In Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, a novel that hits the shelves midmonth, British writer Geoff Dyer plumbs the depths of art-world ennui. The book follows Jeff Atman, a magazine writer whose romantic journey begins at the Venice Biennale amid a preposterous number of dinners that all seem to honor Ed Ruscha. Dyer says he got the idea for the book when he attended the event in 2003: "I had this vision of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice set to the biennale." Dyer has the art world’s denizens down pat — from the Prosecco-guzzling journalists to the gorgeous (but disillusioned) gallerina he falls for at a party.

"Today's Mann" originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's April 2009 Table of Contents.