Review: Alyssa Palombo – The Violinist of Venice

The Violinist of Venice
Alyssa Palombo

Adriana has been tortured away from music by her bitter father after her opera mother’s death. Still the longing to make music holds strong in her, and she decides to make her way to Vivaldi’s home in order to nurture her talent as a violinist. What happens next is a romance that is both tender and heartbreaking.

This novel opens with a storm, and only gets better from there. I was convinced I was in the same time as the characters, roaming the streets of Venice. There were vivid pictures painted for me of the characters’ costumes and the places where they interacted the most. The pathways between places were a bit hazy for me, but at those points I was too engrossed in the characters to notice.

The little intricacies underlying the main plot line (Adriana and Toni’s affair) are fascinating. You can’t really think about how the different points will happen or twine together, but they do. What I liked about this was that a ‘happy ending’ wasn’t necessarily assured. There are so many things at stake, not just Adriana’s life.

You don’t need to know anything about music to enjoy this novel. If you’re more of a classic romance person, this is going to suit you as well. And you might even be engaged enough to go and youtube the music so that you can hear it in concert (haha) with reading the novel.

This is also available as an ebook, and I’d certainly suggest borrowing from your library if it is available ( I can only imagine how nice Adriana’s voice should sound). I’m not sure on the rereadability of this one. I’ve got a reader in mind for it right now, and I’m certain that she will also like it (being a musical person herself).