Title: Pompous, Boring, Never Elegant ...what was he thinking?
Review: A slim volume on one of the world's great foreign destinations, so one would expect something elegant, insightful, witty perhaps, something evocative of the place.Unfortunately, I don't there is a paragraph in his book that evokes anything about what it is like to visit or live in Florence. It's certainly not worth reading as literature and it doesn't take you there from your arm chair.This book is just a boring rendition of sort-of famous people who lived or live in Florence, coupled with David Leavitt's intention of showing you all the famous or important people he knows. He evidently thinks people will one day be writing about his life there.This isn't about Florence -- it's about the author's evident obsession with effete men of letters and his desire to be one.
Is this product review negative?