Award-winning historical fiction set in 16th-century Venice
Benjamin Franklin Digital Award
IPPY Award for Best Adult Fiction E-book
National Indie Excellence Award Finalist
Eric Hoffer Award Finalist
Shortlisted for the da Vinci Eye Prize
From the author of Made in Italy comes a tale of artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world’s most magnificent settings: Renaissance … artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world’s most magnificent settings: Renaissance Venice.
Venetian gondola-maker Luca Vianello considers his whole life arranged. His father charted a course for his eldest son from the day he was born, and Luca is positioned to inherit one of the city’s most esteemed boatyards. But when Luca experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride.
The Gondola Maker brings the centuries-old art of gondola-making to life in the tale of a young man’s complicated relationship with his master-craftsman father. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice.
A Venetian page-turner
“I’m a big fan of Venice, so I appreciate Laura Morelli’s special knowledge of the city, the period, and the process of gondola-making. An especially compelling story.” –Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
“Laura Morelli has done her research, or perhaps she was an Italian carpenter in another life. One can literally smell and feel the grain of finely turned wood in her hands.” –Pamela Sheldon Johns, author of Italian Food Artisans
“Romance, intrigue, family loyalty, pride, and redemption set against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy.” –Library of Clean Reads
“Beautiful, powerful evocation of the characters, the place, and the time. An elegant and thoroughly engaging narrative voice.” –Mark Spencer, author of Fiction Club: A Concise Guide to Writing Good Fiction
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Be transported to life in Venice, Italy in the late 1500’s. Laura Morelli’s depth of research is obvious as every detail of those complicated times comes alive in the pages of this beautifully crafted tale. I read this a few years ago when it was first published but neglected to write a review. I recently rediscovered the book and plunged back in, finding even more enjoyment with the excellent writing and colourful characters this second time.
Enjoyed reading about canals as roads.
This book was a wonderful historical depiction of something outside of what we normally think about. Historical fiction well-done and the writing is superb.
I enjoyed the book because of its16th century setting.
The Gondola Maker by Laura Morelli tells the story of Luca Vianello, heir to a gondola-making business. However, he is a participant to a tragedy that strikes the business and alters the course of his life.
Luca begins to pick up the pieces of his life and becomes a boatman to an established and famed artist named Trevisan. As he reestablishes his life, Luca becomes enchanted by painting of a high society woman that is a client of the artist. He makes a connection with the woman and hopes it will lead to love.
Luca learns his fate will turn in a different direction and what he thought would lead to a second chance turns into something completely different.
Morelli tells an excellent story from the first person perspective of Luca and brought me into the 16th Century Venice world of Gondola Boats, Art, and Culture. The Gondola Maker is not a novel of action and thrills. But, it is a novel of a character and the course of one’s life. I highly recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction and it will be one of my best reads of 2019.
This book leaves you with many what will happen nexts. Will this son be restored to his father and family? Will he become an apprentice gondola maker? How might his mysterious muse be rescued? I enjoyed this good read.
This story takes place in the 16th century in Venice and is about the life of a heir to a gondola empire. It gives a great description of the art in making gondolas with insight into how the working class and aristocrat families live in the 16 century. This story had plenty of intrigue and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
What an outstanding book! I was enthralled with the story, from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down. The author “paints” a beautiful story through the descriptions she writes. And I didn’t see the end coming, either. I will definitely read more from this author.
I enjoy historical fiction, but felt let down at the end.
Historical perspective into a never thought about art with surprising twist and turns that kept me thinking what’s next. Then the shocker when the entire woven picture ends mid sentence so to speak. I think somebody stole my last page, “give it back.”
This book gives a fascinating view of how Venice was in the 1500’s. It sucks you in so you feel you are part of the story. The descriptions were superb and the characters well flushed out. Makes you want the book to never end!
I was transported back to Venice of the late 16th Century. Back when artists were painting the very works that today are nearly unavailable to the public. It’s a world of transportation by gondola, severe restrictions on public display of wealth, and the world of a genius who is thwarted by a youthful mistake, yet finds a way to re-establish himself. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
THis book did not keep my attention consistently throughout …sometimes it was a chore to get through a section but I never give up on a book! It is probably historically accurate so I learned a lot about building gondolas and the competitiveness within Venice regarding the watermen. Sort of disappointed in the writing but not in the topic.
A Most Pleasant Read
What a pleasant story. Although the author apologizes for taking some liberties with historical fact, she does so with such tact that there is no room for criticism. Her young gondola maker is truly a survivor, suffering tragic losses and disappointment. The descriptive passages about the craftsman’s loving caresses of the wood with which he works are so well done, I found myself re-reading them for the pure pleasure of digesting the words. This is not a fast-paced book but it does qualify as a page turner in that putting the book down is not an easy task until finished. My reviews do not rehash parts of the story or explain elements of the story, because I feel a good story with colorful characters are the essential qualities that keep a book open in my hands. This one had both and was a story well told.
Fun read, learned a bit about the history of gondola building.
A little disappointed at the ending but great otherwise
This made me want to go back to Venice to watch a gondola being created and take a gondola ride. The characters were very realistic
Read it because the setting was in Venice, Italy. Good for historical fiction, but not a page-turner by any means. The main character was interesting and had his share of bad luck, which did turn around for him.
I really enjoyed
Good topic, one I knew nothing about. Good insight into Venus, the canals, and the population and the haves and have nots. Ending a little predictable. Would recommend it for an easy read.