Vaporetto 13

Rating:
Summary: Too much like "Madeleine's Ghost"
Review: While "Vaporetto 13" has its own charms, I found it a bit too similar to author Robert Girardi's first novel, the exquisite "Madeleine's Ghost." In this, his third book, it's as if Girardi were trying to throw together all the left-over ideas from the first novel just to fulfill a contractual obligation. Entire scenes from "Vaporetto 13" are lifted from "Madeleine's Ghost" almost wholly intact, including one passage where a ghostly woman sits on a bed, telling the hero a long expository story. Additionally, "Vaporetto 13" ends a bit abruptly, as if Girardi wasn't sure how to wrap things up but had to finish quickly to meet a deadline (perhaps under that supposed contractual obligation). It would've been nice if the author showed how the hero struggles to live up to the agreement he makes in the preachy final scene, featuring a character that, again, could've come straight from "Madeleine's Ghost." Of course, the third book does have its qualities. With the lyricism and wit that marked his first novel, Girardi evokes haunting images of Venice, a sinking city with a history as deep as the Mediterranean. Most of his characters are drawn in rich, colorful detail, even the ones who resemble those in "Madeleine's Ghost." And the otherworldly premise is intriguing. If only Girardi had shown more originality, this novel could've soared above its present mediocrity.