Tags:
by-city, city, cultural, culture, early-modern, europe, fiction, italy, location, medieval, middle-ages, non-fiction, political, politics, renaissance, setting, social, society, under-400-fiction, under-400-reads, venice
Bettie
15673 books
19 friends
19 friends
Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large)
546 books
365 friends
365 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
3386 books
852 friends
852 friends
Lobstergirl
5738 books
157 friends
157 friends
Megan
992 books
19 friends
19 friends
jo
2849 books
364 friends
364 friends
Brittany
1328 books
118 friends
118 friends
Agnieszka
4526 books
141 friends
141 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-35 of 35 (35 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Bettie
(new)
Jan 31, 2010 06:32AM
Thanks Themis!
reply
|
flag
Yes. Sorry for cluttering the list with her books, but she really WAS one of the first authors who came to my mind for books with Venice as a setting!
Themis-Athena wrote: "Yes. Sorry for cluttering the list with her books, but she really WAS one of the first authors who came to my mind for books with Venice as a setting!"That's the beauty of these lists - one can get an idea of what to look for next.
:O)
If you could name them, we would be happy to remove them.ETA: Whoa! Emma? Mansfield Park? The Handmaid's Tale? THE HOBBIT? What the heck?
I'm going to be getting rid of the worst offenders now.
Books to remove: The Reader, Dreams from my Father, the Book Thief, Middlesex
I think the poster thought she was posting on a different list.
I think the poster thought she was posting on a different list.
Susanna wrote: "ETA: Whoa! Emma? Mansfield Park? The Handmaid's Tale? THE HOBBIT? What the heck?"
It could be that Jasper Fforde is working on bringing back to us that missing tome Bilbo Does Venice
Removed for not being set in Venice:Animal Farm, by George Orwell
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
Northanger Abbey/Persuasion, by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
Emma, by Jane Austen
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo, by Adam Roberts
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Additionally I question, but don't know enough about:
First Love, Last Rites, by Ian McEwan - short stories. Are any set in Venice?
The Invention of Curried Sausage, by Uwe Timm - Seems to be set in Germany?
The Reader - is any of that set in Venice?
Ein Bundel Weiber Narzissen - Don't have enough German to even guess what this is.
All Quiet on the Western Front - it's been some years since I read it, but I don't recall Venice in it. Anyone read it more recently?
Das Halsband der Taube - Again, not enough German.
Effie Briest - seems to be set in Germany.
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - book description is in German, mine isn't good enough.
Dirt Music - seems to be set in Australia.
Abenteuer der Tugend - no description.
Geh fort, wenn du kannst - no description.
Abelard's Love - I associate Abelard and Heloise with medieval France. Did he spend time in Venice? Does this book?
The Lovely Bones - thought that was set in the U.S.
My Sister's Keeper - thought this was also set in the U.S.
1984 - perhaps someone who has read this more recently than I have remembers a Venetian scene?
Flying Hero Class - description sounds like it's a book about passengers on a plane. Are they en route to Venice?
The Trial, by Franz Kafka
Mr. Pip - Book description says it's set in Papua New Guinea?
Joe Cinque's Consolation - description suggests it's set in Australia?
Middlesex - is any of it set in Venice?
Theft: A Love Story - sounds like it's set in Australia, Japan, and the U.S.
His Illegal Self - sounds like it's set in New York and Australia.
Cloudstreet - seems to be set in Australia.
The Book Thief - isn't this one set in Munich?
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit - description says it's set in the U.K.
The Picture of Dorian Gray - thought this one was mostly in England?
The Camomile Lawn - seems to be set in WW2 Britain?
The Slap - from description, I couldn't tell what the setting was in the city or country sense.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - thought this was set in France.
A Suitable Boy - thought this was set in India.
Ali and Nino: A Love Story - description suggests it's set in the Azerbaijan/Iran area.
The God of Small Things - thought this was set in India.
Dreams from my Father - Does President Obama talk about Venice in this?
Suite Francaise - thought this was set in German-occupied France.
On Chesil Beach - sounds like it's set in the U.K.
Life of Pi - description suggests it's set in India.
Sons and Lovers - I'm trying to repress as much of D.H. Lawrence as possible, but I was under the impression this one was set in Britain.
The Poisonwood Bible - thought this one was set in Africa.
True History of the Kelly Gang - thought this was set in Australia.
The Trumpeting Angel - also set in Australia?
Year of Wonders - thought this was set in Britain?
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure - both title and description suggest a setting of India.
Veronika Decides to Die - description suggests setting of Slovenia.
Per Hayes' suggestion, removing:The Reader
Dreams From My Father
The Book Thief
Middlesex
ETA: And now I'm off to bed with Dorothy L. Sayers and a (formerly cranky) cat.
Hayes wrote: "Books to remove: The Reader, Dreams from my Father, the Book Thief, MiddlesexI think the poster thought she was posting on a different list."
Yes, I think you are right Hayes - doesn't smack of willful sabotage of a theme.
Susanna wrote: "Per Hayes' suggestion, removing:The Reader
Dreams From My Father
The Book Thief
Middlesex
ETA: And now I'm off to bed with Dorothy L. Sayers and a (formerly cranky) cat."
Great librianship S! Thanks. Sleep tight.
xx
Life of Pi - description suggests it's set in India.
The Poisonwood Bible - thought this one was set in Africa.
I have read these as well, and they can be removed... I'm a librarian so I'll do these two.
Enjoy Dorothy!
ETA: Also took off 1984 and Eat Pray Love (which takes place in Rome, not Venice).
Little Dorrit? Dint know it was set in Venice... haven't read it of course.
The Poisonwood Bible - thought this one was set in Africa.
I have read these as well, and they can be removed... I'm a librarian so I'll do these two.
Enjoy Dorothy!
ETA: Also took off 1984 and Eat Pray Love (which takes place in Rome, not Venice).
Little Dorrit? Dint know it was set in Venice... haven't read it of course.
SUsanna wrote: "Additionally I question, but don't know enough about:"...XXX Oceana setting includes UK. Is mentioned world divided into superpowers, but is not the setting > 1984 -
XXX Pretty sure not Venice> The Trial, by Franz Kafka
XXX DOn't remember any setting in Venice> Middlesex
XXX Not Venice> The Book Thief
XXX Not Venice- is Africa> The Poisonwood Bible
Sons & Lovers - NottinghamTrue History of the Kelly Gang - Australia
A Suitable Boy - India
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit - Lancashire
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure - the clue is in the title
Glad to see 1984 has gone, but I think there are still a lot more offenders.
Good grief. There are still PLENTY of books on this list that don't seem to have anything to do with Venice whatsoever!ETA: Bettie, any that you want a librarian to delete in particular?
Removing:Flying Hero Class
Joe Cinque's Consolation
Cloudstreet
Sons and Lovers
True History of the Kelly Gang
A Suitable Boy
Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
Veronika Decides to Die
Little Dorrit is OK; I've read it, and Venice is in it.
Themis-Athena wrote: "Good grief. There are still PLENTY of books on this list that don't seem to have anything to do with Venice whatsoever!ETA: Bettie, any that you want a librarian to delete in particular?"
I was (as you can see!) very suspicious of a lot of them; but decided to be cautious with the ones I was not positive about.
I removed, because I'm sure that they are NOT (not even partially) set in Venice:The Picture of Dorian Gray
The God of Small Things
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Suite Francaise
The Trial
The Lovely Bones
My Sister's Keeper
Perfume
All Quiet on the Western Front
Effi Briest, btw, IS set in Germany, but some 3 or 4 pages's worth of it refers to the heroine's honeymoon in Italy (Venice included). Does that suffice to leave it on this list?
I think the Alchemist can be axed as well; I did not finish it, however, so am not 100% sure.
On Chesil Beach looks suspect too.
On Chesil Beach looks suspect too.
So do the two by Peter Carey ("His Illegal Self" and "Theft" -- both Australia, plus New York City in "Illegal Self") and Winterson's "Sexing the Cherry" (England).And I think I'll take the liberty to delete Gaardner's "Christmas Mystery" -- that one's set in Norway.
ETA: Checked and removed a few more books: "Pope Joan" (Rome), "Dirt Music" (Western Australia), "Year of Wonders" (England), "The Faraday Girls" (chiefly Australia & Ireland, scant Italian settings that don't include Venice), "Mister Pip" (Papua New Guinea), "Das Halsband der Taube" (Alamut/Persia), "The Invention of Curried Sausage" (Hamburg), "First Love, Last Rites" (various settings, but not Venice), and the various Luise Rinser novels (some of which have Italian, but again not Venetian settings).
Themis-Athena wrote: "Effi Briest, btw, IS set in Germany, but some 3 or 4 pages's worth of it refers to the heroine's honeymoon in Italy (Venice included). Does that suffice to leave it on this list?"In my opinion, no. Deleting.
Invisible Cities? Hmm. It's a conversation, or series of conversations, between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan -- it's been a while since I've read it, but I remember it as taking place at Kublai Khan's court, which would manifestly NOT be in Venice?
Not sure if you folks have seen it, but Jeff Cotton runs a website called Fictional Cities and one page of it is a whole list of books set in Venice: http://www.fictionalcities.co.uk/veni.... He's quite thorough. Maybe it will help in your clean up process?
Tonya wrote: "Not sure if you folks have seen it, but Jeff Cotton runs a website called Fictional Cities and one page of it is a whole list of books set in Venice: http://www.fictionalcities.co.uk/veni.... He..."Great resource!
Thanks, Lobstergirl! Glad you found it valuable. Sometime when its not midnight, I'll add a few books to the list that are part of my collection of favorite references!
I added The Witch Hunter Whilst this book is initially set in Finland, about a third of it is set in Venice about 10 years prior to the current storyline. It's very descriptive and the location becomes almost a character in and of itself, with the main character's experiences there very much causing her to be the way she is today. I loved that Venice featured so much in this book, especially as it is so different to Finland and juxtaposes the two timelines beautifully.
Related News
Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...
Anyone can add books to this list.













