The Lion of Venice

by Mark Frutkin

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459716803
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	10/16/1997
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	761 KB

About the Author

Mark Frutkin has published two previous volumes of poetry, Acts of Light and The Alchemy of Clouds. The Governor General's Award nominee has also published six novels, including Slow Lightning, The Lion of Venice, Atmospheres Apollinaire, and Invading Tibet. His newest work is Iron Mountain (Fall 2001). His work has appeared in the United States, England, Holland, and India, as well as Canada. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

Mark Frutkin is an award-winning fiction author whose most recent novel, Fabrizio's Return, won the Trillium and Sunburst Awards and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (Canada/Caribbean Region). In 2008 he published a memoir, Erratic North: A Vietnam Draft Resister's Life in the Canadian Bush. He lives in Ottawa.