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| A common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. (Wikipedia) |
“The first time you hear a cuckoo in springtime, you have to see how much money you have in your pockets. And the more you have, the more money you’ll get during the year.” (Donna Leon, The Waters of Eternal Youth. p. 290)
I enjoyed this bit of Venetian bird folklore in the midst of a murder investigation by Inspector Brunetti of the Venice police. Author Donna Leon’s usual depiction of local color includes family meals cooked by Brunetti’s wife, coffee and wine in cafés with witnesses and fellow police, the regular flooding of the streets of Venice, the declining quality of life for the local inhabitants, corruption and incompetence in the city and police administrations, Brunetti's wife's aristocratic family, and the clever machinations of police secretary Signorina Elettra who is a well-connected computer genius able to find out anything about anyone (unofficially, of course). This book includes all of these topics, some more fully explored than others. More important: this novel has a good solid mystery for Brunetti and his colleagues to solve, and a nice tight plot that keeps one's attention.
Brunetti has now appeared in over 30 detective novels by Donna Leon. The Waters of Eternal Youth was number 26, published in 2016. The first in the series appeared in 1992, with a new one more or less every year since then, including one that will appear in just a few weeks from now. I’ve read many of them, and written blog posts on several of them.
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| My introduction to Donna Leon was her cookbook. Here it is in 2010 with my original kindle on which I read some of her novels for the first time. |
One element of Donna Leon's books is the portrayal of Brunetti's children, who have remained as adolescents throughout the series, though their opinions and the electronic equipment they use (like phones) keeps up with the time when the book is written – while Brunetti can't master most technology. The first victim in The Waters of Eternal Youth is a young woman who suffered a near-drowning 15 years earlier, and was left with the mental age of a child. Brunetti is charged with finding out what really caused her to fall into the canal. In contrast to the victim's permanent childishness while her body ages, Brunetti and his family can spend 30 years without aging in the least ... that's definitely a mystery with the resolution left up to the reader. I've decided that I don't mind, they can stay frozen that way as long as Donna Leon keeps writing good suspenseful tales. I just wish she would go back to the detailed and luscious descriptions of food that were so wonderful in the earlier books, but her enthusiasm seems to have faded.
Blog post © 2022 mae sander.
19 comments:
I've never read Donna Leon. I should add her to my list -- I'm currently rereading a bunch of old mystery/thriller books, as well as adding contemporary authors. Maybe I'll dip into one of her earlier books that's a bit more food friendly. :-)
Lovely book review. You have such a beautiful was of writing yourself. Have a nice day.
Thank you Dear
Hello Mae,
I just downloaded the 1st in the Brunetti series. The cookbook sounds interesting too, I may check it out on Amazon. Thanks for your review.
Have a great day!
A favorite series of mine, but I keep forgetting about the cookbook. I need to add it to my list for the next gift-giving occasion.
I like this series too, but I haven't read very many. Time to read another I think. Hope it was a good day Mae.
I suppose once she decided not to age him, she could not change that. Pity about the food as the descriptions you've shared have always been good.
I´ve never seen a cuckoo here- how sad.
Italian food sounds interesting. When we traveled Tuscany we only got "German" food in the tourist-hotels, very sad.
I wish I had the patience for the mystery genre. I just have never found the right series.
Hopefully Leon will read this post and go back to the wonderful food descriptions you have loved so much.
I've never read Donna Leon bt the books sound interesting. And a cookbok too, I'd like to go through that.
When I saw this, I immediately thought of Divers and Sundry, who reads them in order. Seems when something works in the beginning, it is a sign that it should continue. However, it seems Leon has found a new formula for her mysteries that no longer include the emphasis on food.
A lovely picture of a cuckoo. And, this book review is interesting.
Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!
Hello Mae,
I love the Cuckoo! I think our Yellow-billed Cuckoo will be coming back to our area soon. They have a neat call, love the photo. Great book review, I finished the 1st of this series and I am looking forward to reading more Donna Leon. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
Hello, :=9 Super picture of the Cuckcoo. I have had fleeting glances of one, but never been able to capture it on camera. Interesting book review, an author I am not familiar with.
Beautiful shot of the cuckoo!
I love this series but I'm only up to #11, I think. In the last I read, S. Elecctra played a major role and she was emotionally battered. I'm glad to hear that in 26 she is still around!
We are always so excited to see a Cuckoo! Now I'll have another reason to be happy to spot one! I'll check out these books too.
I have not read Donna Leon but you make an inviting case for her mysteries. And I had a similar kindle back then ... now I'm reading on a Fire ... which suits fine.
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