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Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti series, the Venetian inspector has been called on to investigate many things, from shocking to petty crimes. But in The Waters of Eternal Youth, the 25th novel in this celebrated series, Brunetti finds himself drawn into a case that may not be a case at all. Fifteen years ago, a teenage girl fell into a canal late at night. Unable to swim, she went under and started to drown, only surviving thanks to a nearby man, an alcoholic, who heard her splashes and pulled her out, though not before she suffered irreparable brain damage that left her in a state of permanent childhood, unable to learn or mature. The drunk man claimed he saw her thrown into the canal by another man, but the following day he couldn't remember a thing. Now, at a fundraising dinner for a Venetian charity, a wealthy and aristocratic patroness-the girl's grandmother-asks Brunetti if he will investigate. Brunetti's not sure what to do. If a crime was committed, it would surely have passed the statute of limitations. But out of a mixture of curiosity, pity, and a willingness to fulfill the wishes of a guilt-wracked older woman, who happens to be his mother-in-law's best friend, he agrees. Brunetti soon finds himself unable to let the case rest, if indeed there is a case. Awash in the rhythms and concerns of contemporary Venetian life, from historical preservation, to housing, to new waves of African migrants, and the haunting story of a woman trapped in a damaged perpetual childhood, The Waters of Eternal Youth is another wonderful addition to this series..… (more)
User reviews
The main difference is that this time there is
And there is Venice and Commissario Claudia Griffoni, Signorina Elettra and Vianello, Paola and the kids. They are as much a part of the story as is the crime. And that is the charm of the story - as all the Brunetti's novel - it all is a part of the whole.
The resolution of the story was a bit weird - relying on a coincidence. Brunetti was well on his way to solving the case - and the meeting that led to the ultimate resolution was unnecessary - even if it sped the solution a bit.
And then came the very end of story broke my heart. If only someone had done that earlier, maybe Manuela would have had a better life. Maybe not - but it did make think about choices and what makes people happy.
I am not sure if the story will work for someone that had not read the older stories - the relationships are just sketched, the older books provide the details. But for fans of the series, it is a very good installment. Now the long wait until the next one gets out...
I heard Donna Leon speak once. She was asked where she got her ideas and said it was from newspaper stories which makes me wonder exactly what this story was. The central figure, victim, is a 30 something year old woman who as a 16
As in all of her books we are treated to life at the Brunetti house and as well as in Venice. I highly recommend this book even this for people who normally don't read mysteries.
Brunetti cannot re-open the case, which was ruled an accident but starts a private investigation delving into this long ago event. The twists and turns of what happened and who had information, why the police didn't, and how eventually everything came to light was cleverly crafted keeping the reader searching along with Brunetti.
I have read every one of the books in this series, so far, I'm hoping that a new one will be coming in the future. I would be terribly disappointed if this was the end of Commissario Brunetti and his adventures in Venice.
Brunetti is roped along with his wife to a formal dinner for a Venetian
What can Brunetti find out? Was a crime committed? Is there any way to go back 15 years to find out? If so, is there any way to bring anyone responsible to justice?
Reluctantly drawn to the older woman's story, Brunetti will see what he can find out. This includes seeing what the ever-resourceful Elettra can find out. This most remarkable woman is on a quest of her own regarding electronic goings-on. Brunetti also enlists the aid of another policewoman with previously unknown skills of her own, Griffoni, who plays a key role in moving things along.
At the same time, Brunetti is disturbed to discover new refugees are starting to bother the girls outside school, including his daughter. They're far too aggressive for his taste. It's a small part of the story that echoes when, for example, during one of Brunetti's classic musings, he notes why other people's prejudices sound far more worse than our own. And the realization disturbs him. He and Paola have serious discussions, there is serious cooking, the children are nearly grown and definitely their own people, and, as ever, Venice is an integral part of each character and the story itself.
The kind of a person someone is, despite status, career or goals reached, is part of the characteristic climax of the novel. Donna Leon excels at carving out small, significant moments of grace and dignity in addition to a clear-eyed look at political and personal corruption and other failings.
The Waters of Eternal Youth, as Brunetti looks into what happened to a teenage girl years ago, uses those small moments to create an enormously satisfying ending. And because it's Donna Leon, the ending is handled just right. What a marvelous book.
I received the audiobook version; the reader, David Colacci, is expressive without being obstructive and is comfortable with the Italian phrases.
At first glance THE WATERS OF ETERNAL YOUTH appears to be a departure from usual Brunetti cases, in that the initial case that
The title has ironic overtones but I'll leave you to work that out for yourself. Brunetti's investigation gets official sanction when he slyly suggests to Vice-Questore Patta that some social doors will open for his wife as a result.
However Brunetti sets a ball rolling when he contacts the man who rescued Manuela from the canal 15 years earlier. Brunetti also discovers that there were elements in the original medical report that should have sparked further investigation. There is a murder with just enough DNA evidence to identify the murderer if the police could establish a match, but there is no-one on their records. Identification of the culprit comes from a chance meeting, but there were a couple of coincidences that the author let slip which enabled me to identify the murderer one step ahead of Brunetti.
And in the background? Some references to Venice's current problems. A satisfying read.
I liked the characters here, and want to read more, this has prompted me to want to go back and begin this series at the beginning.
In this episode featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, he is asked to look into an event that occurred 15 years earlier. A wealthy woman's granddaughter had nearly drowned in a
Not only is the setting among the palacios and canals delicious, but Brunetti has a wonderful low-key attitude that manages to get things done without blood shed. He alsohas a most wonderful relationship with his wife, Paola, something that is rare in a genre that generally features dysfunction in many forms.
The audio version of the book was a delight to listen to. David Colacci does a reasonable job of giving an Italian accent to the characters.
But Commissario Guido Brunetti is such an attractive character and Venice such an appealing
Here, Commissario Brunetti is asked to look into a near drowning of a teenage girl, a possible assault 15 years ago that damaged the girl's brain, thus the eternal youth of the title. The girl is a grown woman now and her aging grandmother wants to know the truth. It's a very strange scenario, one that makes no logical sense. Why wait till now to ask these questions?
Reluctant yet curious, Brunetti maneuvers to have the case reopened and, as always, it is the investigation, set in the distinctive Italian culture, that fascinates.
I received a review copy of "The Waters of Eternal Youth" by Donna Leon (Grove Atlantic) through NetGalley.com.
Donna Leon writes excellent mysteries, twisting and turning and keeping you guessing, but the real strength of her work is to make the reader feel that he or she is actually a resident of Venice. There are long stretches when not much happens with
The mystery involves the near drowning of a teenage girl many years ago in a canal. The girl has grown into womanhood, but her near-death experience has left her mentally incapable of progressing past what would be normal for a young girl. Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates this cold case as a favor to the girl's grandmother. The cold case suddenly turns "hot" again, as the only witness to the crime is murdered. Guido solves the mystery and wraps things up satisfactorily.
It is the setting, however, that will stay with you long after you finish this novel. It is a work that allows you to escape from your everyday life and life, for a while at least, in the rarefied air of one of the world's most romantic cities.
In THE
With much of the evidence no longer accessible and many people involved at the time of the incident no longer alive, redoing the case is not easy but, with the help of some trustworthy and helpful co-workers, Brunetti sets out to fulfill the grandmother’s request.
As in all the books in the series, Leon devotes space to seeing Brunetti at home with his family as well as on the job. She also includes some side issues, in this case immigrants, housing, and changes in Venice.
Leon has a delightful, tongue-in-cheek way of describing people and events:
Trying to entice him to attend a formal dinner: “His mother-in-law, however, using the Border Collie tactics he had observed in her for a quarter of a century, had circled his heels, yipping and yapping, until she had finally herded him to the place where she wanted him to be.”
The dinner was a way for potential foreign donors to meet some Venetians. “Come to the zoo and meet the animals that your donations help survive in their native habitat. Come at feeding time.”
“A German journalist who had arrived at a point of such cynicism as to almost make him an Italian..”
After first denying that he had pillaged any money intended for a city project, one high official conceded “that perhaps some of the money had...found its way into his election campaign. But...he had never touched a euro of it for his personal use, apparently of the belief that buying an election was less reprehensible than buying a Brioni suit.”
After tasted a wonderful drink, Brunetti “thought he’s sell up everything and move to Scotland. Paola could find a job teaching, and the children would find something to do with themselves. Beg, for example.”
She also understands what motivates people:
“Only someone who knows us well knows how to flatter us, knows which virtues we’d like to have attributed to us and which not.”
“In logic,...appeal to fear. Make people afraid of something and you can make
them do what you want.”
THE WATERS OF ETERNAL YOUTH is an excellent read, The story moves smoothly and the characters seem genuine. The end is a little too tidy. Some of the chapters are unnecessarily short. I think that insults the reader’s intelligence, implying that they cannot focus very long, and always deduct one star for that.
In this latest story, Commissario Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy widow to look into her
Brunetti isn't sure there's a crime to investigate, but his curiosity (and his innate politeness toward elderly women) drive him to look into what facts are still available. Throughout the book, the story of Venice spreads its cover - the corruption, the pollution, and the current socio-economic problems associated with an influx of immigrants. In he end, Brunetti and company don't disappoint.
I received this audiobook through participation in the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Like all previous books in the series, David Colacci handles the various accents and dialects of the area and gives us a reading that is easy to follow and perfect for the characters.
Review: Although I knew about two-thirds of the way through the book who did it, this was a good story with an excellent
The family dynamics were interesting and the events
It was also not a let down for me to recognise who committed both the 10-year old crime and the subsequent murder, during the investigation. It was an adroit path to unravelling the complexities.
I’ve found the last couple of books in this series more satisfying than usual because in both instances