So Shall You Reap

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Donna Leon has a wonderful feel for the hidden evils that lie below the façade of the magical city, and Brunetti, sturdy family man and cynic, is an endearing guide into the machinations of Italian society.” —Marcel Berlins, The Times (London) on Blood from a Stone Drawing Conclusions (Forthcoming in 2011 from William Heinemann, London, and Atlantic Monthly Press, New York) The beginning was the most fast pace and one of the sweetest parts of the book. They were called to the gay pride parade because there this year was a fight. Times are changing. Acceptance of people’s preferences and differences are opening up. The bulk of the time there was about a peaceful and kind undocumented Sri Larkin immigrant named Insen who was living in a guest house on a mansion’s property. And about his dog Sarah. There was a female Benediction monastery behind it on the compo who had a lovely garden with fruit trees. The garden by the mansion was overgrown and the mansion itself was very rundown. The couple who lived there were very badly matched. It was sad. A hand was found first in the water and that led to the finding of Insen’s body. Who is he? What’s he doing in Venice? Why undocumented? Was he a Tamil Tiger? And other questions were raised.

I’ve been a big fan of the Guido Brunetti series and have made my way through the first 24 of them. Thanks to Netgalley, I’m jumping ahead to So Shall You Reap, # 32 in the series. It’s also the first of the series I’ve read, rather than listened to. It works just as well in either format. After university, Leon accepted teaching jobs in Iran, China and Saudi Arabia, eventually ending up at a United States army base situated an hour’s drive from Venice. 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) Until around 2015, the author lived in Venice for over 30 years (she has lived in Venice since the 1980s) , however, recently she moved to Switzerland, in her home in Zurich and her other home in a small village in the mountains. Donna Leon is not married and has no partner or an ex-husband. In an interview, she mentioned that marriage is not something that suits her; she prefers to remain single. She does return to the US, albeit infrequently, as she doesn’t feel at home there. Over the years, she has worked at the University of Maryland University College – Europe as its lecturer in English literature, and for 18 years she worked as a professor at the American military base of Vicenza. Leon’s] memoir invites readers into her world of adventures, and she’s certainly had plenty . . . She vividly and engaging describes her love of crime, Venice, and opera, her dream of finding the perfect cappuccino (more difficult than one might imagine), and the games she created with friends throughout the world. Leon’s wit and life well-lived will draw in varied audiences, who can live vicariously through her. Fans of her series will certainly enjoy this memoir and the brief letter she includes to dissuade them from trying to find Guido Brunetti at the Questura.” — Library Journal

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In this story, he starts out where he would rather be culling his crowded bookshelves than heading off to the mainland to retrieve one of their policemen, who’s somehow been caught up in a protest march that has turned violent. She describes the career path that ultimately brought her to Italy: four years of teaching English to trainee helicopter pilots in Iran in the late seventies, living under martial law, friendly and generous neighbours, and curfew pyjama parties and. Eventually, evacuation. I read the first book in her series, “Death at La Fenice” and actually saw the same book re-created in an Italian series movie version. It was rather interesting to watch. (And yes, the book was better than the movie.) (Side note: My review of Death at La Fenice is here on Goodreads.) 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.

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.Scenes in the Brunetti apartment with Paola (his wife) and the children, are some favorite moments. The latest Donna Leon book is titled Trace Elements, published in early 2020. Currently, there is a Donan Leon TV series adapted from her Guido Brunetti books to the German television, title Commissario Brunetti. The TV show, produced in 2000 by ARD, has also been aired in Spain and Finland. In fact, close to 20 novels have been produced as broadcast dramas by German television. When Claudia Griffoni informs Brunetti that Luigi Rubini, an art thief, may be operating in Venice again, the Commissario has a surprising reaction. How does Brunetti attempt to explain his response? Do you think he admires Rubini’s dedication to his daughter, his expertise in art, or both? Is Brunetti’s regard for Rubini ultimately justified? Donna Leon provides another delectable slice of the thoughtful policeman's life at work and at home... So Shall You Reap is as witty and wise as anything Leon has written. To read her is to restore the soul.' Mark Sanderson, The Times 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

For many years, Donna Leon has been writing thoughtful, perceptive mysteries” —Sam Coale, Providence Journal The beauty for me in these books is in the little things, the details of everyday life and small interactions between the city’s people. An atmosphere is created of a place unchanged on the surface but ever changing underneath. Brunetti harbours a certain resentment in respect of the incremental changes ongoing in this place, but isn’t that true of all of us as we reach a certain age? And as the story settles into the investigation of a recognisable crime, he gathers those police officers close to him (characters well known to regular readers) and, between coffees, they ruminate on possible motives and root around to discover information that might lead them to a suspect. As always, it’s beautifully done and once more I experienced a pang of regret when I reached the story’s end and had to say farewell to these people and this place until (hopefully) the next book in the series is published. The crimes Guido Brunetti investigates in the Donna Leon novels are typical of big-city issues, such as mafia, corruption, and crimes around the world of art and the world of the Church. The books are not extremely gory with a lot of blood spilled by either party. Instead, the Commissario Guido Brunetti is attempting to understand the criminals with their motivations, to see what really drives them. He also wants to know what drives the victims as well. He is a generally optimistic person, just like the author is as well. Donna Leon created Guido Brunetti as a man she actually likes. He is a nice guy with a strong intellect and sense of ethics. His colleagues are in constant admiration of his intellect, professionalism, and fast-decision abilities. What in God’s name, Brunetti wondered, would Alvise be doing in Treviso? Indeed, what would anyone be doing there, especially on a day like this? 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

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Every profession leads to deformation,” writes Donna Leon in her memoir “Wandering Through Life.” She adds: “mine is crime.” The novelist then proceeds to come clean about the way her fertile imagination runs wild, turning innocent scenarios into fantasies of wrongdoing. Why does Brunetti go through the trouble of changing his suit for his meeting with Vice-Questore Patta? How does he behave during their conversation? Is he effective in his encounters with his boss, and why or why not? The good news is that she ages him – so there is a sense of realness about her characters, which makes him and others believable. The sophisticated but still moral Brunetti, with his love of food and his loving family, proves a worthy custodian of timeless values and verities.”— Wall Street Journal

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. This is the most disappointing of the 32 books, for me, but many others sincerely enjoyed it, so it may just have been the mood I was in while reading, and perhaps I'm too critical. As a young woman, Leon taught English abroad in places like the Middle East and China. She delighted in experiencing foreign cultures, which gave her the desire to travel regularly and explore the world around her. It was when she accompanied her friend on a trip to Naples, Italy, that she felt truly at home and did not want to leave. This led to further exploration of the country and falling in love with the very same Venice where she eventually relocated and set her iconic series. Some things remain constant throughout the decades: her adoration of opera, especially Handel’s vocal music, and her advocacy for the environment, embodied in her passion for bees—which informs the surprising crux of the Brunetti mystery Earthly Remains. Even as mass tourism takes its toll on the patience of residents, Leon’s passion for Venice remains unchanged: its outrageous beauty and magic still captivate her.There’s no denying that Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries_ Are well written in a manner that eliminates the extraneous without becoming showily stoic.” —Charles Taylor, Bloomberg No author has delved into Venetian society quite like Leon, whose insider’s view shows how crime seeps throughout the city, touching all strata of society.”— Mystery Scene WANDERING THROUGH LIFE is an eye-opening read that truly fills in the blanks of Leon's life while maintaining enough of a distance so that readers still will have plenty to learn about her. Most of all, it makes me eagerly await her next Brunetti novel, which cannot come fast enough. Terrific at providing, through its weary but engaging protagonist, a strong sense of the moral quandaries inherent in Italian society and culture.”— San Francisco Chronicle