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The setting of acclaimed novelist Martin Cruz Smith’s latest mystery/thriller THE GIRL FROM VENICE is occupied Venice, 1945. A fisherman named Cenzo goes out one night and discovers a corpse in the lagoon. He soon realizes that the body is very much alive and belongs to a young Jewish woman named Giulia who had been hiding in the lagoon after the Nazis arrested her family.
Cenzo wants to help her escape, but that task proves difficult. His partisan contact has been arrested and Giulia is a force to be reckoned with. She has a mind of her own and does not want to follow his suggestions for keeping safe. He hides her in his tiny shack, built on stilts in the marsh. She proceeds to chop off her hair and wants him to teach her how to fish. Smith’s details of the waterways and the methods of fishing are fascinating to read and add much realism to the book. And all the time, the specter of the Nazi gunboats prowling the waters and searching for Giulia contributes to the ongoing suspense of the narrative.
Cenzo is an artist as well as a talented fisherman who has much to teach his odd pupil. He also has a sad and unusual personal story. His beautiful young wife had been wafted away from him by his brother Georgio, a well-known actor, and then killed in a bombing attack. He had lost his younger brother in the fighting.
Giulia leaves and Cenzo searches for her. He becomes involved in a plot to discover who betrayed Giulia's family. Tension mounts as he looks for the person and knows the person is looking for Giulia. Georgio has connections in the high command and is also involved in the search. His fame as an actor allows him special access to people and places. The action continues as the brothers become involved in anti-fascist activities.
In a well written novel with unusual characters and a compelling plot, Martin Cruz Smith has provided insights into how the waning days of WWII affected certain groups of Italians. THE GIRL FROM VENICE is an engaging tale of love and loss and wartime pressures.
§ Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, November 2016
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