Customer Reviews

Uniform Justice

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Donna Leon's twelfth Commissario Guido Brunetti novel does not begin with a bang; instead, it begins with an apparent suicide, a hanging.

For all intents and purposes, the death of a young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military
school certainly must be a suicide. However, with the intellect, cunning, skill, and savvy of Leon and
Brunetti, what begins with a "simple" death soon works its way into an ugly, complicated, and
frightening murder in Leon's latest "Uniform Justice."

The young teenager is the son of a prominent doctor and politician, termed "honest" by any
standard. The father's honesty serves as a fault, however, and soon causes him to resign from
parliament, particularly following his investigation of corruption in military procurement. The
"web of deceit" in such cases seems to spread just about everywhere. His "anti-military" stance
does not go over well, especially at his son's military school. Thus begins a series of cover-ups, lies,
and deception--the ranks of the involved quickly close.

Not for the first time does Brunetti face the
"old school" of Venice. His task is formidable, but with the help of his wife Paola, his secretary
Signorina Elettra, and a few members of the department, Brunetti methodically and brilliantly
brings the case to its conclusion.

Leon, for all the love she bears for Venice, where she's lived for a
number of years, continues to champion the cause of the just, the honest, the uncorrupt, the
innocent, all descriptives of just about any place but Venice. Still, politics and social injustices
aside, Leon continues to hold firmly her legion of fans with her inimitable style, plot designs, superb
characterizations, and general "good literature." "Uniform Justice" is not easily laid aside until it
is finished.

One of Leon's strong suits is that she does not pretend that, when the final pages are read,
the world is then tied up nicely in a pretty bow and everything is okay. Romanticism in literature is
not Donna Leon; realism is alive and well and these themes permeate her twelve Brunetti novels.
Perhaps this is another reason she is so popular. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

A previous reviewer noted that this book might be unacceptable to American readers as it is "too European", ie., not enough of a happy ending. I consider this assessment a plus rather than a minus. Apparently we have become so accustomed to seeing everything as a half-hour sit-com (with time for commercials), that we can no longer deal with any situation that is not presented to us as a neatly tied up package. I am glad that author Leon has not bowed to this commercial pressure and has instead created a novel that reflects current, not TV reality. Also, I find it refreshing that the main character is a decent, thoughtful man who has a strong, loving bond with his wife and kids instead of the formulaic rogue cop/PI/ex-cop who drinks too much/recovered alcoholic and who is estranged from his kids & wife & or/ex-girlfriends and is too emotionally damaged to sustain his current/past marriages/relationships. It IS disheartening to see corruption prevail and criminals go unpunished (why don't people get this upset about Enron?). But, eventhough evil seems to prevail, there are people who still retain their integrity and do what they can, families still treat each other with affection and respect and, as Brunetti's wife, Paolo, says, "love trumps everything."

A mystery equal to if not better than Simenon's Inspector Maigret series, UNIFORM JUSTICE lives up to the author's well deserved reputation. Set in modern Venice, it is replete with translatable Italian (telefonino, Carabinieri, Signora, si), well rounded characters and a plot that moves, though a little slowly, with riveting intricacy.
Commissario Brunetti becomes involved with a young cadet's suicide and he finds himself up against a military obstinacy equal to Jack Nicholson's character in A FEW GOOD MEN. This mystery brings the reader into the Italian home, takes you to lunch (yum!) and lets you suffer the frustrations of a modern police officer in a very political world. I couldn't put it down.

Donna Leon's twelfth novel is a real murder mystery. And for a reader who dearly loves her earlier books, that is not necessarily a good thing. In UNIFORM JUSTICE, the gloom of winter, a young man's sinister death, a mean-spirited military academy, and the desperation of an honest man in a corrupt system all mix to form the general air of despair that pervades the book. In earlier Brunetti books there are many little rays of sunshine, comforting antidotes to crime and corruption. Yes, Guido Brunetti is always busy solving a nasty murder, but the romance and beauty of Venice; tidbits of Italian culture,art and history; the warmth of the Brunetti's family life; and, how could I forget, the delicious descriptions of Paola Brunetti's Italian cooking offer reminders that life is beautiful.

Not that I'll quit reading Leon! I am waiting in line for the next book(s)! But armchair travelers, beware. This book strays into darker and darker territory. You can still use your map of Venice to figure out where Brunetti is and what he sees,and you can still enjoy Paola's food, but it won't be quite as much fun.

Donna Leon, originally from New Jersey, has lived in Venice, Italy, for twenty years, as lecturer, professor, and finally mystery writer/student of Baroque music(and she actually motivated me to buy a CD of excerpts from Handel's operas). As of 2006, she's written 16 Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, all set in or around Venice.

First thing to be said is, she knows the place: its geography, weather, people, houses, jobs, transportation, politics, smells,feel, food, and death, and no, not in that "Death in Venice" (by Thomas Mann) way. Her Venice has little in common with the beautiful, ethereal city celebrated so frequently in song, story, and movie, and so fondly remembered by multitudes of tourists. Her Venice is where Venetians live and work.

Commissario Brunetti is a melancholy and cynical man, made tired by endless infighting in the top-heavy Italian police bureacracy; and by many disappointments in dealing with what he sees as the self-serving corruption of the Italian power elites. Only the domestic warmth of his family: wife Paola, a hereditary contessa born to one of Venice's oldest families, who chooses to teach, cook, and to espouse left-wing causes (that often sound as if her creator might also support them); his children Raffi and Chiara, and many good meals, enables Brunetti to stay centered and to continue fighting the good fight.

Many people feel that Leon relies too heavily on stereotypes. Her view of Italy as a whole reflects the country that certain liberal bohemias love to hate. She sometimes slows the action of her books to express her political views. "Uniform Justice," particularly, can be viewed as being a bit too full of political digressions. Leon may also be accused of choosing the subject matter of her books for political reasons; of painting all southern Italians as dumb and dishonest, all Venetians as intelligent and honest, all American tourists as fat and crude, and all women under 35 as beautiful. There's some truth to all these criticisms.

In "Uniform Justice" Brunetti is sent to the upper-crust "San Martino Military Academy," where Cadet Ernesto Moro has been found hanged in the boys' lavatory. The school, man and boy, prefers to think Moro a suicide, and whispers various nasty habits of his. They close ranks against Brunetti, as they do against all outsiders, particularly the low-born. However, Brunetti doesn't think the cadet's death is suicide, and digs doggedly until he can prove the cadet's death is murder. Furthermore, the death is directly attributable to the self-interest and corruption of the Italian elites, and to the weakness of any countervailing powers, such as the boy's own family, that might have saved him. But does Brunetti imagine he has liberated Italy from this kind of business? No, sorry, no can do.

It's a really sad story, and I particularly liked the fact that Leon doesn't ever forget that murder, violent death, is tragic, and in the case of a young person, doubly so. If you don't mind a gritty Venice, one where the gondoliers don't sing night and day, this book, and this series, may be for you.

Donna Leon is a first-rate mystery writer. Fans of the canned mystery novel, where nothing but the villains' names change need not apply. Commissario Brunetti is a fully realized protagonist -- full of idiosyncracies, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Her vivid depictions of supporting characters is also a refreshing development in a genre full of hacks.

Most of all, her Venice is enthralling -- beautiful, mysterious, but also flawed and corrupt at the same time. Uniform Justice is a real treat -- really looking forward to getting into this series!

I did not feel this book was as good as others. However, this is still one of the best series I've read in a long time. The writing has reminded consistently good, unlike the Anne Perry series in which the writing deminished to such a level that I can no longer read her books

Also, has anyone noticed that the books seem to get more and more cynical as the series moves forward -- Patta gets dumber and Venice and Italy more corrupt?

S

Donna Leon's latest Commissario Brunetti case is one of her best!
From the opening pages, which quickly sets the tone, "Uniform Justice" is fast-paced,
extremely exciting, and quite gripping. It is difficult to find an author today who is better!

A young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military prep school has been found hanged in his
dormitory. The school quickly has it proclaimed a suicide, but Brunetti knows otherwise.
He and his team of loyal members of Venice's police department quickly begin
their investigation--an investigation that, once more, leads us into the power structures of
"the Pearl of the Adriatic."

Leon is never slow to touch up socially significant issues and she plows into this one at
gale force. "Corruption in Things Italian" seems to be her middle name and she pulls no
punches. One would imagine that the Italian military and even some of its other "sacred"
institutions will not view this book (nor her others!) in pleased frames of mind. Still, Leon
is one of the most popular American novelists read abroad today (in fact, even her recent
hard-bound copies are NOT published in the US for some really strange reason!).

Again,"Uniform Justice" is Leon at her best and Brunetti doing what he does best--solving
murders. An excellent read!

I bought all the Brunetti books through The Girl of His Dreams at one time (having just discovered the novels) and from Uniform Justice on, they get progressively worse. Leon has become wildly anti-American to the point of absurdity, pulling out every sterotype imaginable. Plus she focuses on the environment to the extent of forgetting what sort of book she is writing. Once, for a theme, is fine; time after time is just distracting. But most of all, from this novel on, she forgets that books must have an ending. From Uniform Justice through the next six books I read, she has no sense of justice and the books essentially end with the rich and powerful literally getting away with murder. Once, like in Uniform Justice, okay, but enough is enough. No matter how much Brunetti is a compelling character, his wife has turned into a nutter and the books are depressing. Read the series through Wilful Behavior, then stop.

When you read a 260 page book (or at least when I do) you don't expect to be excited by every page. But, you shouldn't have to wade through the first two hundred before things start to get interesting. Up until then all we have is a questionable suicide and a mysterious shooting.

The suicide happens at a military academy where many of the children are the offspring of military families. Some of these families are also related to industries that manufacture military material. The suicide is the son of an ex-MP who had written a 'white paper' on the health industry and was supposedly working on one on the military.

Just after the MP made it known as to his new 'white paper', his wife is shot in a 'hunting accident'. It appears that the accident happened but that she was the intended prey. After her recovery, the wife separates from the MP, his daughter is sent to school out of the country, and he decides to resign from politics. His wife doesn't believe that the son killed himself, while the father seems to have given up on life.

With the help of Signorina Elettra and her able computer, Brunetti finds a financial web that ties military procurement officers to military purchases and stock transfers. But when Brunetti finally is able to break the military wall of silence he hits a stone wall with the 'confession' of the probable murderer. Once again, the ugly head of the Italian bureaucracy and the interwoven triad of nobility, military and government are able to frustrate justice and Brunetti.

There is way to much complaining about the corruption of Italy, both the government and the military; and the way that most Italians just shrug their shoulders and turn away. Leon spends way to much time banging our heads against a wall where we all know there is no solution to the problem as long as the Italian constitution isn't revised.

Zeb Kantrowitz
zbestblogaround.blogspot.com