Miss Garnet's Angel

[This is a review I wrote in 2008]

**Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel.**

`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across show more the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone. show less

If you like Venice; if like me you read The Apocrypha at school as a work of literature; and if you like the books of Salley Vickers you'll find this a good read. It's a genuinely clever attempt to tie the story of Tobias and the Angel to the life of slightly starchy spinster Julia Garnet now on a prolonged stay in Venice and the people whom she meets and interacts with there. It's a good story. It's a clever story. But I never quite believed in the characters. Almost, but not quite. Read it when you're in Venice. Then it won't matter at all.

Purchased on a whim at Richard Booth's Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, and very glad I did!

After the death of her friend and flatmate Harriet, Julia Garnet, a middle-aged atheist Communist virgin, decides to take an extended trip to Venice. The beauty of the city awakens long-dormant passions in Miss Garnet, both physical and spiritual: she falls in love, has her heart broken, forms friendships, and even has her vision opened to the presence of the angel Raphael. Her confidence soars to inflated heights and then is brought crashingly low by an unkind word or unexpected turn of events before she learns to handle relationships gracefully (well, sort of gracefully, at least!) Those of us who have been painfully introverted and gradually come out show more of our shells a bit will be able to identify.

The story of Miss Garnet and her friends is interspersed with, and runs rather parallel to, a narrative of the Biblical story of Tobit. The addition of the Tobit story is inspired not only by parallels with the events in Miss Garnet's narrative, but by a series of paintings in Venice's Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele which themselves depict the story of Tobit. The whole book is rich with description of Venice and its artistic treasures (and makes me want to drop everything and go running off to the city itself immediately!) The book of Tobit is part of the apocrypha, which (as Miss Garnet learns) comes from the Greek word meaning 'hidden,' and there's a theme of secrets revealed and a dash of esoteric lore running throughout this book - tantalising stuff.

Rather like [The Enchanted April], this is a story of a woman who travels to Italy and unexpectedly finds herself amid the history and beauty of her surroundings. show less

Two, TWO books in one! The first is a story of Miss Garnet, an aging schoolteacher and socialist who decides to live in Venice when her housemate of many years passes away. Interweaved with this is the more interesting retelling of the Book of Tobit (with special emphasis added to the role of the dog) with the Archangel Raphael guiding young Tobit to meet his wife Sara. There are a lot of very obvious parallels between the two stories, and naturally Miss Garnet befriends a young couple Toby and Sarah who work renovating churches. Pretty much everyone in this book carries grief and trouble and in some way it is lightened through self-discovery. Vickers kind of hits you over the head with it but still manages to keep the narrative show more charming. Perhaps it's the characters who are rich and complex. I especially like the perverse Monsignor. That I finished this as we were landing in Venice was an added plus.

"Waiting outside the chapel while the twins exchanged words Julia reflected that it was not biological bacteria you needed a cure from, it was the emotional kind: fear, humiliation, loss." p. 108

"'I am sometimes a worry to my superiors," he admitted. "But I am strict with my vows. It is the priests who speak scornfully of sex who are caught with their pants down. I love the women -- but I love Our Lady more. And because I love women I know better how to lover her. It makes sense?" - p. 173

"But wasn't it queer that you could get to know a person better when they were dead than when they were alive? Perhaps it was because the dead could not reprove you? It was fear that made one hold back from knowing people." p. 191 show less

There's a lot I liked about this book. It features a recently retired single woman who decides to spend six months in Venice. I appreciated the way she gradually relaxes, and begins to make some friends. I also liked the author's sensory details, bringing the city to life as Miss Garnet experiences new scents and sights.

I also quite liked the retelling of the story of Tobit, an apocryphal book which I knew little about, and which comes up because Miss Garnet sees pictures of the young man Tobias on a journey, and statues of the angel Raphael. But the sections of the book relating to restoration of churches and historic artwork didn't interest me much.

It wasn't a book I kept going back to, but I'm glad I read it. It's thoughtful and show more emotive, even if the ending is rather bittersweet.

Probably not of much interest to anyone younger than about fifty, but I thought it worth reading once. Recommended in a low-key way if you like thoughtful, slow-moving women's fiction about someone in their sixties.

Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/05/miss-garnets-angel-by-salley-vicker... show less

Miss Julia Garnet, spinster and virgin, travels to Venice after the death of her friend Harriet. She discovers more than solace there, something more akin to an awakening. It’s a beautiful premise and is artfully executed, and Venice is the ideal, sumptuous setting for this intriguing mix of stories that Julia’s tale entwines with – my favourite character is the wise and delightful Monsignore Giuseppe, whose presence brings a kindness and affability to the story which I really loved, but while some of the characters fall flat, Julia’s relationship with Venice itself (and the angel Raphael) never does. It is a book that tries to do a lot, but that’s okay because it largely succeeds.

If there’s a significant weakness, it’s show more that Vicker’s own voice sometimes fails to do justice to the truly fascinating subjects that she explores. There are a couple of chapters of Mr Golightly’s Holiday at the back of my copy and, on reading them, I am left to conclude that I started with precisely the right book of Vicker’s, and need go no further. Without the luminescence of Venice, her prose does not glow, nor really engage. Miss Garnet’s Angel was not a perfect book, but it was very readable and had a strong principle character and great setting, and enough themes and plot meanderings to continue to be worth thinking about once the reader has put it down. show less

A beautifully crafted, quiet story with great depth. The author’s intelligence and knowledge of the variety of themes explored are evident, as well as her familiarity with the city of Venice – a character in its own right – and its treasures. It’s a delight to put yourself in her hands and know that you have over 300 pages to enjoy.

The story begins simply: Julia Garnet is a retired schoolteacher whose long-time friend and flatmate has just died, leaving her some money. Touched by something of the spirit of her friend – who was more adventurous than she is – Miss Garnet decides to take her courage in both hands and spend six months exploring Venice. From the moment she arrives the city and its people – whether tourists show more like herself or natives – seem intent on changing her, and I found myself fascinated by the way Miss Garnet’s inner life is warmed into perception, expression, and even passion. Although both communist and atheist, she’s drawn to a statue of the angel Raphael, and comes across his likeness throughout the city, gradually piecing together both the ancient story from the Book of Tobit and the parallel that’s being played out among her new friends.

The characters are drawn with insight and delicacy, the themes of the novel: love, death, friendship, religion, art and truth as well as what makes each of us human are woven together skilfully to create a very special book, one to add to the few that I return to read again and again. show less