The Venice Experiment: A Year of Trial and Error Living Abroad Paperback – July 13, 2011

I began to read this book on the hope that I would be able to see Italy, and Venice in particular, through the eyes of someone who had taken the initiative to go off of the beaten path; to learn and grow along with the city. I was not disappointed.The style of writing was very approachable and drew me in to a life filled with an appreciation for the unexpected. While reading, I felt transported to Venice, seeing the sights, walking the calle, and savoring the flavors of both the cuisine and the sweetness of a life filled with the appreciation of "just being". Through this book, I was living life at a slower, but immensely meaningful pace; friends and family sharing the love of life over a cup of steaming caffè or a glass of prosecco, creating relationships, not transactions.Though this book is not in and of itself a tour guidebook to Venice, it is a breezy and intimate series of snapshots that certainly should be on the Italian Department of Tourism's "Must Read" list.Highly recommended!

This is a very enjoyable, light read. I have only visited Venice (and it was a very short visit), but I plan on returning someday. In the meantime...books.Barry's (Giuseppe) book gave me a very strong feeling for the sights, sounds, and most importantly, the people of Venice. The stories of the author's experiences were sincere and often funny and made me want to return even more than I already want to.My only beef with the book: I really dislike when men (and men who write) think with their pants. Aloud. This is a theme that comes up more often than I prefer. Each time I encountered his comments about short skirts and figures, I cringed. Fortunately, there is a lot of great material to counter balance the "Do you like Piña Coladas?" type of stories.Anyway, overall an enjoyable and informative book about a wonderful personal experience.

A YEAR IN PROVENCE. It isn't even close, though Barry "Giuseppe" Frangipane tries: There is the expected difficulty with finding an electrician to fix a faulty circuit breaker. Of course, the elctrician doesn't show up on time. When he eventually does get to the apartment, the circuit breaker is working fine. What's the purpose of trying to make a story humorous unless the electrician does something to make things worse? He cuts a wire to an outside light, says the problem is fixed, and leaves. As expected, the circuit breaker again malfunctions after he's gone. Then there's the problem with the Italian bureaucracy messing things up with ridiculous regulations. And then there is the story about water taxis and gondolas and union strikes. And then there are the Venitian shopkeepers who don't open their stores on time, or sometimes not at all. I think you get the picture.The reason why I gave this book 3 stars and not two, is because I have been to Venice and I enjoyed revisiting the places there that the author mentioned during his year-long stay. I do not recommend this book for armchair travelers. Skip this one and read something by Peter Mayle instead.

After a recent week long trip to Venice I decided to read this book when I returned home to Atlanta. The calli and campi were fresh in my memory and helped bring the many stories in the book to life! I felt like I was joining "Giuseppe" and his friends for an espresso. This book gives an intimate window into local Venetian life, but I was little turned off by the mention of brand name shoes and purses. Thank you Barry and Deborah for sharing your experiences. As an Italophile and Venice lover l enjoyed this book. Grazie mille!

This is a pleasant quick read, good company on a flight. Just a few niggles. The Kindle edition seems rather short, and a chapter referred to in the Epilogue as "A Quiet Part of Town" isn't there. San Giacomo dell'Orio, initially the narrator's local church, appears to remain such after his relocation to Cannaregio. Did he move again? His wife is portrayed flatly, and it would have been interesting to include her experiences. Most of the characters are described as quaint oddities. The book is about events the narrator finds unusual, and there are no vivid descriptions of environment or development of characters in the round. This is no Gerald Durrell in Corfu. The narrator retains the state of mind of the tourist. If we could achieve that at home our own urge to travel would be lessened - not something the narrator, a tour guide, would be likely to encourage. Perhaps we would find in our own daily routines the charming oddness that we observe abroad. But aside from that, this is an enjoyable collection of fast-paced vignettes and cautionary tales.

The author has written a book that has you dreaming of living in Italy, then wondering if the author is insane for doing so. The way of life, the small apartments, the flooding of Venice which in turn causes mold, cooking thanksgiving dinner in a house a few blocks away just to have an oven to use, the way the Italians think of time. I found myself laughing, and becoming irritated right along with the author's wife... with the author. As a frequent visitor to Italy, I've always dreamed of living a year in Rome. Now I wonder...could I do it. I highly recommend going on this year long adventure with the author "Guiseppe" and his wife. This in a non-fiction writer I would love to meet and could sit for hours listening to him recount other funny things that happened during their one year stay. Bravo! Could not put the book down for a moment. Janet Simcic, Author, "The Man at the Caffe' Farnese."

I started off liking the book. It is light hearted and easy to engage with so I felt I was a willing observer on their adventure but a warning light did flash with the reference to the designer shoes getting caught in Florida mud right at the very start. It seemed like name dropping.The book has a certain charm and I smiled at some of the anecdotes but there were no laugh out loud moments as you get every few pages with Bill Bryson’s travel writing. “The Church of the Immaculate Heart Attack,” I quipped… how clunkily that was inserted. Debbie flirting with the firefighters, and they with her, sounded implausible and her taking prepared meals to the fire station was odd. Did they need such largesse? Likewise Barry giving bags of groceries to the beggars seemed to be in the book just so we could see what a generous guy he was.Another running theme I took issue with was the interconnections of the locals - everybody seems to know everybody else, they address one another by name, they stop for ten minute chats and cups of coffee. Wait a minute, there are 55,000 residents on the island. I just do not believe the picture being presented. Within about 8 months the Frangipanes knew about 20 Venetians well enough to be invited out by them for dinner or to be able to call on them for favours. They must be extraordinarily gregarious to get such a wide circle so quickly.Then there is the trope about Venetians being lovably inefficient, about muddling through, shops opening and closing at whim, plaster falling off buildings at critical moments. I am prepared to believe there is a kernel of truth here but it is laid on so thickly I lost faith in the author.By the half way point the structure of the book was disintegrating as it lost the momentum of an evolving year and became more like jottings from a notebook. In short, I do not recommend it and will stay with Donna Leon for insights into Venetian life and Bill Bryson or Tim Moore for travel books with greater gusto and humour.

I have dreamed of moving to Venice since my first visit in 1993 and this book has only reinforced this dream with addresses, and hints about the tinkering of the Venetian, Frangipane mixed in with the Venetian, of every day and not the industrialists of the world that have bought the Palaces along the Grande Canal, so the view is clear, concise realistic and easily accessible for any reader with a dream for adventure.

Excellent especially for those who love Venice. Interesting to read and learn how day to day life is in Venice.

Great recent post-Venice trip nostalgia read. Having just returned from my first trip to Venice, loved not only Barry's tales of Venetian life but found his life changing experiment so inspiring. Thank you Barry for sharing.

What a let down - this book was just another way of Americans telling Europeans how we should live ie like them. Talk about dumbing down - everything that the author felt that his reader would not understand was simplistically explained - very irritating. I understand that many readers would not have visited Venice but this book would not entice them to make the journey. On a positive note, I was delighted that he and his wife went to Italian lessons but please do not refer to the language they speak as english - it is not.