Jeff Atman, a journalist, is in Venice to cover the opening of the Biennale. He's expecting to see a load of art, go to a lot of parties and drink too many bellinis. He's not expecting to meet the spellbinding Laura, who will completely transform his few days in the city. So begins a story of erotic love and spiritual learning that will reach its conclusion amidst the ghats of Varanasi.
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
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'Clever, funny, an intellectual with a resolutely bloke-ish stance; irreverent and incorrigibly subversive ... Dyer is more than a cult writer; he's a virus, invading your system. You look at things differently, embracing the idiosyncratic, keeping the obvious at bay ... vintage Dyer, painfully funny, slyly observant, brilliant, full of wild misery.' Spectator
About the Author
Geoff Dyer is the author of three previous novels, a critical study of John Berger, and six other non-fiction books, including But Beautiful, which was awarded the Somerset Maugham Prize; Out of Sheer Rage, which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist; and, most recently, The Ongoing Moment, which won the international Centre of Photography's 2006 Infinity Award for writing on photography. The winner of a Lannan Literary Award and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' E. M. Forster Award, Dyer lives in London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Jamie Mollart
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I bought this book because I heard the author interviewed on the Litopia Daily podcast. In the gap between purchasing it and reading it I heard his name mentioned almost exclusively in conjunction with superlatives. The best writer practising in English today was one of them. Like a young Kingsley Amis was another.
To say I had high hopes is an understatement.
The writing is without doubt accomplished; the perfect mix between quick and easy to read, and intelligent and poignant. I don't think it deserves either of the two monikers above, but as a writer he is certainly impressive.
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi is really two books.
The first part is a third person romp through the Biennale, as journalist Jeff Atman drinks and snorts his way through parties and exhibitions and enjoys a passionate but shallow affair with American gallery director, Laura. This section is very funny, often laugh out loud in it's grotesqueness and stays on just the right side of parody or whimsy.
The second is first person, as an unnamed journalist (I assumed it is still Jeff, but I could be wrong) becomes increasingly seduced by the madness of Varanasi. There is a lingering sadness to the second part of the book, and while still funny in parts it lacks the frenetic, almost farcical nature of the first part.
Based on Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, both parts of the book borrow themes and motifs from this classic Novella- unrequited love, the personality of places, and indeed it is Venice and Varanasi that are the real main characters here. Both are lovingly described in exquisite detail, both are decaying beauties, both are facades under which there is very little substance and yet both are revered as place of spiritually and culture.
The people are secondary, as too is the plot really, and it is the spirit of the two cities, so perfectly captured, that made this book such a pleasure to read.
To say I had high hopes is an understatement.
The writing is without doubt accomplished; the perfect mix between quick and easy to read, and intelligent and poignant. I don't think it deserves either of the two monikers above, but as a writer he is certainly impressive.
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi is really two books.
The first part is a third person romp through the Biennale, as journalist Jeff Atman drinks and snorts his way through parties and exhibitions and enjoys a passionate but shallow affair with American gallery director, Laura. This section is very funny, often laugh out loud in it's grotesqueness and stays on just the right side of parody or whimsy.
The second is first person, as an unnamed journalist (I assumed it is still Jeff, but I could be wrong) becomes increasingly seduced by the madness of Varanasi. There is a lingering sadness to the second part of the book, and while still funny in parts it lacks the frenetic, almost farcical nature of the first part.
Based on Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, both parts of the book borrow themes and motifs from this classic Novella- unrequited love, the personality of places, and indeed it is Venice and Varanasi that are the real main characters here. Both are lovingly described in exquisite detail, both are decaying beauties, both are facades under which there is very little substance and yet both are revered as place of spiritually and culture.
The people are secondary, as too is the plot really, and it is the spirit of the two cities, so perfectly captured, that made this book such a pleasure to read.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By G. L. Haggett
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
A curious combination of two long stories, apparently concerning the same main character, one written in the third person and the other in the first person.
The first section deals with a jaded journalist's brief but passionate affair, his discovery of something fresh and momentarily rejuvenating, among the party animals, the cliches, the drugs, the bellinis and the cynicism of the Venice biennale. For me, this was by far the more successful of the two sections of the book, all the better for its immediacy.
The second section is a considerably more philosophical, spiritual, first-person piece as one of the characters from the first section apparently seeks some sort of enlightenment in India.
I am sure it would be perfectly possible to read each part as an entity in its own right, but what brings them together (apart from the main character) is the acknowledgement of ageing, the ongoing search for meaning in life and the ultimate recognition that that meaning is likely to be found within rather than outside oneself.
Interesting but flawed.
The first section deals with a jaded journalist's brief but passionate affair, his discovery of something fresh and momentarily rejuvenating, among the party animals, the cliches, the drugs, the bellinis and the cynicism of the Venice biennale. For me, this was by far the more successful of the two sections of the book, all the better for its immediacy.
The second section is a considerably more philosophical, spiritual, first-person piece as one of the characters from the first section apparently seeks some sort of enlightenment in India.
I am sure it would be perfectly possible to read each part as an entity in its own right, but what brings them together (apart from the main character) is the acknowledgement of ageing, the ongoing search for meaning in life and the ultimate recognition that that meaning is likely to be found within rather than outside oneself.
Interesting but flawed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By John Fraser
Format:Paperback
First up, Geoff Dyer is a very talented writer - he's written art criticism, WWI history, literary biography, you name it. But the book he's best know for is, obviously, the brilliantly written (and titled, it's fair to say) short story collection Yoga For people Who Can't be Bothered to Do It.
I'll be honest, I wasn't convinced that Geoff Dyer could neccesarily take his wonderful short story writing style into the novel territory - it's fair to say that he's not big on plot development and narrative arcs - and arguably this book is, in fact, two novellas. There's no real plot to speak of and yes - the two halves do have very different tones.
However, to say there's nothing connecting them is strange. I found the two narratives flowed rather wonderfully from one to the other and - maybe I'm being far too literal here - I just read it as though they were about one and the same person. Two sides of the same story, in fact.
To suggest that this book isn't memorable seems a bit strange too, as many of the scenes, particularly those in Varanasi, are beautifully evocative and hugely visual. He writes wonderfully about the pace and mood of Indian life, the weird rituals and events that pass as normal in any given day in this extraordinary city. And the character's progression (or maybe regression) is compelling and pretty heartstopping.
It's fair to say that this won't be for all the fans of Yoga... but it's nonetheless a very rewarding experience. You'll be hard placed to find such an unusual and arresting piece of writing published this year.
I'll be honest, I wasn't convinced that Geoff Dyer could neccesarily take his wonderful short story writing style into the novel territory - it's fair to say that he's not big on plot development and narrative arcs - and arguably this book is, in fact, two novellas. There's no real plot to speak of and yes - the two halves do have very different tones.
However, to say there's nothing connecting them is strange. I found the two narratives flowed rather wonderfully from one to the other and - maybe I'm being far too literal here - I just read it as though they were about one and the same person. Two sides of the same story, in fact.
To suggest that this book isn't memorable seems a bit strange too, as many of the scenes, particularly those in Varanasi, are beautifully evocative and hugely visual. He writes wonderfully about the pace and mood of Indian life, the weird rituals and events that pass as normal in any given day in this extraordinary city. And the character's progression (or maybe regression) is compelling and pretty heartstopping.
It's fair to say that this won't be for all the fans of Yoga... but it's nonetheless a very rewarding experience. You'll be hard placed to find such an unusual and arresting piece of writing published this year.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great piece of fiction but....
I thought this was an incredibly compelling novel and vividly written. I liked the way that it was split into two separate stories and the title was a fantastic teaser, and this... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Becca Sheakowski
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
This is the first of Dyer's books I have read and it was an enjoyable read. I'll be reading some more of his soon.
Published 7 months ago by T Horner
2.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing
I've had this before with Wild Palms, by Faulkner: I thought it was a novel, but it (as with the Dyer) is really two distinct novellas in one volume. Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Pierson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a novel
To describe this book as a novel is to mislead the prospective reader. It is a book in two halves - two novellas? I'd have to say not, as there is an almost total absence of plot. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sue
3.0 out of 5 stars
What is it About?
I couldn't decide on 2 or 3 stars - should be 2 1/2 really but there isn't that option. This book is not really fiction, it's more a travelogue as the two cities (two of my... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tracy Johnson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Jeff is confused
Dyer is obviously a capable stylist but this book just didn't hang together. It read as if two creative writing course assignments had been put together. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ellerton
2.0 out of 5 stars
First half 3, Second half 1
Quite boring, I don't think it is very well written. The part in Venice is lighter and more interesting; in Varanasi everything is predictable and dull, just a catalogue of things... Read more
Published 15 months ago by BuarqueIsGod
3.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag
This is a weird, binary book. The first section takes us through the author's journey to the Venice Biennale, experiences, love and culture; the second another cultural journey but... Read more
Published 18 months ago by PC Bitseach
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories and vivid writing
Apart from an essay by Geoff Dyer in an anthology of writing about Amsterdam, this is the first work of his that I've read and I found it outstanding. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2011 by Hywel James
3.0 out of 5 stars
quirky travelogue, with novelistic notes
Some of the reviews here seem to be written from the stance and perhaps expectation that this is a novel (or two novellas, whatever). Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2010 by Ben P
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