Customer Reviews

Venice Observed (Art and Places)

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Mary McCarthy's VENICE OBSERVED is neither history nor a guide book but rather a literary reflection written by a young 1950s "single" woman who has visited a beautiful place and now sits at her desk and muses over what she has seen.

McCarthy was a writer and an educated woman in an age when educated women were few. She probably wore white gloves and a little hat and visited Europe after graduation from college. One can picture the author of THE GROUP traveling abroad, continuing her education. As part of her formal training, she read James and Ruskin and then she visited the sights they described and wrote her own impressions. I found McCarthy's book intriguing because she was intriguing and women like her don't exist any more. I picture her looking a bit like Katherine Hepburn arriving in Italy in "Summertime." Maybe McCarthy wasn't a "career girl" as single women sans husband and children who worked for a living were called in those days, but this is how I picture her on reading VENICE OBSERVED.

I've just finished reading JJ Norwich's HISTORY OF VENICE and if you want history Norwich's book is the definitive history. VENICE OBSERVED is for women who want a bit of information to complement their education mixed in with another woman's reflections. VENICE OBSERVED is for educated women who travel alone.

McCarthy includes some history, but only as a backdrop to her real interests which are art and literature. She assumes you know who Tintoretto and Titian were and that you've at least seen pictures of their works. Where Norwich mentions Tintoretto in passing (Norwich is more interested in archtecture) McCarthy dwells on him.

VENICE OBSERVED is not an art book however. McCarthy's writing reminds me of James or Ruskin, both of whom she quotes. They observed various places, buildings, paintings, etc. but always assumed you had some prior knowledge of the thing they were discussing. VENICE OBSERVED is the sort of book you'd want to read after you have made your own visit to Venice. You could read it before hand, but the text would be overwhelming if you come to it with no prior knowledge. If you want to read a more contemporary book, I recommend ITALIAN DAYS by Barbara Grizutti Harrison.

This is one of McCarthy's most delightful books, although it may also be her least controversial. VENICE OBSERVED might be the best single travel book ever written on Venice, and MCarthy's tone is leisurely and informative, her style witty and engaging. Her asides about her personal experiences in the city complement her grander historical and artistic musings: you never feel alienated from her prose (the way you can in her earlier THE STONES OF FLORENCE). Her anecdotes about the doges, Tintoretto, Veronese, the Councils, etc. greatly enhanced one's understanding of the city, and her musings on the art are thoughtful and illuminating.

Written in 1956, "Venice Observed" was a precursor to "The Stones of Florence" (1959), one of the better travel books ever written. As in "The Stones of Florence," McCarthy weaves a tapestry of art, history, literature, sociology and cogent observation, but this earlier effort is not as well organized as the later book, leaving the reader to dig out the gems that lay within.

Apparently the original hardback versions of both books contained high-quality photographs, and were experiments in presenting the two modes of communication together. Depending upon which edition you buy, the paperback versions either lack photographs altogether or contain low-quality reproductions. While that obviously detracts from the experience, the text standing alone bears witness to an extraordinarily well-disciplined and fine mind at work.

Since McCarthy was born in 1912, she would have been 44 at the time this book was written, hardly the ingenue that other reviewers suggest. In fact, after reading both books, one suspects that this woman was born mature.

It is interesting to note that throughout this book, McCarthy refers to John Ruskin's "The Stones of Venice," which explains her choice of title for "The Stones of Florence."

VENICE OBSERVED
While this has become sort of a cult classic, there are better books about Venice to be read and enjoyed, written in the years since Mary McCarthy penned this book. It is a very particular, personal and peculiar look at the famed city.

It may be that this work was cutting edge for travelers in the 'Fifties, but it has long since been surpassed both in content and in tone, by more recent books, be they guidebooks or works of a more literary bent such as the gorgeous "Francesco's Venice" (written by a native of Venice) or "The City of Falling Angels" (by the award winning author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which is a brilliant and affectionate look at the city and its people by an American) both of which I recommend highly, as in five stars--read them before considering reading this book.

Mary McCarthy is knowledgeable but she makes every effort to let you know just how very smart she is with the implication that she is smarter than you. She often quotes in other languages and let the reader puzzle them out - if you don't speak the language, then be glad your computer will do free translations for you. She also assumes you have already studied the art, architecture and history of Venice thoroughly before turning to her book, and having been thus armed with the basics from elsewhere, she will now give you her added (she would say, correct) slant.

The book is not quite painful as her book about Florence, but like that book, this too is not a volume pitched to endear one to Venice.

McCarthy's approach is that Venice is an acquired taste and most readers are not sophisticated enough to acquire it. While one feels put down by such an attitude, it is so pervasive it cannot be accidental. McCarthy tells how much better, smarter, wiser, well-read and insightful she is than any of her readers, which is an odd stance for an author to take.

And far from the reality of a visit to Venice.

You see, the reality is this: A taste for Venice can be acquired instantaneously, spontaneously, immediately. One need not know the art, architecture and history, to enjoy the sights the sounds and the people. Although knowing these things will of course add to one's visit.

Even so, all one need do is walk the winding paths from the train station to San Marco, or ride the Number 82 vaparetto full circuit to enjoy and appreciate the myriad wonders of the city on the lagoon.

To really get to know a place, one must do so with one's eyes out of the guidebooks and maps, and filled with everything there that is to be seen. Your experience of Venice may not be all Ms. McCarthy would have it be, but then why put her blinders between you and this place that poets, writers, travelers and sojourners have loved for eons.

For example, take a half-day on Murano for relief (the canals are bordered by walkways; easy to enjoy) and an inexpensive ride over to San Giorggio Maggiore to go up THAT campanile (cheaper and better views than the campanile of San Marco). See the "Must See" points of interest if you wish, but if you miss them, don't sweat it!

There are lots of surprises around every corner, over every bridge and in every shop window. The Venetians are friendly, the food is good and it is impossible to take a bad photo there.

And when you stand on the crest of the Rialto Bridge, breathe one brief, silent sigh of thanks that Mary McCarthy isn't with you correcting your impressions!

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

Venice Observed is not a travel log. Rather, it is a compendium of historical topics that, when brought together, illustrate the mosaic history of Venice.

Mary McCarthy writes with the confidence of a discerning Brussels diamond buyer. In her book McCarthy holds up Venice and asks the reader to observe the beauty, uniqueness, and flaws that time has formed over the past ages. She turns this city/state before you and by the end of her 150 page book, you will have examined a gem.

Her writing, while learned, can be convoluted, and the text should be read with a dictionary by one's side, i.e., "The other way lay universal odium" - odium?. A significant distraction is the lack of an index, biography and glossary. These aspects make the work difficult to engage. Yet, I pushed through the book because of the insights that Mary McCarthy gave to Venetian culture and history.

For those that are schooled in Italian history and have an interest in Venice then this book would be worth reading, for McCarthy's insights can be provocative as well as intriguing.

For the general traveler there is better and more "user friendly" books on this gem of a city. Conditionally Recommended.

McCarthy's Venice is witty, pragmatic, mercantile, impossible for Rome to harnass, and fully capable of reveling in its glory right up until its glorious decline. McCarthy's look at Venice offers a useful counterpoint to the many travel books on Venice which only scratch the surface of the city's singular history.

Talk about taking the joy out of an experience. I read this book prior to a week-long trip to Venice. This book quite simply accomplished none of its objectives. It is a poor "guidebook" and is poorly written and uninteresting in terms of a travelogue. The history and art of Venice are covered better in books from those genres. The only upside is that it is short. Yuck, what a waste of time. My advice is: get a novel about Venice if you like novels, a guidebook if you want that, an art book, or a history book. At least you'll get something out of those--this one tries all of these and fails. Actually, in terms of a travelogue, "Vendela in Venice" far surpassess any other Venice book I have seen. Although I originally bought it because it is considered a children's book, it is not dumbed down at all and adults will enjoy it...