A Thousand Days in Venice (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by Marlena De Blasi
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of A Thousand Days in Venice.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 265)
bookshelves:
biographies-and-memoirs,
book-club-reads,
chick-lit-women-s-lit,
cook-books,
non-fiction,
the-100-in-2007
Read in August, 2007
Marlena De Blasi was a chef in St. Louis who traveled to Italy and fell in love with Venice and a man named Fernando. He visited her in St. Louis, where they decided to marry, she sold her house, got rid of most of her possessions, and moved to Venice, marrying a man whom, throughout the book, she calls "the stranger".
A Thousand Days In Venice tells the story of her first meeting with Fernando through their wedding and on into the time that they decide to leave Venice and try somet...more
A Thousand Days In Venice tells the story of her first meeting with Fernando through their wedding and on into the time that they decide to leave Venice and try somet...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2005
Started ho-hum. Wasn't even sure I'd finish it. A memoir: romantic, lush with food and Damask and descriptions of Italy--chiefly the waterways and lagoons of Venice. Everything has a golden hue--even the man with one sharp front tooth! The author paints with words describing her adventures in meeting and marrying an Italian man, giving up everything and moving to Venice. She, a renowned chef and writer from St. Louis. How wonderful it would be to tour beginning in St. Louis and visiting all of t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
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...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Katy by:
Noel
I enjoyed the Author's story, but had a hard time keeping up with her writing style. It was very much a stream-of-consciousness style of writing. One minute you would be in present-day Venice, and then half way down the page you'd be in St. Loius, 10 years earlier.
It was interesting to see this marriage depicted. I felt that the author compromised so much of herself to move half way across the world to marry a stranger, and I was expecting the book to include more of her personal journey an...more
It was interesting to see this marriage depicted. I felt that the author compromised so much of herself to move half way across the world to marry a stranger, and I was expecting the book to include more of her personal journey an...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2006
This book had a few enjoyable moments, but unfortunately, the dull moments lasted longer. In a nutshell, the book is about a middle-aged Midwestern woman who travels to Venice, meets an Italian man who she spends a couple of days with, then he goes to visit her in St. Louis for two weeks, then she gives up her entire life to move to Venice to marry him. There have been a couple of sequels, so I know this couple are still together, but I don't think I'll bother reading any other books by this a...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
This book was pretty good. A little slow in some parts, and the main character was a little obnoxious sometimes...but overall i really liked it. This book allows you to feel the magic of Italy, Venice in particular (obviously), and it guarantees some pretty awesome daydreams of running away to Italy. Another thing I found interesting, the narrator is a cook and her descriptions of food are so exquisite. I can honestly say that I have never craved braised quail before (I don't even know what bra...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
yes
Her writing is very flowery and almost poetic in her descriptions. The story itself is sweet, and I like her insights on mature love and relationships. But I could never be friends with this woman in real life. She would drive me insane. As a bonus, the recipes in the back are actually really good. The sleeping plums sounded gross, but I've actually craved it since trying it at a friend's house.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
My Mother-in-law gave this book to me and it took me forever to get through it, because I did not like the way that it was written. But once I could get past that, it was definitely a "feel good about life" type of book. Actually, come to think of it, the only thing I like about this book was the cooking and talk of Italian wines.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
The book is autobiographical and the author has led a very interesting life... but even though she's published (quite a bit) I don't think she's a particularly good writer. To me it's appeal is in the fantasy... being in Venice and falling in love with a romantic Italian, travelling, eating, decorating, etc.
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
travel literature fans
Travel non-fiction about a woman who goes to Venice and a man meets her, falls in love with her and talks her into moving to Venice to marry him. Very well written and filled with recipes (she's a trained American chef!)
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
bookshelves:
italy,
non-fiction
Read in June, 2007
recommended to Caroline by:
Mom
Former St Louis chef, Marlena De Blasi, packs it up and moves to Venice. Her descriptions of this lovely city and how she finally feels at home there are wonderful. This book will make you want to cook, eat, and travel!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
bookshelves:
contemporaryfiction
Read in November, 2007
actually I didnt finish it. was mostly a travelogue of this womans journey to italy to marry a man she had just met and seemed long and drawn out. I got bored reading it and skimmed through to the end.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Romantic? Oh, yes! Breathtakingly so.
Maybe a tale like this could only happen in Venice, but this story is better than chocolate for making a woman feel good about life and second chances at love.
Maybe a tale like this could only happen in Venice, but this story is better than chocolate for making a woman feel good about life and second chances at love.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Although I was very interested in the experience of a woman who falls in love with a Venetian and moves to Venice, this book was not very well written, so it was a bit of a chore to get through.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
story of an american woman who marries an italian man and moves to Venice. Good airplane reading, and probably pretty interesting for foodies, since she is and food is a major topic.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
bookshelves:
biography-history
A lovely tale of a woman meeting an Italian man and marrying and settling into a life in Venice. Some food and recipe info -- and largely mood and setting and lush word pictures.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
Light reading, fun to find out how de Blasi met and married her Venetian husband. Her later books about their life in Tuscany and most recently Orvieto are also fun reads.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
romantics and travel buffs
This is a wonderful love story -- between a man and a woman, as well as a writer and a country. Reading this just before visiting Venice made the story even better!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
After visiting Venice in May '07, saw this on "a list". Wish I'd read it before going to Venice. - "An unexpected romance". Read in June '07. Have copy.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I really related to this book. She randomly marries a guy in venice and lives there for a thousand days. Not a love story but a good book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment























