From the author of 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' comes a new and terrific story of Venice. This is a First edition and First Printing that is in Fine condition. The endpapers are maps of Venice. The book is fine as is the dustjacket. The dustjacket is not price -clipped. Venice is a city of masks and riddles, where narrow streets and passageways form a giant maze that confounds the uninitiated and deepens the city's sense of mystery. The city teeters in a precarious balance between endurance and decay. The story opens in 1996 when a sensational fire destroys the historic Venice Opera House where five of Verdi's opera's premiered. The novel contains an amazing number of interesting characters: A Contemporary surrealist painter, a master glassblower, pigeon trappers, scapegoats, hustlers, sleepwalkers, a believer in Martians, the plant man, the Rat Man of Treviso, and believe it or not, Henry James. Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other and then ultimately coming together to portray the world of Venice. This is a beautiful book and a captivating read. We are pleased to send pictures on request.