Customer Reviews

About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

For the first five or six Brunetti mysteries, I was totally hooked. The characters sparkled. The hero was flawed only by being entirely human. His loving family is believable. The continuing characters are endearing. Venice -- beautiful, charming and damaged -- is a character by itself. But I got the feeling, after reading my way through the series, that Leon is becoming increasingly disgusted by the failure of the Italians to cure what ails Venice -- corruption (senior police officials, building departments, tax collection) racism and, in this book (as in some others), pollution. It seems that with each new book her view is less accepting of the corruption that is undermining Venice and the narrative voice becomes more outraged. And this emphasis would be fine but for one problem that undermines each successive book. In About Face, the dumping of corrosive and medical wastes is a horror, as is the death of an investigator. The second theme is the destruction of a beautiful woman through plastic surgery. Perhaps Leon meant the second theme to be a metaphor for the slow destruction of Venice by its government trying to hide, rather than address, its serious problems. But the dual plots don't unfold but rather clunk along unbelievably--and forgettably. They are not intertwined successfully, there is almost no dramatic tension and resolutions lack suspense, clever detecting or even style. Plotting seems to be failing her more with each new book. I love mysteries, I love Italy, I love good characters, I love good writing and for a while there, Leon had it all, so I am especially sad that was originally a really good read has declined as the series progresses. The series reminds me of Elizabeth George, another series author I adored until she ran out of the inspiration that made her Lynley and Havers series so terrific. Much the same loss of spark seems to have overtaken Donna Leon and I could not be more sorry to see it go.

Initially I was glad I had borrowed this book from the library - her social/political 'theme' this time was garbage, and, despite the increased involvement of Guido's family and in-laws, I wasn't too engaged. But I persevered, and was glad I did. Donna's book often take unusual twists and turns, with interesting surprises, and this was no exception. Some new parts of town (casinos), some new dynamics in the station, and even gun fire. Sometimes her endings are downers - yes, the case was resolved, but it wasn't "justice". This ending was more affirming.

"About Face" by Venetian mystery writer Donna Leon has a clever double-meaning title which will become more apparent as you get further into the book. The intricacies of the human character are an important element in this book as it surmounts the usual conventions of the mystery genre. As usual Donna Leon's adopted city, Venice, in an integral part of the novel's fabric. The moving force behind Leon's writing is the way that human beings deal in practical terms with great moral dilemmas.

Unscrupulous Italian forces such as the Mafia are not only having great difficulty in getting rid of the country's own toxic chemical and nuclear waste products, but they are importing such material from other countries. Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police gets involved in a nasty case involving these poisonous, life-threatening pollutants.

A young woman, Franca, the second wife of a successful businessman, Cataldo, has had an inordinate amount of facial surgery done which has turned her face into a strange mask. Brunetti is attracted to the woman because like him she enjoys reading the Roman classics. Her husband has been doing deals with some shady people, and she has been having an affair with a young gangster.

The national police, the Carabiniere, are investigating the transport and disposal of the toxic waste, and Brunetti assists a Major Guarino in the case. It involves murder, and as usual the corruption that reaches everywhere into Italian society. The political maneuvering and venality of Brunetti's boss, Patta, play a part in the story.

A waste cache is discovered in Mestre outside Venice, and its discovery leads to another murder. The plot is intricate and becomes more involving as the book progresses.

Brunetti's wealthy nobleman father-in-law Conte Falier and his wife, the Contessa, are key elements in the story's development. As usual in a Leon novel the pace is leisurely at times and then picks up with bursts of action. This book starts off in a very leisurely manner. Is it fair to say that parts of a book are too talky? If it is, that would be my comment on the first chapters, too much beating around the bush, with no real hook, no action to stir the reader.

This is the first book I read on Amazon's Kindle and found the experience almost the same as reading a book in a paper edition. Leon's description of Venice after a snowfall is very well done and evocative. A female commissario, Claudia Griffoni, is introduced, and she may become one of the continuing characters in the series, This is a worthwhile addition to the Leon canon, but one with pokey beginning chapters.

This novel contains the classic elements of a Guido Brunetti mystery that fans of the series have come to expect: the classic Venetian setting, Leon's concern for contemporary issues, sensitve handling of the characters. For someone just starting with her mysteries, this is not the best place to start ... but after 18 volumes, who would want to have the same characters re-introduced? I appreciated Guido's developing attachment to his in-laws in this volume.

Since I am an English teacher, I considered the title of About Face. Being a left brained person, I took it literally, but soon discovered that About Face had nothing to do with changing one's attitude or direction. A fascinating book that keeps the reader in suspense until the end. Leon's crafting of characters is expert. Also, she includes little details about facial expressions, room decor, and clothes. All these add to the ambiance of the story. I feel as if I am present as the action unfolds.Imagine working for a man such as Patta. God forbid!

About Face was my first Donna Leon. Bought and read appropriately in Venice herself. Leon opens a doorway into the private lives of local Venetians at all levels of society. Her main character, Commisario Brunetti immediately wins your heart and mind, with his combination of warmth and reserve. We're always inside his mind, reading a situation or plotting a strategy the way he sees it.

The book started slowly for me, but gladly I stuck with it. Minute details kept popping up, recognizable as the street near my hotel in San Marco including the very optician where I bought glasses, the florist shop that would only sell me a bunch of flowers (not just a single blossom)etc. What a pleasent surprise! Soon enough the action starts and the slow pace quickens to thriller level.

A deeply satisfying read on many levels, but especially as a reflection of the 'other' Venice - it's people and their lives revealed behind closed shutters and porticos.

Donna Leon spins another complex study of the trials of human nature. I found this to be a multi-layered thriller of great interest. The title seemed to me to refer to; something about someone's face, the change in direction of an "about face" and the culture term "face"... quite fascinating..

I often think that super successful commercially popular authors are under great pressure to keep the presses rolling and the money coming in, that they burn themselves out. That, perhaps, a Donna Leon does not have as many good books in her as she and her fans would hope. As a result, we now get offerings from her that come nowhere near the quality or enjoyment of her earlier fiction. Such a book is "About Face". The plot really lacks excitement or suspense. Brunetti and the gang -- particularly Vice-Questore Patta and senorina Elletra -- are becoming cliched. And, strangely, she also is neglecting her once-wonderful settings around the intriguing city of Venice -- the reason I suspect most of us read her books in the first place. As if that weren't enough, Leon's obligatory left wing rantings are becoming more and more strident. And naive. And bothersome. I've enjoyed most of Leon's books and will probably keep reading them as they come off the press with annual regularity. But, like Venice, she aint what she used to be.

Buy it now...another Donna Leon is as good as adding gold coins to your pockets. You'll feel as if you've been on vacation to Venice. It's that good. Commissario Brunetti: we love you!

Like her quote of "Cosi Fan Tutte", Leon gives us a look at the face most people "keep by the door...for all the lonely people". We all have our public and private faces but sometimes the face we show in the mirror can also be a stranger. So begins this installment of Guido and the search for an honest man, except he doesn't have a lantern much less a candle. When the Vice-Questore asks Brunetti to speak with a Majjorie Guardino from the Carabineri, Brunetti knows that this has to be something that Patta will realize he shouldn't handle. Having spoken with Patta, Guardino reflects on how every level of government has their own "Patta", i.e. a simpering buffoon who only wants recognition and to be seen with the "right" people.

But when Brunetti questions Guardino as to why and what he at the Questore in Venice for, Guardino is as slippery as a "Jesuit" discussing theology (my quote). Having asked that question and not gotten a straight answer, Brunetti becomes exasperated with Guardino. They never do get to a point where Guido feels he is getting the truth or any of the information he will need. Guardino wants Brunetti to use his resources to find out who in Venice was dealing with an informer of his who was murdered on the 'mainland'. But Guardino is even leary of giving Brunetti the name of the dead man! For Guido it's 'like looking for a shadow in the dark' (my quote).

Just like most of Leon's best books, we go off on a tangent that includes a Cicero quoting acquaintance of Guido's parents-in-law, his wife, a new female Commissario, the 'returned' Alvise, Vianello, Pucetti and of course the ever beautiful and helpful Signorina Elletra. Those of us who have read the rest of this series will be interested to see the growth of Guido's relationship with both the Conte and Contessa Falier, and how everything ties in nicely at the end.

One of the better books in the series.

Zeb Kantrowitz