I re-read Martin Cruz Smith's "The Girl from Venice" for my book club, and the start is just brilliant. Smith introduces two incredibly well-developed characters, and the plot kicks off with such a fascinating premise. You're set up to expect this amazing love story unfolding against the backdrop of World War II in Italy. But, honestly, after about 75 pages, the book just loses its way. The plot balloons with all these dull and confusing side stories. And the girl, who's supposed to be holding e...

I'm genuinely thankful to Martin Cruz Smith's *The Girl from Venice* for proving that I haven't become so cynical after a pretty rough divorce this year that I can't still enjoy a good love story, well told. It also showed me I can still enjoy lighter fiction without my inner literary snob rising up to scold me for wasting my precious reading time. This is a World War II story set in Venice. A fisherman out on his boat one night discovers the body of a young woman in the water. At first, he assu...

3.5 STARSVenice, 1945. The war might be winding down, but La Serenissima is still occupied, and Italians live in fear of the Third Reich. One night, beneath a sky full of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo finds a young woman's body floating in the lagoon, only to discover she's alive and in serious trouble.Giulia, born into a wealthy Jewish family, is running from the SS. Cenzo chooses to protect her rather than turn her over to the Nazis. This act of kindness pulls them into a world of Partisans, ...

I received a free ARC of *The Girl from Venice* from NetGalley for review. A book with the word *Girl* in the title? Groundbreaking… *cough* In the final days of World War II in Europe, an Italian fisherman named Cenzo reels in what he believes to be the corpse of a young woman. Except, she's just playing possum. Cenzo quickly discovers that Giulia is Jewish and fleeing Nazis who just murdered her family. Cenzo shelters Giulia, only to find she holds a secret that someone is desperate to bury...

3.5 stars. Three brothers: Hugo, whose death provides fodder later on; Giorgio, who becomes an actor, the "lion of Italy" and later Mussolini's propaganda chief; and Cenzio, who wants only to be a fisherman on his island of Pellestrina, plying his trade on the Venetian canals. On one such trip, he discovers a young girl floating in the canal, a Jewish girl who has escaped the death of her father and others. Cenzio's life as a peaceful fisherman will come to an abrupt end.I found *The Girl from V...

I don't know how to say this any other way, but I loved "The Girl from Venice". Cenzo Vianello is one of my favorite characters ever written. He is exactly what he is: a fisherman in the lagoons near Venice, Italy. I had no idea they fished there! I always just pictured it full of gondolas, but apparently before and during WWII, they did fish there. This is a fantastic historical fiction read!Besides being a fisherman, he's the brother of Italy's famous and handsome actor and Mussolini spokesman...

The Girl from Venice - 2.5 stars... When I chose to read *The Girl from Venice* I was hoping for a captivating war story steeped in the atmosphere of Venice. Instead of feeling completely immersed in the story and the time period, I felt more like an outsider looking in. If you've ever been with a group of people who are talking about something that happened when you weren't around, so you don't quite get what all the fuss is about, then you'll understand how I felt about Martin Cruz Smith's wr...

Martin Cruz Smith's *The Girl from Venice* is an engaging historical thriller, transporting you to Venice and Salò in Italy, 1945. Italy is in absolute turmoil, overrun with German troops – some seeking vengeance as Hitler's power crumbles – a confined Mussolini trying to escape with his mistress, and Italian families torn by divided loyalties, facing the uncertainties of a new reality. Cenzo, a fisherman, has deeply conflicted relationships within his family. His mother is trying to set him up ...

An entertaining historical thriller with the feel of a wartime romance, giving it a "Casablanca" vibe. Cenzo, a thirty-something fisherman, rescues Guilia, an aristocratic Jewish teen, from the Nazis and tries to keep her safe in an environment where trust is a rare commodity. The sense of a world spiraling into chaos, with death lurking behind every corner, often sets the stage for romance, but in this case, the bonds feel more like the creation of a makeshift family, standing together against ...

2.5 starsIt's been a while since I last picked up a Martin Cruz Smith novel. I really enjoyed *Gorky Park* and a few others in the Arkady Renko series, but then I didn't care for one and just gave up on him. So, I was happy that NetGalley provided me with an advance copy of *The Girl from Venice* so I could give Smith another shot. Cruz Smith's writing style is definitely sparse. He tells the story without a lot of extra fluff or embellishment. The story is set in Italy near the end of WWII. The...