I enjoyed the first part of this story as I am always eager to read books set in Italy, but by the end the story fell short.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of The Girl from Venice in exchange for an honest review.
Martin Cruz Smith is the author of the extremely successful Gorky Park. He wrote a number of books that starred the same Russian detective. The Girl from Venice is his first book that does not take place in Russia or star his wonderful detective.
However, it maintains Cruz's wonderful dialogue, his deep knowledge of surviving wars, and his understanding of all that goes on underneath what may seem to be a simple but superficial surface. The cast of characters is terrific, from one minute to the next, you are sure where they stand, who they support and they probably don't either. They just want to survive.
The story takes place at the end of WWII. Cenzo, an Italian fisherman, rescues a Jewish girl from drowning and falls in love with her. He is parted from her when a friend convinces him that she will be safer if the friend helps her get away from the small fishing village. Cenzo has a brother, a famous movie star who sided with the Nazis. Everyone wants to be associated with Giorgio, the brother because he is a famous movie star. He also stole Cenzo's wife and she died. The relationship between the brothers is so well written, and thought out, that I wanted to bow in admiration.
Cenzo goes on a search for Guilia, his jew, and most of the book is about his connections with the many people he has to get through in his search.
This is not a fast-action book. But action happens and Smith does some brilliant writing.
I highly recommend it.

A different sort of plot from Martin Cruz Smith but nonetheless well done and fascinating. This is well written and the characters are engaging. Excellent read.

I read this book because I was intrigued by the cover, but was less than enthralled by the story. I’ve not read any other books by Martin Cruz Smith so I have nothing else to which to compare it. I need more depth to a story.

Martin Cruz Smith’s novel is set in the waning days of World War II in northern Italy. Like most of his compatriots, Innocenzo Vianello plans to keep his head down and wait out the end. His loyalties are to his community, and, with a minor exception, to his family. Cenzo’s plans are complicated by the arrival of a floating body in the lagoon and the reappearance of his cuckolding movie star brother.

With his customary brio, Smith writes of the complicated love and poison that can simultaneously exist in a family. I recommend this fast moving novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book captured my interest from the first page. Cenzo, a poor Venetian fisherman, finds and rescues a beautiful young woman in the lagoons off Venice one night. Knowing he could be shot for his efforts, he willingly rescues her and ends up killing a Nazi officer to protect his secret. Giulia is the only surviving member of a wealthy Jewish family which was betrayed by someone they trusted. Now the Wehrmacht, the Partisans, and the Fascists are all after her to keep her from revealing the traitor. Martin Cruz Smith has created a vast array of rich supporting characters in this suspenseful tale which will keep you intrigued with its plot twists and satisfying conclusion.

You might read the description of this book and think, oh, geez, yet another book about World War II. What is it about this particular war, in a long history of ugly wars, that drives people to keep exploring it from every possible angle? I've read about this war from every conceivable front and so many unique perspectives, but when I read a book like this I am stunned at an author's ability to bring something new to the conversation.

I was almost surprised to see this book described as a love story — but of course it is; it's just that calling it that seems to belittle it somehow, or diminish the horrors of the war. Instead, the occupied city is brought dramatically to life with breathtaking moments of tension, mitigated a bit with some light-hearted humor and, (ahem), romance, from the fisherman and the girl he "caught", late one night in the murky waters of the Venice lagoon.


For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — the description sounded intriguing, and I had never read anything by Martin Cruz Smith.
Reminded me of… because I LOVE Venice, and historical fiction. In that order.
For my full review — click here

The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith is the kind of throwback war time romance thriller that can get lost in the abundance of cheap and tawdry works that pass for romance in the current marketplace. With unforgettable characters and impossible odds. The Girl From Venice is a book about war and betrayal. About heroism and regret and the one chance at redemption.

It is occupied Venice and the small port town of La Serenissima in 1945. The war is coming to a dismal and brutal end and the German army is retreating. Mussolini is still going about boasting and roaring about victory but the allied forces are on his doorstep. Italy, already in German hands, is about to fall to the allies. The people of La Serenissima find themselves caught between the Fascists, the Germans, the Partisans and the oncoming American army. Their only hope is to survive these final moments of the end of the war. But the German army has other ideas and is on a last ditch effort to erase what they have done. They are rounding up and killing the remaining Jews in Venice and for his part, Mussolini is hoarding all the gold he can to escape. Against this backdrop, the fisherman Cenzo goes about his day, gathering his catch. Until the night he finds a young woman's body floating in the lagoon and a German gunboat coming up fast. What Cenzo does next will change his life forever, and that of the young Jewish girl he pulls from the water.

"...Ah, this is, I take it, your 'nephew'. My God. And unless I have completely lost my eyesight and my wits, 'he' is a 'she.''
'So now you know,' Cenzo said.
'This is, you understand, a deception that won't last a minute in daylight.'
'We've done pretty well so far.'
'Well, dear boy, the Germans smell something. They found the body of an SS officer down a well. Do you know anything about that ?'
'No,' Cenzo said.
'It was self-defense,' said Guilia.
Nido rubbed his face. 'It just gets worse. Cenzo, how could you get into so much trouble in the middle of a fucking lagoon?..."

Cenzo finds himself embroiled in a end of the war mission to protect the young girl Giulia. Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia may hold the secret to who the betrayer among her people was. Cenzo finds himself in a place where there is no one to trust and with an overwhelming need to save this young girl. This will lead him into a world of broken promises, black market gold and forgeries and the secrets hidden in the Venice Lagoon. But Cenzo Vianello has secrets of his own.

"...Actually, there were three Vianello brothers,' said Cenzo. 'You can see us on the sail of our boat, putti da mare. Giorgio was the oldest, I was in the middle, and the youngest was Hugo. We were attacked by an Allied fighter plane. I did a painting of it. I am on deck, bleeding and praying to the Virgin, and Giorgio is in the water trying to save Hugo. The problem is I never prayed to the Virgin and Hugo and Giorgio were reversed. It wasn't Giorgio trying to save Hugo, it was Hugo trying to drown Giorgio and himself. You have to ask yourself: Why would Hugo do that..."

Now Cenzo must turn to the brother he hates and the Nazis he cannot trust to save a girl he does not truly know.

Yes I know, another book with the word Girl in the title. Aren't we all just sitting back and waiting on the blockbuster outdoor thriller titled, The Girl who took a shit in the Woods? But The Girl from Venice is nothing like those books. It is a novel of war and family and hope. And the damage all three can wreak. In fact the girl, Guilia, literally disappears for a sizable portion of the novel. So no, the book is not really about the girl from Venice. It is about the man from La Serenissima and the path he takes to rescue the girl. And in doing so, may finally rescue himself.

I have seen character growth over the course of a series, but rarely have I seen such growth in a character over the course of a single book. But the kicker to that is, that there was truly no growth at all. It was always there. As a reader we prejudge characters by their profession, their race and their initial words and actions. Our prejudices set the stage for the twists and turns that the novel will eventually take. It is slight of hand, the writer employs. A cheap magician's trick but we often play along.

Martin Cruz Smith does none of this. You are told from the outset who and what Cenzo is. But his slow movement and quiet but firm voice leads you to think he is nothing but an uneducated fisherman. An assumption made by the German gunship crew and as a reader you buy into it. Even Guilia, when she first meets him, sees him this way. But as the tale moves along you see more and more of the character and there is an integrity about him. A powerful sense of loss that has somehow become his strength. From the deaths of his brother and his wife and the betrayal that has marked him. From his decision to not murder an entire village and retire from the war. He is marked as a fool and a coward. But nothing could be further from the truth.

I had an overwhelming sense of Casablanca as I read this novel. Cruz has created a truly remarkable novel of love and fortitude and of hope in the face of despair.

And hope is a good thing.

A young girl, Giulia, is found and rescued by Cenzo who is barely surviving as a fisherman at the tail end of WWII. Although the plot sets itself up for intrigue, it never fully materializes. Giulia's character is not fully developed and I found myself not really caring about her too much. Although I wanted to like the book, I struggled with it. It is full of detail that helps but the plot bounces around a bit too much.

This book was intriguing to me--I love Venice, I have a deeper understanding of WWII than I ever did, and I have always enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's books. Seeing the German occupation from the POV of a poor Venetian fisherman was a new perspective for me. Cenzo's care and protection of Guilia was profound. I did not expect a love story from Arkady's master: he delivered beautifully.

This book at a lot going on brothers, survival, love story, fishing reference and lots and lots of movie star talk. Italy 1945 at the end of WW II. I had a hard time keeping up with everything going on and had to go back multiple times but once I understood it wasn't to bad. Nice quick read.

This was said to be a thriller, murder kind of book....hmmm


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The characters and plot are well developed, and the scenes the language allowed me to create in my mind were great. It started out a little slow, but definitely picked up, and I couldn't put it down. A great, and unique perspective on WWII. Highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed this book. The only drawback is that some of the chapters were too short in the ending so they should've been extended so the book wouldn't be so long. I do like it painted the picture of Venice during WWII since we seen a lot of other countries experience the war when we didn't know what happened to Italy much during the war.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book. This is one of the best books I read this year. Loved the love story between the two main characters. Would definitely recommend this book to all the booklovers out there.

I was captivated by the beginning of the book and looked forward to a pleasurable story by an author that was new to me. The setting was described so clearly that I could picture it, and I hoped to learn more about the people in the story. As the book progressed a lot more characters were added which created some confusion for me because they had varying agendas. At times, the book seemed to drag a bit, and I couldn’t wait to get through some of those parts.

One aspect I really liked was the opportunity to read a book set in Italy during World War 11. I do not have a lot of experience with historical fiction, but after reading a few, I found it was an interesting way to look at the past, so I’ve been adding some to my reading list. I also enjoyed all the information about fishing. My favorite character was Cenzo, the fisherman who found the girl in the water; he was portrayed as an honest, plainspoken man. His brother, the actor, on the other hand was a scoundrel and put his own interests first.

All in all, the author did a nice job of weaving this story together, and I did enjoy the book.

Descriptively captivating, but left me wanting more from the characterization.

Martin Cruz Smith takes a break from his long running Arkady Renko Russian crime series which started with Gorky Park to explore a corner of history. The Girl from Venice takes readers to Italy in the dying days of the Second World War. Italy is being bombed by the allies and is riven by division as Mussolini and the fascists cling on to power. At the same time the country is playing host to the German Western Front command and an increasingly desperate German army, many of whom can see the writing on the wall.

But the focus of the novel is Innocenzo, or Cenzo, a fisherman of Pallesteria, a small town across the lagoon from Venice. When Cenzo picks up what he thinks to be a dead girl floating in the lagoon he steps into a world of trouble. The girl, Gulia, very much alive, has escaped from a German attack that killed her Jewish family and the two end up in the middle of a number of power plays as various people try to manoeuvre as the war ends. Chief among these is Cenzo’s brother, a famous actor and propagandist for the Mussolini regime.

Cenzo, while having a very different background turns out to be a similar character to Renko. This is not apparent in the first half of the novel where he spends his time as a fisherman hiding Gulia. But when she disappears and he goes with his brother to Salo to find her, Cenzo turns out to be anything but a simple fisherman. Salo is the seat of the German high command and a hotbed of partisan activity. The narrative takes on some of the elements of noir crime fiction as Cenzo navigates this world with amazing aplomb and a healthy disrespect for authority, in a manner reminiscent of Cruz Smith’s Russian detective,

In The Girl From Venice, Cruz Smith effectively captures a point in time. In particular the chaos that accompanied the slow withdrawal of the Germans from Italy. The scenes in Salo as the American army advances, the German army crumbles and the Italians try to work out which side to bet on are particularly fascinating. All this sits in the background to the plot itself, part family drama, part mystery and part romance that keeps the whole ticking along. So that while he falls back on familiar character tropes, Cruz Smith delivers an engaging and fascinating historical drama.

This is a difficult book to review. In some parts of the book, I felt engaged with the story and was in love with the characters. The historical writing was beautifully done and it is a very atmospheric novel from the start. But, there were also times when I felt like the lack of details on certain events left me as an outsider rather than in the know, and that was frustrating and slowed my reading.

The only thing I can really say, is that sometimes the writing was warm and inviting and other times it seemed cold and distant, as though the author was removed from his own work. Perhaps, this just wasn't the kind of book I thought it would be.

The good parts of this book are very good though, and I definitely think it is worth the time to read.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.