little gem of a book is about. Creating your own destiny. An interesting, lively, funny read that will tug at the travel bug in all of its readers.
Travel marketing (tourism) executive Mark Vandermar is living what most people would consider an interesting and cushy life, ensconced in the tourist-packed city of Venice. Vandermar is lonely and droll and mischievous in his solitude (sometimes the main character's sense of humor does him no favors).
Vandermar has been sent off to a place for work, in a city where tourism abounds, due to a bad choice he made at his former place of employ. Quite honestly, he has little work to do in his little office of the Venezia Tourism Council that overlooks the graffiti on the British Consulate across the Grand Canal. Mark likes to stare at this graffiti, organize his desk and ... well, drink ... that's for sure.
He spends an inordinate amount of time positioning his Campari bottle just so on his desk precisely at the moment when "the afternoon sun slanted through [his] office window and it began to cast a beckoning red-hued shadow that generally stretched out to touch the back edge of [his] computer at three o'clock." This signaled cocktail hour at the office!
For those of you who don't like to drink, you might be put off with all the drink talk, the drunken escapades that yielded a multitude of hangovers, the falls into the canal, and late-night shenanigans in the campo.
But for those of you who do approve of a moderate amount of drink talk and some raunchiness, this novel was hilarious! At its heart is a sweet little love story in which each of the two main characters are soul-searching for their definition of meaningfulness and happiness in both their personal life and work endeavors. The story quickly advances to a pivotal purpose: Mark's quest to find a no-named chestnut-colored hair artist with whom he had one brief, but lovely encounter, who has all but vanished from his life.
Set during the younger Bush's term in office, there is some political discourse in addition to lively narrative about what it means to be American, or what is perceived as "Americanness", and not all of it is flattering.
But my favorite parts of the novel were the descriptive passages about Venice: "I took drinks and newspapers in many campos, savored being unknown while sipping a caffe macchiato or a small glass, un umbra ... I strolled across the small bridges of the city and worked on tailoring a new costume for my existence, one that I could fit well and which would be [of] my own design. There was an enchanting freedom in the anonymity of being abroad, a competing elixir of exile brewed from being outside the culture..." Connor Heath, did you feel this way as well on your Great Britain/European backpacking trip?
Now for the tender love story bit. Stavrou writes: "I could see her chestnut colored hair pulled up under the edges of it [a black velvet hat], and I sat and watched as she worked diligently on her painting, switching between the brushes she held like chopsticks in her left hand as she created a small world of her own on her canvas."
And that in large part is what this humorous, touching little gem of a book is about. Creating your own destiny. An interesting, lively, funny read that will tug at the travel bug in all of its readers.
May 21, 2018
Loved reading "Losing Venice" - What could be better than reading of adventures in Venice, Prague, a Greek Island, all together in a truly exceptional novel, following along as the main character, Mark, begins his new life in Europe after leaving San Francisco. First in Venice, sharing his adventures; his new job, his seeking to settle into his new home; you will feel as if you are there with him, as he takes you through the city, the campos, the gondolas, the restaurants, bars, the bridges.
You’ll enjoy his travels in Prague and then when his life takes a detour, life on a Greek island. Adventures do take you to some unexpected places, it seems, at times with unexpected people.
I love how this author brings you fully into his book, his great characters, emotional journeys; his musings of life, his finding humor when one would least expect it. Light hearted humor combined with strong emotional insight.
Vivid writing, exciting locales, as Mark is searching, yearning for what lies ahead, but also enjoying the journey, the places and people along the way.
A delightful read, a great book I will be giving friends, who love Europe, or that enjoy reading about American expat experiences. As someone who has lived the expat life, I thoroughly enjoy reading books about others who move abroad building new lives in strange exotic places. And this is one of the best.
You’ll enjoy his travels in Prague and then when his life takes a detour, life on a Greek island. Adventures do take you to some unexpected places, it seems, at times with unexpected people.
I love how this author brings you fully into his book, his great characters, emotional journeys; his musings of life, his finding humor when one would least expect it. Light hearted humor combined with strong emotional insight.
Vivid writing, exciting locales, as Mark is searching, yearning for what lies ahead, but also enjoying the journey, the places and people along the way.
A delightful read, a great book I will be giving friends, who love Europe, or that enjoy reading about American expat experiences. As someone who has lived the expat life, I thoroughly enjoy reading books about others who move abroad building new lives in strange exotic places. And this is one of the best.
July 11, 2018
This book is beautifully written with some humor, astuteness, adventures, thoughtfulness where we follow the protagonist in Venice, Prague, and Hydra. One could see and taste and feel like they are there. The author's writing style and intelligence drew me in, and I loved the self-discovery and the little romance. I recommend this book for people that love reading travel stories but also some humanness.
May 28, 2018
I was drawn in from the start by this brilliant, clever, and insightful novel. Mr.Stavrou's wry musings on life are so original, spot on, and downright hilarious. If you are looking for a high-quality read that takes you to the canals of Venice and all over Europe from your Lazy Boy, this one is for you! Bravo!
PS It's worth it just for the reflections on Gilligan's Island!
PS It's worth it just for the reflections on Gilligan's Island!
May 4, 2018
A truly sensorial read - I could see it, all of it, taste it even. If you’ve ever traveled anywhere, this novel is for you. This funny, endearing and honest novel delivers a story that speaks to nostalgia, youth, love and life itself.
June 19, 2018
I normally don’t read books written from the male protagonist’s point of view but I am glad I read this one. Lush and descriptive, I felt I was there with Mark in Venice, Prague, and Hydra. Beautifully written, and a beautiful story of self-discovery that everyone can learn from.
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December 24, 2019Spoiler alert: I know how it ends.
April 28, 2018
Mark Vandermar, the narrator and protagonist of Losing Venice, thinks a lot. He wonders. A lot. About everything. Every page - almost every paragraph - is punctuated by droll digressions of fascination and self-analysis. Yes, this remarkable, beautifully written novel is packed with excitement and absurdity, longing and love, but its triumph is its narrative recursion. Therein lies its magic. For it is the rhythm of Vandermar’s shimmering reflections - delicious cocktails of erudition, agnosticism, mock bravado, and self-deprecation - that creates and sustains the music of the novel. It is in these comedic and poetic patterns of recurrence that we hear the waves lap against fondamenta, feel the fat raindrops beat on open umbrellas, taste the neon liquor in not-too-clean glasses. Liquid and time are one in Losing Venice. Both are notoriously hard to hold on to. And you can’t lose what you never really possessed. At best, we but borrow. But Vandermar’s genuine, rare carelessness and inquisitive fatalism show us that we all, whether we know it or not, possess the ability - even in a darkening world of a new millennium - to fill each moment, great or small, with life, love, and curiosity if we just make the gesture. Great or small. Losing Venice is a wonderful book. A damned wonderful book.
October 14, 2020
A remarkable debut novel by Scott Stavrou. It is a wonderful wandering of an unsettled interior mind. Floating along the Venetian canals, searching for purpose, dealing with loneliness, friendship & the most elusive of all...love. Only someone who has lived in Venice could write with such vivid detail, clarity and affection about her charms and annoyances. There is a delightful languid quality to the book, peppered with literary references, wit, impetuous decisions, and prodigious amounts of Campari. Bravo Scott!
September 7, 2019
Losing Venice is such beautifully written novel that I didn't want it to end. It's an engaging story of self-discovery and finding love that took me on adventures in Venice, Prague, and the Greek Island of Hydra. The protagonist's clever and insightful reflections on life, identity, and love are evocative and peppered with humor, literary references, and moving descriptions. I whole-heartedly recommend Losing Venice and look forward to Scott Stavrou's next novel.
December 10, 2019
I've never been to Venice, but after reading Stavrou's book I can honestly say I want to go. As a fellow expat, I loved his entertaining stories and experiences. Living in another country can be frustrating at times, but also extremely fulfilling. The author captures all the emotions that go along with learning to live in a new culture, while also learning how much one person can deal with while on their own in a strange environment.
October 26, 2018
A wonderful, funny, clever novel. Can’t wait for Mr. Stavrou’s next book.
March 26, 2021
I had the pleasure of reading this book as part of a book club meeting on Bookish Road Trip on Facebook. Everyone enjoyed it! Those of us who'd been to Venice felt like Stavrou beautifully captured the essence of the place and brought back many memories of our travels there. Those who hadn't been to Venice mentioned the book making them want to. The novel is fiction but reads like a memoir. The first-person narration is part of why it reads that way, but the author's own experience as an ex-pat in Venice gives it a real ring of authenticity.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews