Venetian Vespers by John Banville

It is always a pleasure to read a book narrated by an unreliable storyteller, and Venetian Vespers does not fail to please. It’s in the same vein as The Talented Mr. Ripley, We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Lolita, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and The Debt To Pleasure. Evelyn Dolman (apparently there was a time when men could also be named Evelyn – who knew?) has come to what is one of my favorite cities in the world, Venice, on honeymoon with his wife Laura in 1899. You get the impression straight off that they don’t really know one another, that they really don’t like one another, and that their marriage is a sham.

Evelyn is a mediocre writer who has the most negative outlook on life and people. He hates Venice, for one thing. Who, I ask you, hates Venice? A true misanthrope, he looks at others with suspicion and contempt whilst viewing himself as being a victim of everyone else around him. As it turns out, however, and as any discerning reader will clearly see the further they read, this is quite justified.

Evelyn and Laura’s honeymoon does not start off auspiciously. Venice is cold and rainy and they are staying in the enormous, old-fashioned grand Palazzo Dioscuri owned by Count Barbarigo, Evelyn loathes the Count, hates the cold, damp palazzo and occupies much of his time trying to entice his wife into sex, for it turns out they have only once consummated their marriage. One evening, after wandering out into the Venetian fog and finding himself at a rundown tavern where he is “befriended” by Frederick FitzHerbert and his twin sister Francesca Ransome – a twin reference that ties in with Palazzo Dioscuri – and proceeding to get roaring drunk, Evelyn finds himself filled with anger at his wife for keeping him at arm’s length physically. He proceeds to rape her and pass out. In the morning, she is gone and Evelyn’s grand self-delusion begins.

Clearly there is a conspiracy going on. Evelyn is smart enough to suspect that he’s being manipulated, but his arrogance and self-absorption prevent him from seeing what is so clear to the reader. The fascinating aspect of Evelyn’s self-delusion and suspicion is that the reader is never sure how the conspiracy is working, either. Obviously FitzHerbert dislikes Evelyn, even though he pretends to have known him from school in England. Francesca is much more subtle in her manipulation of Evelyn, making him fall in love with her beauty, clinging to him physically, giving him the impression she is as in love with him as he believes himself to be with her, and even arranging one of the palazzo’s housemaids to seduce Evelyn while she watches. There are mysterious glimpses of Laura throughout Venice, subtle glances, whispers, double-entendres, and some gaslighting.

It’s hard to know which character to dislike more. Evelyn is a priggish, self-absorbed jerk who thinks the world revolves around him. You almost feel sorry for him as he is manipulated, but at the same time, he richly deserves it. Laura is a cold, conniving woman who has conned Evelyn almost from day 1. FitzHerbert is a falsely jovial drunk and gambler who is far sharper than he pretends to be. About the only person that was somewhat likable was Laura’s stern sister Thomasina, whom Evelyn dislikes throughout much of the book only to realize Thomasina is essentially his only ally in this cat-and-mouse game.

Venice is as much a character here as Evelyn and Laura and FitzHerbert and Francesca. If you’ve traveled to La Serennissima, you know that she is an ancient and beautiful city filled with churches, art, masks, restaurants, gondolas, spires into the heavens, bars, music and the lapping waves of the lagoon. There is mystery, history and glittery diamonds on the water……..and according to Evelyn, Venice is also in a state of misery. Or as he so eloquently puts it “That pestilential town lodged in the fetid crotch of the Adriatic.”

That’s a bit harsh but you have to admit the turn of phrase is also hilariously funny. Or when he refers to the “putrid jade-green waters of the Grand Canal, ” I thought, My God, man, what did Venice ever do to you? He even hates on the food in Venice, which to me is unforgivable, being the foodie and Venice lover that I am. I remember eating one of the loveliest meals while in Venice – cuttlefish cooked in a wonderful sauce of wine, olive oil and herbs, and luscious, buttery white polenta that contrasted beautifully with the black ink in the fish’s sauce. Not Evelyn, though. He wanders out of the palazzo one day, horribly hung over and in search of food. Yet even when he finds sustenance, he is still full of bitterness.

“In the end I gave up and ordered a dish at random, jabbing a finger at it on the card. It turned out to be a slice of aubergine, resembling a thick boot-sole, hidden under a shiny layer of grilled cheese that might be the boot’s leather tongue.”

Well, that is clearly eggplant Parmigiana, which to me is one of my favorite Italian dishes to eat. I love eggplant, I love Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and I love a good tomato sauce, and this dish combines all three. So I decided to return to my dad’s recipe, which is one of the things I remember him cooking from my childhood. It seemed strange then because we kids weren’t used to it, but that first taste of the eggplant with the lusciously melted mozzarella layer and the tomato sauce topped with salty Parmigiano Reggiano cheese was marvelous and one of my earliest food memories. So I decided to recreate it in homage to this book and in honor of Evelyn Dolman, the biggest dolt of all.

INGREDIENTS
2 medium-sized eggplants
3 tablespoons sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 ribs celery, finely diced
1 24-oz bottle of tomato passata
6-7 basil leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup flour
Grapeseed oil for frying
1 ball of fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced
1 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

METHOD
Slice the eggplants into lengthwise slices.

Lay the slices in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave to drain for about an hour, then pat dry and set aside.

While the eggplant slices are draining, add the olive oil to a large pot and saute the onion and celery together with some salt for about 10 minutes.

Pour the tomato passata over the onion and celery mixture, add the chopped basil, and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed, then let the tomato sauce simmer gently for about an hour.

When ready to assemble, heat the oven to 385F, then heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet and while it comes to the right frying temperature, lightly dredge each drained slice of eggplant in flour.

Fry the eggplant slices in the hot oil, being careful not to get burned.

Add a layer of tomato sauce to the bottom of a glass pan, then add a layer of fried eggplant slices, then a layer of mozzarella.

Continue until you’ve used all the eggplant slices, then pour over the rest of the tomato sauce and top with the remaining mozzarella slices and finish it off with a very generous sprinkling of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cheeses are melted and bubbling and golden brown. Serve hot and enjoy, toasting the well-deserved demise of Evelyn and dreaming of Venice…….ah Venice!