A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance
Registered by rem_STP-921375 on 10/21/2007
7 journalers for this copy...
"When Fernando spots her in a Venice cafe and knows immediately that
she is The One, Marlena de Blasi is caught off guard. A divorced
American woman travelling through Italy, she thought she was satisfied
with her life. Yet within a few months, she quits her job as a chef,
sells her house, kisses her two grown-up kids goodbye, and moves to
Venice. Once there, she finds herself sitting in sugar-scented
pasticcerie, strolling through sixteenth-century palazzi, renovating
an apartment overlooking the seductive Adriatic Sea, and preparing to
wed a virtual stranger in an ancient stone church. As this
transplanted American learns the hard way about the peculiarities of
Venetian culture, we are treated to an honest, often comic view of how
two middle-aged people, both set in their ways but also set on being
together, build a life. A THOUSAND DAYS IN VENICE is filled with the
foods and flavours of Italy and peppered with recipes and culinary
observations. But the main course here is about a woman who falls in
love with both a man and a city, and finally finds the home she didn't
know she was missing."
she is The One, Marlena de Blasi is caught off guard. A divorced
American woman travelling through Italy, she thought she was satisfied
with her life. Yet within a few months, she quits her job as a chef,
sells her house, kisses her two grown-up kids goodbye, and moves to
Venice. Once there, she finds herself sitting in sugar-scented
pasticcerie, strolling through sixteenth-century palazzi, renovating
an apartment overlooking the seductive Adriatic Sea, and preparing to
wed a virtual stranger in an ancient stone church. As this
transplanted American learns the hard way about the peculiarities of
Venetian culture, we are treated to an honest, often comic view of how
two middle-aged people, both set in their ways but also set on being
together, build a life. A THOUSAND DAYS IN VENICE is filled with the
foods and flavours of Italy and peppered with recipes and culinary
observations. But the main course here is about a woman who falls in
love with both a man and a city, and finally finds the home she didn't
know she was missing."
I am sending this out on a bookring. The participants are:
RubyBlueLady - UK
scotsbookie - UK
bookmaniac70 - Bulgaria
vainilla79 - Spain
Icila - France
Brujula - France
Ainewicca - Netherlands
BOKWORMY - Portugal
acountkel - USA
Bluestocking88 - USA
MaryZee - USA
cafekat - USA
kobie03 - Canada
taniazed - Australia
niccijl - UK
Inver - UK
Kerriou - UK
pennywhistler - UK
RubyBlueLady - UK
scotsbookie - UK
bookmaniac70 - Bulgaria
vainilla79 - Spain
Icila - France
Brujula - France
Ainewicca - Netherlands
BOKWORMY - Portugal
acountkel - USA
Bluestocking88 - USA
MaryZee - USA
cafekat - USA
kobie03 - Canada
taniazed - Australia
niccijl - UK
Inver - UK
Kerriou - UK
pennywhistler - UK
Journal Entry 3 by RubyBlueLady from Avebury, Wiltshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Finally, it's turned up! I think it got lost amongst the postal strike backlog for a while there. Will read it now.
I enjoyed parts of this book more than others, some of it I found pretentious and the writing style 'flowery'. This woman is obsessed with food, she must be enormous. I like to read about Italy and Venice, so those parts pleased me, as did the idionsyncracies of Venetians.
If anyone is interested, she has written a sequel 'A Thousand Days in Tuscany'.
Will post on.
If anyone is interested, she has written a sequel 'A Thousand Days in Tuscany'.
Will post on.
Yikes! I've had very few rings/rays over the past couple of months & have managed to read quite a few books from Mount TBR... now rings are arriving in a daily basis! This is the 4th one I've received, I promise to get to it asap, but a little patience might be required. Thank you RubyBlueLady & pennywhistler.
I wasn't much taken with the author & Fernando's relationship parts of the book, but I loved the discriptions of Venice & Italy & the scrumptious recipes.
Just off to PM bookmaniac70.
Just off to PM bookmaniac70.
Journal Entry 7 by scotsbookie at to a fellow bookcrosser in book ring/ray, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, December 6, 2007
Released 16 yrs ago (12/7/2007 UTC) at to a fellow bookcrosser in book ring/ray, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Received with three other bookrings:-)). I hope to spend more time reading during the holidays and to catch up with everything.
I throughly enjoyed this book. It started a bit like a romance novel but Marlena de Blasi writes very inteligently and page after page I discovered something more than that. It`s a really beautiful story about love in a mature age. I loved the light-hearted way of telling it. I was impressed by what she said about the tower of pain-how we accumulate pain and keep it within ourselves to show off. That was exactly the thing she managed to avoid in her story.It sounded fresh and light,as a real new beginning. I am in love with Italy myself having visited it many times (incl.Venice:-)),and it was a pleasure to plunge once again into its unique atmosphere. I liked the witty observations about Italian character and way of life. I would be interested in the sequel.
For the moment,no answer from vainilla79. I sent a second PM and hope to get a reply soon.
Book went in the mail to vainilla79.
Journal Entry 12 by bookmaniac70 at to the next participant in surface mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Released 16 yrs ago (1/16/2008 UTC) at to the next participant in surface mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Sent to vainilla79.
Sent to vainilla79.
Hello,
I received the book two weeks ago but I couldn't make an entry because I still have problems with my computr and now with my internet connection...
Anyway, I already read this sweet story and I loved it:) I am very fond of Italy and for me, stories like this are magical! and it makes you believe that love makes everything possible:)
I am contacting the next bookcrosseer and sending the book as fast as possible.
Sorry for my delay.
Take care!
I received the book two weeks ago but I couldn't make an entry because I still have problems with my computr and now with my internet connection...
Anyway, I already read this sweet story and I loved it:) I am very fond of Italy and for me, stories like this are magical! and it makes you believe that love makes everything possible:)
I am contacting the next bookcrosseer and sending the book as fast as possible.
Sorry for my delay.
Take care!
I received the book testerday along with two other bookrings. Thanks vainilla79 and don't be sorry for the stamp. ;)
I very enjoyed this book. I know Venice and took a great pleasure to travel along with Marlena. Besides I'm in admiration that she could cook, move and renew her life and the places so easily.
I'm going to Tuscany within few weeks so I look forwards to it.
I'm interested too in the sequel.
PMing the next.
08/03/26 : on its way to Brujula
I'm going to Tuscany within few weeks so I look forwards to it.
I'm interested too in the sequel.
PMing the next.
08/03/26 : on its way to Brujula
The book arrived safely in Belfort today.
Thank you for the PEZ candy! I love those, they remind me of when I was a kid!
Thank you for the PEZ candy! I love those, they remind me of when I was a kid!
I know it is a true story, but some of it sounds like a fairy tale.
And when reading about the moods of the man, and the incomprehension that sometimes arises in the couple, you wonder how those two stay together.
I don't know if I could just give up everything in my life to follow a man.
A nice read, anyway.
And when reading about the moods of the man, and the incomprehension that sometimes arises in the couple, you wonder how those two stay together.
I don't know if I could just give up everything in my life to follow a man.
A nice read, anyway.
Mailed yesterday to Ainewicca.