I think I have a slight problem with these books - perhaps because I don't really know anything about Italy, its politics or society. I also have a problem (never having visited Venice) with geography - this often appears important in Donna Leon's books. The first book I read had a map of Venice in the front - but this didn't really help-I still work out where things were in relation to one another.
I gather Ms Leon is making some sort of judgement on the chaos and corruption of Italian life - but I find the bureaucracy not only frustrating (probably intended) but equally incomprehensible. Brunetti seems to be in rebellion against everyone - his superiors, his aristocratic in-laws, the rest of Italy, Americans, tourists, the world. This isn't your standard detective novel, and like in real life the bad don't always get punished, and there are lots of areas of grey. This time Brunetti has to investigate two crimes - the death of an American Serviceman and the 'theft' of some valuable works of art. The two (of course) end up interlinked - through business corruption and environmental pollution. Trouble is Ms Leon's obsession with irrelevant detail (food and drink - why does this feature so largely in so many crime novels) means that the interesting political and investigation aspects too often take a back seat. I'll probably read more - but I'll need a break. Rating? 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment