You might read the description of this book and think, oh, geez, yet another book about World War II. What is it about this particular war, in a long history of ugly wars, that drives people to keep exploring it from every possible angle? I've read about this war from every conceivable front and so many unique perspectives, but when I read a book like this I am stunned at an author's ability to bring something new to the conversation.
I was almost surprised to see this book described as a love story — but of course it is; it's just that calling it that seems to belittle it somehow, or diminish the horrors of the war. Instead, the occupied city is brought dramatically to life with breathtaking moments of tension, mitigated a bit with some light-hearted humor and, (ahem), romance, from the fisherman and the girl he "caught", late one night in the murky waters of the Venice lagoon.
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