A masterful, enthralling new novel from the Booker Prize winner
Everything was a puzzle, everything a trap set to mystify and hinder me. . . .
1899. As the new century approaches, struggling English writer Evelyn Dolman—a hack, by his own description—marries Laura Rensselaer, daughter of an American oil tycoon. Evelyn anticipates that he and Laura will inherit a substantial fortune and lead a comfortable, settled life. But his hopes are dashed when a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, just before the patriarch’s death, leads to her disinheritance.
The unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice to celebrate the New Year at the Palazzo Dioscuri, ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo. From their first moments in the mist-blanketed floating city, otherworldly occurrences begin to accumulate. Evelyn’s already jangled nerves fray further. Where has Laura disappeared to? How to explain the increasingly sinister circumstances closing around him? Could he be losing his mind?
Venetian Vespers is a haunting, atmospheric novel from one of the most sophisticated stylists of our time.
★ “Celebrated and virtuoso novelist Banville entwines his gift for historical crime fiction with his most cunning literary artistry in this fever-dream of a tale. . . . Banville is at his Jamesian finest in this beguiling novel of diabolical gambits.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)
“An intricate puzzle investigating the erotic yet toxic relationship between a perfidious woman and her susceptible victim.” —Barbara Conaty, Library Journal
“An English writer and his secretive bride make a fateful visit to Italy in Banville’s eerie latest. . . . Will linger in readers’ minds. . . . He keeps the reader guessing.” —Publishers Weekly
★“A trip to Venice takes a dark turn for a British writer and his American wife. . . . Banville once again proves himself a master of suspense, and he captures a noir version of Venice perfectly. Evelyn is a fascinating character: monstrous, certainly, but is he really being manipulated? Is he manipulating the reader? It’s an open question, and a testament to Banville’s considerable skill as a storyteller. Dark, twisty, and consistently smart: vintage Banville.” —Kirkus (starred)
★ “A master of the twisty-turny plot and an able creator of atmospheric settings, Banville has written a stylish, skillfully crafted noir that is quite simply a pleasure to read, and will keep you guessing till the very end.” —Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (starred)
JOHN BANVILLE, the author of seventeen novels, has been the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. He lives in Dublin.
View titles by John Banville
A masterful, enthralling new novel from the Booker Prize winner
Everything was a puzzle, everything a trap set to mystify and hinder me. . . .
1899. As the new century approaches, struggling English writer Evelyn Dolman—a hack, by his own description—marries Laura Rensselaer, daughter of an American oil tycoon. Evelyn anticipates that he and Laura will inherit a substantial fortune and lead a comfortable, settled life. But his hopes are dashed when a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, just before the patriarch’s death, leads to her disinheritance.
The unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice to celebrate the New Year at the Palazzo Dioscuri, ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo. From their first moments in the mist-blanketed floating city, otherworldly occurrences begin to accumulate. Evelyn’s already jangled nerves fray further. Where has Laura disappeared to? How to explain the increasingly sinister circumstances closing around him? Could he be losing his mind?
Venetian Vespers is a haunting, atmospheric novel from one of the most sophisticated stylists of our time.
Praise
★ “Celebrated and virtuoso novelist Banville entwines his gift for historical crime fiction with his most cunning literary artistry in this fever-dream of a tale. . . . Banville is at his Jamesian finest in this beguiling novel of diabolical gambits.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)
“An intricate puzzle investigating the erotic yet toxic relationship between a perfidious woman and her susceptible victim.” —Barbara Conaty, Library Journal
“An English writer and his secretive bride make a fateful visit to Italy in Banville’s eerie latest. . . . Will linger in readers’ minds. . . . He keeps the reader guessing.” —Publishers Weekly
★“A trip to Venice takes a dark turn for a British writer and his American wife. . . . Banville once again proves himself a master of suspense, and he captures a noir version of Venice perfectly. Evelyn is a fascinating character: monstrous, certainly, but is he really being manipulated? Is he manipulating the reader? It’s an open question, and a testament to Banville’s considerable skill as a storyteller. Dark, twisty, and consistently smart: vintage Banville.” —Kirkus (starred)
★ “A master of the twisty-turny plot and an able creator of atmospheric settings, Banville has written a stylish, skillfully crafted noir that is quite simply a pleasure to read, and will keep you guessing till the very end.” —Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (starred)
JOHN BANVILLE, the author of seventeen novels, has been the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. He lives in Dublin.
View titles by John Banville
