With astonishment Aschenbach noticed that the boy was entirely beautiful. Ageing writer Gustav von Aschenbach is on holiday in Venice when he first notices a fellow guest in the foyer of his hotel: an exceptionally beautiful boy who is staying there with his family. Admiration gives way to obsession as his days begin to revolve around seeing the boy. Meanwhile, ominous signs point to a disease spreading through the magnificent, but decaying, city and, blinded by his fixation, Aschenbach fails to notice. Death in Venice is the finale of this seven-story collection, marked by masterful storytelling and profound, often haunting, insight. (Cover may vary)