The Lion of Venice

By Mark Frutkin

This magical new novel by Governor General and Trillium Prize nominee Mark Frutkin, set in 13th century Venice and Cathay, is a dazzling fresco of shimmering language, brimming with golden tableaus of arid deserts and cobblestone alleys, the wafting scent of cardomin and the mystical trill of a praying friar. It is the story of Marco Polo as he is about to set sail on an arduous and lengthy pilgrimage with his father, uncle and faithful guide across the sun-soaked silk route, the rich path of the carpet-makers and the black seas of the Indian Ocean.

Doggedly pursued by a vengeful assassin of the Venetian Doge, Marco is eager to arrive in the promised land of the mighty Kublai Khan and bask in the safety offered by his royal legions. But while enjoying the myths of the new land, Polo is haunted by the recurring appearance of a winged lion which lurks behind his dreams and roams the palace of his heart. Even upon his return to Venice, a naval battle and capture by their rival Genoa, even as he languishes in an enemy jail cell recounting his trials to an incredulous inmate, there is always the heartbeat of the lion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888783787
• ISBN13: 9780888783783
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Amazing Book!

This is the story of Marco Polo, told with a poets ear. Frutkin uses this most interesting of historical figures to explore what it means to be human. (No pun intended.)Though this is a fictional account, I feel closer to Polo than any sterile account could have taken me. This story is filled with magic, and all connected to the statue of the winged Lion of Venice that guards Marco Polo's hometown. To Marco, the Lion is real, a fiece guardian guiding him in times of danger. And there is plenty of danger for a traveler in the 13th Century. From desert sand storms to distrustful natives, Marco sees it all. Marco Polo's journey from Venice to China and back to Venice again took almost a quarter of a century. He saw amazing sights, he endured illness and difficult traveling conditions. And he lived to tell his tale. And oh what a telling it is. I was hooked from the first word to the last. I could have read this book in a day, but instead I took a month in hopes of savoring every turn of phrase and every image Frutkin evokes. In my family there is a waiting list to read this book, and the list keeps growing. Get this book and you will not be disapointed.