A Desire Rekindled

My favorite part of the Bellini Card was the profound desire to see Venice that was rekindled in me. From the moment i was reading the words, "Gorgeous it was, with its domes aflame in the morning light and a soft mist dispersing around..." it was a matter of desire. I could not picture a place i'd more desire to inhabit than an ancient, culturally rich city with all that water and unique architecture. Goodwin characterized the city in such a way as to make appear both foreign and familiar to the reader as well as the characters. Yashim and Palewski both experience disdain as well as admiration for the city, as it retains enough Ottoman influence as to subtly remind them of their home in Istanbul. Perhaps it takes a city like Venice, one with both eastern and western elements, to host a novel where a Polish man disguised as an American helps a Eunuch Moore retrieve an important Islamic artifact for the sake of the Muslim world's pride.