Dante member Italian Literature Book Group for October

The focus of the book group is fiction and non-fiction; books written by Italian authors (in translation); books written by any author, set in Italy, and books about Italy. It’s a large set, but one book generally leads in the direction of the next, so we won’t feel discombobulated. The moderator of the book club is Connie Bertuca, former high school English teacher, lover of books and Italian travel, and perpetual Italian 2 student.

 📚 The October 2023 Book Selection  — Acqua Alta by Donna Leon

In Leon's fifth Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery, the beating of renowned art historian Dotoressa Brett Lynch draws the contemporary Venetian police detective out of his warm and loving home and into the yearly onslaught of acqua alta, the torrential winter rains. Brett, an American who spearheaded a recent exhibition of Chinese pottery in Venice, lives with her lover, Flavia Petrelli, the reigning diva of La Scala. With his open mind and good sense, Brunetti finds himself more fazed by Flavia's breathtaking talent than by the nontraditional relationship between the two women. Brunetti's deliberate and humane investigation to uncover a motive for Brett's beating takes him to dark, wet corners of Venice and into a sinister web of art theft, fakery, and base human desires.

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*the size of the group is limited to 10 members.  If you are not yet a paid member of Dante, sign-up here.  

Questions about Book Club? You can message Connie at bertuca@cruzio.com