I visited lots of blogs and read some wonderful reviews (added books to my TBR list and took note of ones to avoid) but was only able to comment on a few...Blogger seems to have taken a dislike to me...not content with wiping out the entire list of blogs that I follow it has now reduced the "comment as...choose profile" box to almost nothing so it won't let me log in...sigh....
My book for June was "Beastly Things" by Donna Leon
I can see a distinct pattern to my reading habits as this is another book in a series....it seems I only try new authors on Kindle....
The series features Inspector Brunetti and is set in Venice - a character in its own right and not just a picturesque setting.
The book starts with the recovery of a man's body from one of the canals. Who was he? Who killed him? Why?
Brunetti finds the answers to all these questions but the book is so much more than a police procedural.
While we follow Brunetti's investigation around the city, through tourist spots and more mundane streets, we learn how the singular nature of Venice has shaped the character of its inhabitants. The mainland is a place to visit only if absolutely necessary...
We are also given a feel for Italian politics and bureaucracy......lots of red tape and who you know is more important than what you know.
The EU is seen as interfering and its rules and regulations as annoyances.
There are also discussions on morality - is it OK to technically break the law in order to do good? If you know something bad about someone do you tell or keep quiet?
I enjoyed the book very much. Donna Leon has a fluid writing style and, although American, she really does impart the feel of Venice and its inhabitants.
One word of warning (without giving the plot away) there are some "gruesome" scenes and I was tempted to become a vegetarian.
Now on to my art work.
I've gone back to collage this month...inspired by a tutorial from "Cloth, Paper, Scissors" I aimed for a textured background and a transparent foreground:
The background is made up of images of Venice, clothes tags (The Original Macaroni is actually knitwear by Weird Fish, the weird fish is also a label), food and drink labels (it was a real hardship to drink the Prosecco for its textured label), ribbon and a black leather tag from a handbag. I brushed on some silver paint in places.
The foreground is a map of Venice printed on acetate.
I'm looking forward to reading this month's reviews...and hope I may even be able to comment!
