OK, that's a bit harsh, but the sentiment sure seems to come through in Elisabetta Povoledo's piece on how Venetians are receiving John Berendt's newest book, CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS, which "tries to do for Venice what MIDNIGHT OF THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL did for Savannah." But if that's the case, the locals aren't biting. "His Venice is not our city," said Cristiano Chiarot, the director of marketing and communications for La Fenice Opera, which figures prominently in the book. Venice, he added, has many facets. "Berendt captured some of them but not its soul."

The problem is different than what plagued Berendt last time around. Then he was accused of trying to pass off fiction as fact; now it's more a case of over-embellishment. "He took the fire, an event that was critical for the city, and told it from a narrow point of view," Mr. Chiarot said. "It was a serious story and he reduced it to gossip."

Which may explain why the book isn't doing so fabulously there. "It was the same with 'Under the Tuscan Sun,' " said a spokesman for Rizzoli, which published "Angels" here. "For Americans it's something new; for Italians it's just not that exotic."