So Shall You Reap

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Si buscáis acción trepidante o una investigación policial al uso, no lo vais a encontrar aquí. Esta no es una historia para devorar, si no para saborear lentamente (como si de uno de los deliciosos platos preparados por Paola se tratase): sus palabras, sus cafés, sus calles. Venecia y Brunetti, una vez más, no decepcionan. In the thirty-second installment of Donna Leon’s bestselling series, a connection to Guido Brunetti’s own youthful past helps solve a mysterious murder Even if you have never read any of her books, you may well enjoy these slices of Leon’s life, specific to her, but also many that can be generalized to others. In her introduction, Ms. Leon makes it clear that she hasn’t yet hung up her pen: She is looking forward to spending time with Brunetti again and giving him the chance “to reveal more about himself, his past, and what he thinks and feels.” If only she had done the same here for herself. A Question of Belief (William Heinemann, London, April 2010; Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, hardcover May 2010;

Pausing only long enough to give a heavy sigh, Vianello said, ‘I had a call from Fazio.’ It took Brunetti a moment to recognize the name, a sergeant on the Treviso force and someone with whom both he and Vianello had worked. ‘Alvise’s been arrested.’ ‘ She shares amusing anecdotes about selling tomatoes to fund college, and her mother’s disastrous Christmas turkey. She confesses her love of Tosca, of Handel; and she has a moan about music pollution. I do not typically read memoirs. However, I LOVE Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti police procedurals/mysteries set in Venice. I have read all thirty two of them. Naturally, I just had to read her memoir. Why does long-serving police officer Alvise “not register fully . . . as a person” with his colleagues, including his supervisor, Commissario Brunetti (p. 5)? How does Alvise’s professional persona contribute to his obscurity? How does Brunetti feel about Alvise, and about himself, when he learns more about his colleague’s personal life?My annual spring visit to Venice with Guido and others. There wasn’t a lot going on in Venice. The tourists haven’t returned yet. Guidi didn’t spend a lot of time in cafes. Only had one meal at home with the family. It was a much slower time there this year. The weather was cold too. For those who know Venice, or want to, Brunetti is a well-versed escort to the nooks, crannies, moods, and idiosyncrasies of what residents call La Serenissima, the Serene One . . . Richly atmospheric, [Leon] introduces you to the Venice insiders know. (USA Today) En una fría noche de noviembre, Brunetti recibe una llamada del Inspector Vianello comunicando que ha aparecido una mano en uno de los canales de la ciudad. Poco después es encontrado el cuerpo, y se asigna a Brunetti la investigación de la muerte del hombre, un inmigrante de Sri Lanka con un sorprendente interés en el terrorismo italiano ocurrido durante los años 80. La investigación transportará a Brunetti a su etapa de estudiante y a aquellos ideales perdidos y errores de juventud en los que podría encontrarse la solución al caso. Brunetti paused a moment and searched his memory for any protest threatened for that weekend. Not the train drivers, not the remaining No-Vax, not the workers at Marghera – who seemed in a perpetual state of protest – and not medical professionals, who had protested two weeks before.

Leon] has never become perfunctory, never failed to give us vivid portraits of people and of Venice, never lost her fine, disillusioned indignation.” —Ursula K. LeGuin, The New York Times Leon's elegant, witty prose . . . is a joy. One of the best European novelists around' Amanda Craig Even the idea of writing it came to her by chance, after a casual comment at a dinner party reminded her of a game she played with friends while working as a teacher in Iran in the late ’70s, to the accompaniment of machine-gun fire and exploding bombs. Convinced that her life hasn’t been so humdrum after all, Ms. Leon set out to chronicle it—although not in a fluid, narrative but rather in a series of scattered, at times haphazard, recollections. I have read the whole series, so perhaps the next one will appeal to me more, but I am most grateful to the author for all the work she has put into the series, it's largely very enjoyable.

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The cases, while always intriguing, are almost secondary to the wonderful characterizations and musings and observations of life, especially Venetian life, by Brunetti. So nice to visit again with all the familiar actors, flamboyant Signora Elletra, strong and wise Paola, philosophical Guido, comical Patta, capable Griffoni, loyal Foa. Sensitive, incredibly colourful social portraits, close-ups of a splintered, encrusted society. But finally it is probably Guido Brunetti who makes the novels so successful. The reader follows him with pleasure through the narrow, winding streets of Venice.” — Der Spiegel (Hamburg) For 30 years Leon lived in Venice. She now lives in Switzerland and the reason for this move is given in this memoir.