two canal cities in one – fiction set in Venice and Varanasi
- Book: Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
- Location: Varanasi, Venice
- Author: Geoff Dyer
The first novella is set in Venice and features Jeff, a journalist who embarks on a passionate affair with Laura from the States, during the Venice Biennale (it includes scenes of a sexual nature!). Jeff has certainly got the idea of researching a trip beyond the guide book, as gens up on Venice by reading Mary McCarthy’s Venice Observed and having enjoyed her description of Giorgione’s painting “The Tempest” sets out to find it. The dark canals, the heat, the little campi and calli all star in this well written book.
Varanasi (or Benares) is the setting for the second part of the book and the narrator guides us through time spent in the city, his observations of the different ghats (“walking along the ghats is like going on safari”), the friends he makes, and the frenzy of daily life for most of the inhabitants (but not all). The pulsating, noisy and colourful city simply lifts off the pages as if the reader were there too. This is a city full of vibrancy and destitution and traffic and animal chaos – if you were to find yourself driving all you need is need a “Good horn, good brakes and good luck”. This book is a pantheon of interesting events and experiences ….
Please wait...
