The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.97 You Save: $9.03 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Girl of His Dreams
Book Review: A darker, more bitter Brunetti...
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoy Donna Leon's novels, and this case is no exception. I liked the blacker edge of this one, where Brunetti goes a bit further in dealing with the contradictions of his life: his inability to do much about reversing the progress of corruption in modern Italy, and Venice in particular; and the sweet enjoyment of his functional and loving family, which is also a product of that same society (and is threatened by it). Isn't this something we all feel? We have come to fear the moment when both dimensions shall overlap, when the public cesspool overruns our domestic defenses and infects our private lives. I become a little disappointed -or even irritated- when the backdrop (Patta, Signorina Elettra, Venice itself) is inmobile, fixed, repetitive amd almost a caricature of itself. Leon certainly has the talent to do better: she knows that in detective novels the main character's urban environment and its secondary (or even tertiary) characters are key to the genre. And yet she doesn't seem to want to expend the effort. It's a pity. Brunetti deserves a bit better than that.Book Review: Not the Commissario Brunetti book of My Dreams
Summary: 3 Stars
I have loved all the Commissario Guido Brunetti books I have read so far but this book was a real disappointment. I think it was the theme of social commentary on the Romani, social services, and Roman Catholic clerics. It had an angry tone to it. I can listen to talk radio if I want to hear that attitude. Although I found it amusing that in Italy Brunetti was having a difficult time finding a believer (Christian/religious). It was still worth my time because I love the setting of the novels and the characters especially Brunetti and his family.Book Review: Starts off with one story...moves to another
Summary: 3 Stars
I love Donna Leon, but in this novel she begins by writing a mystery about a religious scam and then, about a third of the way through, veers onto another plot line about the death of a young Gypsy girl. The writing, the Venice details, Brunetti and his family...all enjoyable. The structure is a mess, however; it feels as if she decided her initial impulse wasn't rich enough, so she simply went a different way without scraping the false start.Book Review: downright disappointing!
Summary: 2 Stars
I had read this was a new turn in DL's narrative, which is true - sadly. She tries to master two storylines at the same time, but both waver in no direction at all. The good thing is that I've read enough ot this author to know better than dump her all together for future reading.Book Review: Mystery vs Travelog
Summary: 2 Stars
While I ususally enjoy the Brunetti series, I found this one to be about 75% travelog and 25% mystery rather loosely linked by local political bias about Gypsies.