Customer Reviews

Bellini Card, The

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1840, the new Ottoman Empire Sultan Abdulmecid orders the eunuch Yashim to travel to Venice to obtain a portrait of Mehmet the Conqueror painted by Bellini. However, before leaving for Italy, Resid Pasha directs Yashim to keep the expenses including the purchase down. Yashim asks his friend impoverish Polish Ambassador Stanislaw Palewski to masquerade as an American to help locate the portrait of the hero who took Constantinople from the Christians in the fifteenth century.

In Venice while Palewski conducts his search, a killer has murdered two dealers connected to the Bellini masterpiece. Soon the Polish Ambassador becomes a target of this unknown murderer, but Yashim working from the shadows keeps his friend safe while trying to obtain the painting.

The third Yashmin historical thriller (see THE JANISSARY TREE and THE SNAKE STONE) is an enjoyable fascinating look at Venice and at the Ottoman Empire. Interestingly Yashim plays second fiddle for much of the early part of the novel, but once he comes on stage, he and his adversary battle in am electrifying contest. Fans will enjoy this terrific nineteenth century mystery due in part to the investigations into the portrait and the killer, but also because of the deep sense of time and place.

Harriet Klausner

Both Yahsim the eunuch and Palewski the Polish ambassador to the Sublime Porte (aka the court of the Ottoman Empire) have problems. Yahsim has been commanded by the new young Sultan to track down and retrieve the portrait of his ancestor, Mehmet, who first conquered Constantinople in 1453. It's a problematic and potentially risky assignment for many reasons, and Yahsim is strongly advised not to venture abroad. But Count Palewski, on the other hand, is feeling more disrespected than usual by the diplomatic community -- his invitation to the festivities for the Sultan's ascension haven't arrived. But then, Poland, divided up between Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany and other nations, doesn't really exist as a country.

Yahsim commissions Palewski to go to Venice in his place, disguised as an American art collector, and thus begins a remarkable and mysterious adventure for the Polish exile, who thus far in Goodwin's three-book series has played second fiddle to Yahsim in their investigations. Pawlewski duels, literally and rhetorically, with his Venetian neighbor, a beautiful noblewoman, displays his chivalrous streak and risks both his life and freedom in the pursuit of the Bellini. Others involved peripherally in his quest do lose their lives in the murky canals of a Venice long past its prime (and still occupied by the Austrians). But just in the nick of time, Yahsim arrives on the scene to resolve the mystery...

As usual, Goodwin's novel is packed full of all the color of the locales in which he sets the stories. Yahsim, an avid cook, introduces us by proxy to the delights of Ottoman-era cuisine, even as he mourns the destruction of ancient tiles and savors the beauties of Arabic calligraphy. None of that atmospheric detail is allowed to detract from the action, however, and the result is a great historical mystery in a series that shows no signs of flagging.

For those who have enjoyed Goodwin's novels, I'd strongly suggest picking up a copy of his history of the Ottomans that started it all, for him as an author and me as a reader, Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire (It even sent me traveling back to Istanbul...) It's one of those rare histories that is written in as lively a tone as the average novel, and the research for that book shows just why Goodwin is so at home writing about early 19th century Istanbul and the machinations of the Ottoman court. His equally obvious comfort in writing about Venice comes as a pleasant surprise, and while I relish the daring duo's adventures in Istanbul, it makes me hope that Yahsim and Palewski venture abroad again in some future instalment of their adventures.

I wanted to like this book very much. The historical details and local color were great, both for Istanbul and for Venice. But the plot was just baffling. So many characters (some of whom turn out to be one another, no less!), so many hidden motives and agendas, all of which would be fine if the author ever stopped, somewhere near the end, to explain what exactly had happened. But he never does! Worse, he gives hints along the way that things are not as they seem (of the "afterwards, it was this moment he would remember, when it became clear he was being cheated..." variety) but never quite resolves what the hint was about. Various people are killed (by one killer? more than one?), various deceptions are staged (to what end, exactly? it's not clear) and various revelations are revealed, but I honestly couldn't keep track of who was who or why any of it mattered.

In the interview with the author at the back of the book, Goodwin says he doesn't plot out his books in advance, but just starts to write and hopes he wraps up all his loose ends by the end of the story. It shows.

Jason Goodwin's entertaining third installment of his unique Investigator Yashim series takes our Turkish eunuch detective from Istanbul to Venice (after The Janissary Tree: A Novel and The Snake Stone: A Novel). The young new sultan Abdulmecid receives a whispered invitation from Venice to purchase Gentile Bellini's 15th century portrait of Mehmut the Conqueror. A new sultan means a new vizier and this one intends to be the power behind the throne. When Abdulmecid dispatches Yashim to Venice to find the seller and bring back the painting, Resid Pasha intimates that Yashim should forgo the trip; the weakening Ottoman Empire cannot afford to waste precious coin on old paintings.

Yashim seeks to please both masters and craftily sends his friend Palweski, the nominal Polish ambassador to the Ottomans to find, acquire, and retrieve the painting (`Nominal' because Poland was enduring one of its periodic disappearing phases). Venice turns out to be every bit as Byzantine as Istanbul. Who, if anyone, really has the painting? Is it for sale? Is it even genuine? Why are dead men turning up around Palewski? The Austrian stadtmeister especially wants that question answered. And around that point, Yashim turns up to lend a hand.

The answers are all delivered in due course along with some solid action, loads of intrigue, a beautiful woman, and a satisfying conclusion. Despite the occasional violence, Goodwin's novels are comfortable. Yashim makes the reader feel that `all is right in the end' - or much as possible in the declining Ottoman Empire.

Yashim indulges his passion for cooking a bit less than in the first two books. Goodwin's extensive knowledge of Byzantine history solidly grounds this work of historical detective fiction. We learn a bit about painting, a bit about fencing, a good bit about Venice (as Goodwin tells us, Venice and Istanbul do have long connected histories) - in many ways the star of the book. The other star, the portrait of Mehmut the Conqueror can be visited in the 21st century at the National Gallery in London. The plotting gets a bit hectic, but the real strength of the Yashim books is the aura of historical reality that Goodwin creates. To the book's detriment, fewer pages are spent on the historical setting in The Bellini Card than in the first two books. I also found myself wishing that more time was spent in Istanbul (one hopes Goodwin still has a few Istanbul based story lines). On the other hand, the development of the Palewski character was a positive.

There is a drop off from the first two books, but the Bellini Card is still worth a read for fans of historical detective fiction or anyone interested Istanbul or Venice.

This third book in the Yashim series shows us, as usual, that Mr. Goodwin is a thorough historical researcher, so the great tidbits of life in both Istanbul and Venice constitute a true pleasure and result in my rating of two stars. As a novelist, however, Mr. Goodwin is showing himself to be less and less skilled. This plot is far too tricky, even for Mr. Goodwin to untangle. Furthermore, this author repeatedly violates the basic rule of good novel writing: "SHOW the reader, don't tell the reader." In his first two novels of this series, Mr. Goodwin made us really love Yashim, his cohorts and his exotic setting, so we look forward to new Yashim tales. Obviously, readers worldwide do, as well. But Mr. Goodwin needs to stop writing novels by the seat of his pants, now that he has a good series going, and start mastering the craft of good written storytelling. His loyal readers deserve much better plotting and writing. Finally, I think Mr. Goodwin is probably pretty lucky that Donna Leon has not sued him for shamelessly stealing her famous Venetian cop, Guido Brunetti, for this particular book and concocting a near-carbon-copy ... named Brunelli, would you believe? Please. Plagiarism is just not clever or amusing.

I devoured the first two Yeshim novels and couldn't wait for the third. They are good fanciful yarns rendered all the more delicious by Goodwin's solid grounding in the place and history of Istanbul, the kind you curl up with on a rainy day. And Istanbul, one of my two favoite cities in the world! So when Goodwin's latest promised to be about Venice, my OTHER favorite city in all the world I was beside myself. And the book lived up to the trilogy and Goodwin knows his Venice. I was delighted. That is until, the last few chapters when I found myself stopping frequently to reread and say, huh? what is he describing, what's going on? And then the finish is kind of a slap-dash where a lot of references are thrown out and then it's over, bad guy dead, no explanation how. badda boo, badda bang. Great story, really bad editing. Really bad. Just in the last twenty pages or so, not throughout. Made me think there was a deadline to get on a certain list and there was no time to smooth out the rough spots. Bad mistake. Not Goodwin's fault at all and he should be really angry for this.

This is the third novel about the eunuch detective Yashim in 1830's Istanbul. Formerly of the Sultan's court, he uses his contacts to solve mysteries in the multi-cultural chaos of the Ottoman capital.

This time, though, the year is 1840 and the action moves across the Adriatic Sea to Venice. For centuries a power in the Eastern Mediterranean, after Napoleon Venice is an outpost of the Austrian empire, slowing falling into decay.

Yashim is charged with finding a lost painting by the painter Bellini, said to be in Venice. But rather than draw attention to himself, he sends his friend Palewski, the ambassador of the no longer existent Poland. Most of the action revolves around Palewski's adventures in the various social layers of Venice, from the aristocracy to the criminal underworld of art forgery. You start to wonder where Yashim is. He appears of course, and dominates the action for the final portion of the book.

When one thinks of mysteries in Venice one can't help but think of Donna Leon, who has written 18 novels placed in the modern city since 1992. The wonderful thing about "The Bellini Card" is its not very subtle homage to Donna Leon. Yashim and Palewski are helped by a Venetian Commissario named Brunelli, not a little reminiscent of Leon's Commissario Brunetti.

And Palewski disguises himself as an American art buyer called Mr Brett. In Donna Leon, Brett Lynch is an American archaeologist who features in the very first Brunetti book, and makes a reappearance in a later novel.

All that adds to the fun of visiting the decay and the canals of 1840 Venice with Yashim (who also seems to be capable of a bit more intimacy than one expects from a eunuch).

I love mysteries and adventures and quirky detectives. This novel had a few interesting characters that could someday be filled out. It is a weak sort of Sherlock Holmes as castrati with Watson as a quasi Polish ambassador. Nonetheless, the writing was weak. The food details carried no purpose. The villainy, totally improbable. The crime victims, without real meaning. The ending's bookending of the opening was laughable. The spooky "brilliance" of the pattern, absurd. Etc.

I would love to read about the same people, with the same historical/architectural tie in, but within a novel which demonstrated some interest by the author to write well and tighten things up. I probably would not read such a book, however, because this one so put me off.

It's 1840. A eunuch in service to the Ottoman sultan is, improbably, an accomplished detective, a gifted hand-to-hand fighter, and even a lover of women (or, at least, one woman) in this fanciful but flawed mystery story. Dr. Watson to Yashim's Sherlock Holmes is a Polish Count ejected from his lands by the Austrians in a recent partition of Poland, which is now, effectively, nonexistent. But Count Paderewski, appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Court, continues in office to keep the flag of Poland flying in the hearts and minds of his contemporaries.

As the action shifts from Istanbul to Venice, we meet a passel of equally unlikely Venetian characters. Included are a surpassingly beautiful Countess who is also a brilliant fencer; a masterful local police inspector; a chubby but beautiful young prostitute with, naturally, a . . . let's just say "big heart"; a deaf mute idiot savant with the ability to paint like Michelangelo; and a three-century-old portrait by a brilliant artist of the Venetian Renaissance.

Somehow, all these characters come together in the course of The Bellini Card once Yashim (the eunuch) is ordered by the young sultan Abdulmecid to travel to Venice to secure the portrait. This book is the third in a series of mystery stories that focus on Yashim and life in the Ottoman Empire. Though the action is sometimes difficult to follow (much less to understand), the book is nonetheless a worthwhile read, if only because of Jason Goodwin's obvious respect for historical accuracy and his evocative portraits of two of the world's most fascinating cities in the 19th Century.

Although I can't count The Bellini Card as giving me one of my most rewarding recent reading experiences, chances are good I'll read the two novels that preceded it, anyway. I'm a sucker for historical fiction generally, and more so for mysteries set in exotic locales. If you like your crime stories to take you off the beaten path, you, too, will probably want to pick up The Bellini Card.

(From Mal Warwick's Blog on Books)

Like quite a few contemporary mysteries, this is a fairly conventional mystery spiced by using an exotic historical locale and unusual hero. The locale being the mid-19th century Ottoman empire and the hero being a palace eunuch. Goodwin, who has published on Ottoman history, is a competent writer and the background detail seems solid. This protagonist and his sidekick are a bit of a pastiche, borrowing elements of Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe. Plotting and character development are solid.