Helpful Score: 2
Donna Leon does not disappoint. Enjoyed my journey through the streets of Venice once again. Hope to read more about this character.
This stand-alone novel is a significant change from Donna Leons regular fare the delightful Commissario Brunetti and his family. Since Donna Leons novels are some of my favorites, at first, it was difficult to accept a book without the delightful Brunetti.
Once I got into the book, I enjoyed the mystery of the (three centuries dead) baroque composer. However, the story just didnt flow. It seemed as if there were staged scenes, not a continuous story.
After awhile, the concentration on long-dead persons seemed over-blown. There was precious-little about the here-and-now. I didnt feel that I had enough information about the characters surrounding Caterina Pellegrini to accept they were real.
Usually, Donna Leon makes Venice one of the characters; in this book it was barely a backdrop. Other than learning that there are only 59,000 native Venetians left, I learned little about this amazing city.
Leon has a habit of dropping Italian in her books. Ive never been as aggravated as this time. She rarely gives an English translation; sometimes one can glean what she is saying from the context. However, THIS time she outdid herself; there were too many times that she used Italian and the info was critical to understanding what was going on.
Music must be a passion of Donna Leons. I could tell that she was really into the story but she didnt convey that immediacy that she felt about the subject. I found it hard to worry much over a 300 year- old mystery, especially when I learned that the statute of limitations had been exceeded and it didnt matter who originally inherited. The state was the winner at this point. Suddenly, the plot fell apart for me.
Since reading this book, Ive really thought about Am I looking at this story through the Brunetti lens? After careful examination, I believe that I was able to make the transition to a new character (if that is what Caterina is). The bald truth is that the story wasnt that interesting. 3 stars
Once I got into the book, I enjoyed the mystery of the (three centuries dead) baroque composer. However, the story just didnt flow. It seemed as if there were staged scenes, not a continuous story.
After awhile, the concentration on long-dead persons seemed over-blown. There was precious-little about the here-and-now. I didnt feel that I had enough information about the characters surrounding Caterina Pellegrini to accept they were real.
Usually, Donna Leon makes Venice one of the characters; in this book it was barely a backdrop. Other than learning that there are only 59,000 native Venetians left, I learned little about this amazing city.
Leon has a habit of dropping Italian in her books. Ive never been as aggravated as this time. She rarely gives an English translation; sometimes one can glean what she is saying from the context. However, THIS time she outdid herself; there were too many times that she used Italian and the info was critical to understanding what was going on.
Music must be a passion of Donna Leons. I could tell that she was really into the story but she didnt convey that immediacy that she felt about the subject. I found it hard to worry much over a 300 year- old mystery, especially when I learned that the statute of limitations had been exceeded and it didnt matter who originally inherited. The state was the winner at this point. Suddenly, the plot fell apart for me.
Since reading this book, Ive really thought about Am I looking at this story through the Brunetti lens? After careful examination, I believe that I was able to make the transition to a new character (if that is what Caterina is). The bald truth is that the story wasnt that interesting. 3 stars
From Amazon's description:
Donna Leon has won heaps of critical praise and legions of fans for her best-selling mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first standalone novel.
Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, shes had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity.
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks, believed to contain the papers of a baroque composer have been discovered. Deeply-connected in religious and political circles, the composer died childless; now two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. Caterinas job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the testamentary disposition of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history and greed.
Donna Leon has won heaps of critical praise and legions of fans for her best-selling mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first standalone novel.
Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, shes had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity.
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks, believed to contain the papers of a baroque composer have been discovered. Deeply-connected in religious and political circles, the composer died childless; now two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. Caterinas job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the testamentary disposition of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history and greed.
