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Title: Venice: The Four Seasons by Lisa St. Aubin De Teran, Mick Lindberg ISBN: 0-517-58959-1 Publisher: Random House Inc Pub. Date: 01 September, 1992 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $30.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: An Unusual Book That Never Quite Takes Off
Comment: Venice: The Four Seasons is neither a coffee table book nor a travel book, but it wants to be both, with the result that it does not quite succeed at either. Although the photos are lovely and less usual views of Venice, and although occasional bits of prose are apt and revealing, in general the book is just not coherent enough to be involving.

Lisa St Aubin de Teran has written at least one excellent book about Italy - A Valley in Italy. In Valley, her somewhat disconnected style supports and is supported by the structure and topic of the book, creating a delightful and funny work. In Venice, that same style is even more disconnected - her paragraphing is almost random, and the paragraphs themselves do not flow into each other, meaning that the text also doesn't flow - and unfortunately the topic and structure of the book make that disjunction worse. This makes for rather uncompelling text that never seems to commit to a train of thought; you might enjoy what you're reading at the moment, but you don't feel any compulsion to continue reading. After a while, I found myself fighting the impulse to skim, something I rarely do, just so I could get to the next set of photos faster.

The photographs are lovely; almost all professional pictures of Venice are. It is, after all, one of the most photogenic cities in the world. It is also one of the most photographed, so I was pleased that Mick Lindberg, the photographer, avoided the easy, cliche shots, presenting a more personal, intimate view of Venice. And when Lindberg does include standard shots, like gondolas, he offers an unusual take on them - gondolas in a repair shop, in the snow, covered in plastic, etc. The photos were the most appealing part of the book for me, so I was disappointed that the publishers didn't go for a full-scale coffee-table book approach; the book is smaller than a coffee-table book, and has less space devoted to pictures.

In short, the book is worth reading and examining for the creators' take on Venice; they do a fine job of presenting a less-publicized side of the city. With more photos, and more coherent and focused text, the book would be a classic. As it is, it is well worth reading once - but not worth the cover price.

Rating: 4
Summary: A highly personal portrait of a foreigner's life in Venice
Comment: A novelist and mother of three children describes everyday life in modern Venice from a foreign resident's point of view. The prose gets a bit florid at times, but the anecdotes are irresistible and the photos are a delight. - Durant Imboden, Venice for Visitors, http://govenice.miningco.co

Rating: 5
Summary: A book you will want to read again and again!
Comment: Every time you read and view the photographs of this wondrous book, you will acquire new insights to the spirit and beauty of Venice through the author's love affair with La Serenissima. I guarantee it