Venetian Dreaming

Rating:
Summary: Should have left this book in her dreams
Review: A better title would have been "My Evil Venetian Landlords". Paula Weideger recounts her off-again, on-again, life in Venice renting an apartment in a 17th-century palazzo. Those of us obsessed with Venice will read anything set there, but this will give you relatively little about Venice and relatively more than you want to know about Ms. Weidger's ability to get the best of her landlord.

If you or I lived such a life, and kept a diary about it, the diary might be just as full of the petty annoyances of our day-to-day lives: squabbles with the landlords, constant annoyance with malfunctioning appliances, down-the-nose observations about the fashion choices of other women, and a general self-obsession. It's what diaries are for, in a way. Weideger's error is not in having written 300+ pages of self-obsession but in publishing it.

I'm not sorry I read it (that's how much of a Venice-lover I am), but the rest of you might be better off heading for the local library than opening your wallet for this one.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing, bitchy, interesting...
Review: I picked the book up in order to remind myself of the fabulousness of Venice. And it did just that. However, I also got a big kick out of the author. She is hilariously judgemental and bitchy! Her accounting of her landlord makes me want to root for the landlord! Seems like a gal I'd love to have a cocktail with, but would hate to have as a mom. My fiance and I are heading to Italy for our honeymoon. It'll be his first time to Venice, and my second. I don't think the book was brilliant, but it was amusing, nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: On a bookshelf at Marco Polo airport
Review: I read this book on the plane back to the USA from Venice, where I had been (for the first time) for about a week on combined business and pleasure. I was captivated by the city and was hungry for anything more to read about it, so I picked up Venetian Dreaming at Marco Polo airport before boarding. I was surprised by the extremely negative reviews of the book, although I can understand the reasons for their criticism. I had read a fair amount about Venice and its history before the trip and wandered the city through crowds and quiet back streets and canals for a few days. From that perspective, it was interesting simply to read a description of many of the same places and a few more facts that weren't in the guidebooks.

At the next level, it was interesting to read an account by someone who acted on the fantasy many visitors to Venice have and move there for an extended period of time. Here we find Weideger moving to a city where she knows no one and trying to establish a social network. As a professional writer, she has the potential to move into literary and artistic circles, and she attempts to do so with some success. I too was struck by her brutal characterization some of the people she meets. Actually, I should say her attempts to do so, because Weideger has a journalistic style of writing that lacks depth in characterization.

I was reminded somewhat of A Sun Also Rises which to me was a boring book about bored inhabitants of an artistic colony who are searching for something to do. However, Weideger's colony is more interesting because Venice provides a focus of past glories and present problems in contrast to Hemingway's troupe of self-indulgent drunks. Yes, Weideger is trying to work her way into the inside of Venice, and yes, she lives in an artificial world because, after all, she hasn't just move to Venice, she also is going to write a book about it. But in doing so, we meet characters who are part of what is left of Venice, and in contrast to what some reviews have implied, some of these characters are interesting and admirable.

And then on another level, we become acquainted with Weideger herself. No, she doesn't seem very happy. And apparently a precondition for continuing to live together with "H." is that she can't really write about their relationship. But do we care? And we find that Weideger's lack of flexibility alienates her from her landlords, yet she doesn't seem to have any insight into this. Again, her journalistic style makes it easy to take sides with her landlords, who are interesting people.

Finally, we are left with a matter-of-fact account of one writer's year in a world that stopped turning in 1797 with the death of the Venetian Republic. It's not an uninteresting read.

Rating:
Summary: On a more forgiving note....
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Having lived in the Veneto Region and visited Venice so many times I'd often wondered what it was like to live inside one of those Venetian palaces. Ms. Weideger with luck managed to land an apartment in a most famous "Casa", and brought me every detail into vivid view.
The charming stories of the people she meets, many of whom become her friends, are scattered throughout and interspersed are interesting stories of Venetian history, and insider views regarding the future of Venice with all its politics. There was much of what I read that filled in the gaps of my personal knowledgebase of the city. I also loved how she included the sometimes unpleasant episodes with her landlords and how she finally resolved them "venetian style".
This was a very balanced book with something for everyone. And I think this is what the author wanted to achieve, or rather share with us, the reader. I had my engineer husband read the chapter of the MOSE so he could read more of what could become the largest engineering project in the world, and why many Italians question its worth. I was drawn to admire the author's tenacity as a student of the language. I myself have several times lived and studied in foreign countries where I did not know the native language and forced myself to become as fluent as possible finally making myself understood in conversations of the most particular. After reading this book you can't help but say bravo! to this lady who embraced a city and who embraced her in return.

Rating:
Summary: A nasty book about a beautiful city
Review: I'm glad I'm not the only person who really detested Paula Weideger. I started reading this book in Venice, and did enjoy the bits that taught me about the history, art and architecture of the city. However, it is spoiled by the presence of the author herself who is a highly unpleasant individual.

The highlight of the book for me was the fact that her name is given incorrectly on the back of the edition that I have (she is referred to as Paul not Paula) - I bet she fumed if she ever saw it!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful - Loved it -- now I WILL visit Venice!
Review: I've never been to Venice, but I will now. Paula Weideger gives an unusual view of this fascinating city (well, I think it will be!), through living there, firstly for a short period and then longer (she can't keep away!). If you want a book that will gain you insights into the usual, the unexpected and the less explored parts of Venice, all wrapped up in a fascinating tale, very up to date (read the challenges about getting her internet connection!), then this is it. If you have had a yearning for living in a different city for an extended period, and always wondered how to, then this is your book. A great read and for me, as compelling as a Grisham. Thanks for sharing Paula, when I go, I'll read your book first, take it with me and use it as my guidebook (oh yes, and watch for the tricky rental contracts too!)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful - Loved it -- now I WILL visit Venice!
Review: I've never been to Venice, but I will now. Paula Weideger gives an unusual view of this fascinating city (well, I think it will be!), through living there, firstly for a short period and then longer (she can't keep away!). If you want a book that will gain you insights into the usual, the unexpected and the less explored parts of Venice, all wrapped up in a fascinating tale, very up to date (read the challenges about getting her internet connection!), then this is it. If you have had a yearning for living in a different city for an extended period, and always wondered how to, then this is your book. A great read and for me, as compelling as a Grisham. Thanks for sharing Paula, when I go, I'll read your book first, take it with me and use it as my guidebook (oh yes, and watch for the tricky rental contracts too!)

Rating:
Summary: Basta Cosi
Review: Never have I read such a mean spirited book about the most beautiful city in the world. Half way through, I had to put it aside because I couldn't stand reading about the author's demands of her landlady. I have rented apartments in Italy and never, once, have I encountered anyone less than charming and helpful. This is not to say that travel memoirs are supposed to be happy, and delightful but a little restraint would have helped the reading experience. I have the impression that she was mostly miserable while she was there and if she was enthralled, it didn't show on the page. A much better Venice book is "A Thousand Days In Venice" written with great enthusiasm and a true love of the place. If you're going to live in Italy, you are not entitled to complain!

Rating:
Summary: Horrible woman
Review: What a horrible woman. The author. Selfish. Self-centered. Self obsessed. In all my years of reading, I don' t think I can recall an author I hated at the end of their book. Angry? Yes. Disagreeed with? Yes. But this women ... I am speachless that someone would not have stopped her.