Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
William Heinemann Ltd (2006), Edition: 1st, 272 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: On a spring day in Venice, Commissario Brunetti and his assistant Vianello play hooky to help Vianello's friend Marco Ripetti, arrested during an environmental protest. They secure his release, only to be faced with the fury of the man's father-in-law, Giovanni De Cal, who has made violent threats against Ripetti. Brunetti's curiousity is peaked, and he finds himself drawn to investigate. Is De Cal the type of man to carry out his threats? When the body of De Cal's bookish night watchman is found in front of the blazing furnace, he wonders: Could the old man have killed him?.
Media reviews
Even if the path from misdemeanors to monstrous felonies is less inevitable than in Brunetti’s best (Blood from a Stone, 2005), Leon shows once more why she has no serious rivals in the art of unfolding mysteries in which the killer’s identity is the least interesting detail.
Every character, every line of dialogue, every descriptive passage rings true in a whodunit that's also travel essay, political commentary and existential monologue.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Joycepa
Through A Glass, Darkly
Donna Leon
#15 in the Commissario Brunetti series, set in Venice, Italy.
As any serious reader of Leon’s knows, she is a great fan of opera; there’s always an appropriate quote from one of Mozart’s opera’s at the beginning of every book. And an operatic soprano has
But she may have let her love of opera interfere with this particular book, which is a disaster.
She dedicates it to Cecilia Bartoli, who is one of the world’s premier mezzo-sopranos. The short author bio for this book says that Leon is “the author of the libretto for Dona Gallina, a comic opera set in a chicken coop.”
Perhaps she spent too much time on the opera libretto and contracted out Through A Glass Darkly to an 8 year old Donna Leon wannabee with mediocre writing talents.
To me, a long-time fan of Leon, this book is so bad that it is impossible for me to believe that she wrote it. The plot is mediocre, barely believable, and that’s the best thing about the book. The writing is worse and her greatest strengths through the middle and later installments, her characterizations especially of Brunetti’s family, are non-existent. You would never recognize Paola, Brunetti’s wife, who is one of the strongest characters in the series. She’s a stick figure in this one, as is just about everyone else.
I was so shocked when I read this book that I wondered if Leon had joined the ranks--and they are legion--of those crime writers who have lost it. There’s an entire thread in the Mystery/Thriller group that talks about this sad fact. The one who comes to mind instantly, of course, is Patricia Cornwell. But there are many others.
However, I can say as a preview, that her next book, which I bought and read with great trepidation, shows her almost back to form.
Personally, I think a likely scenario is that due to her involvement in the chicken coop libretto, she submitted to her publishers what is basically a rough draft and, given her popularity, they decided to publish it anyway, hoping that no one would notice, and that the book could slide by until the next one--after Leon had indulged herself writing about Dona Hen. But you can only get away with that one time.
If I were Cecilia Bartoli, I’d be embarrassed to have this piece of trash dedicated to me. Avoid like the plague.
Donna Leon
#15 in the Commissario Brunetti series, set in Venice, Italy.
As any serious reader of Leon’s knows, she is a great fan of opera; there’s always an appropriate quote from one of Mozart’s opera’s at the beginning of every book. And an operatic soprano has
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figured in two of her books.But she may have let her love of opera interfere with this particular book, which is a disaster.
She dedicates it to Cecilia Bartoli, who is one of the world’s premier mezzo-sopranos. The short author bio for this book says that Leon is “the author of the libretto for Dona Gallina, a comic opera set in a chicken coop.”
Perhaps she spent too much time on the opera libretto and contracted out Through A Glass Darkly to an 8 year old Donna Leon wannabee with mediocre writing talents.
To me, a long-time fan of Leon, this book is so bad that it is impossible for me to believe that she wrote it. The plot is mediocre, barely believable, and that’s the best thing about the book. The writing is worse and her greatest strengths through the middle and later installments, her characterizations especially of Brunetti’s family, are non-existent. You would never recognize Paola, Brunetti’s wife, who is one of the strongest characters in the series. She’s a stick figure in this one, as is just about everyone else.
I was so shocked when I read this book that I wondered if Leon had joined the ranks--and they are legion--of those crime writers who have lost it. There’s an entire thread in the Mystery/Thriller group that talks about this sad fact. The one who comes to mind instantly, of course, is Patricia Cornwell. But there are many others.
However, I can say as a preview, that her next book, which I bought and read with great trepidation, shows her almost back to form.
Personally, I think a likely scenario is that due to her involvement in the chicken coop libretto, she submitted to her publishers what is basically a rough draft and, given her popularity, they decided to publish it anyway, hoping that no one would notice, and that the book could slide by until the next one--after Leon had indulged herself writing about Dona Hen. But you can only get away with that one time.
If I were Cecilia Bartoli, I’d be embarrassed to have this piece of trash dedicated to me. Avoid like the plague.
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LibraryThing member tututhefirst
A truly different story for Guido Brunetti. This one almost more concerned with illegal dumping of dangerous chemicals by the glass making factories in Murano, near Venice then with solving the murder of the night watchman at the factory. Brunetti, the urbane sophisticate with a professed (and
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almost disdainful) ignorance of any and all scientific or modern technological information, must get up to speed on glass-making and hazardous waste disposal. While giving the reader short courses on these subjects, she also has Brunetti exploring Dante's Inferno for clues and the juxtaposition of the old with the new, in a centuries old setting, makes for a very different story than previous ones in the series. Brunetti has always had more of a social conscience than others of his profession, though he seems to take his time acknowledging that. Less food, less banter with Paola, but definitely another well-done episode in a series that continues to delight me. Show Less
LibraryThing member gilly1944
I thought it was never going to get to a crime! Good on character and atmosphere but weak on plot.
LibraryThing member ReadingKnitter01
this book is just too folksy, homey for me. The mystery is not engrossing, nor do I care for the characters. it's a detailed look at the minutiae od daily italian life, and it just doesn't catch my attention. Didnt finish
LibraryThing member wiltonadultlibrary
One of the many delightful Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries. Always entertaining, with great characters, interesting issues, and the food and drink...to die for!
LibraryThing member Smiler69
This is the 15th book in the Commissario Brunetti series, which, aside from the fact that I started with the first book in the series, I've been reading completely out of sequence. In this story, a woman who is the daughter of a glass factory owner on the island of Murano approaches Brunetti
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because she fears that her father, who detests her husband and has often been heard to remark that he'd like to see his son-in-law dead, might take matters into his own hands and actually kill him. But when a night watchman is killed in that same factory, it becomes apparent that the crime may have been committed because of the man's frequent harangues against the dangers of working in proximity with toxic substances. I enjoyed the descriptions of how glass objects are created in this one and I've been enjoying this series so far. I find it entertaining and quite good on the whole, but can't say it knocks my socks off either. Show Less
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates pollution from one of the glass factories near Venice. As usual corruption is rife and the book could be depressing, but the author's and her protagonist's love for Venice, food and family offer some measure of cheer.
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
Although the 15th book in the series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti fighting crime in the Italian city of Venice it is the first one I’ve read. It is chock full of intricate details about life in modern Venice. There are scenes which portray the uniquely Venetian transport chaos of
Brunetti is the only police officer to be a fully developed character in the book. There’s a superior officer who Brunetti treats as stupid but there’s no real evidence of that stupidity in this book (I assume it’s apparent in one or more of the earlier outings). A couple of Brunetti’s colleagues appear as minor characters but their characters are not particularly well developed. However, as Brunetti doesn’t work the long, hard hours of many of his fictional cohorts he’s got more time to devote to a family so his wife and children are fairly solid characters in the book and his wife in particular is a person I quickly got the feeling I’d like to meet.
As a mystery I have to say this lacks something. There’s a single event that takes place about half way through the book and it’s not until the very last few pages that we find out whether or not it was even a crime. There is a vaguely interesting back story about environmental concerns resulting from Venice’s glass making industry but it’s not really enough to keep a die-hard mystery buff’s eyes glued open. The inclusion of a long passage in which Brunetti and his wife analyse Dante’s Infernoand the way it may, or may not, provide a clue to the case is an example of the largely unrelated content that fills up some of the book.
If you're looking for a fast-paced, page turner this probably isn't for you but if you like thoughtful stories where things other than crime are also important then I’d give it a go. And if you’ve ever been to Venice, or ever wanted to go, then I’d highly recommend you lose yourself in the book for a while: you won’t regret it.
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travelling by canal, others which discuss the loss of historic local industries and passages in which Brunetti internally debates how formally to address the people he meets which if not distinctively Italian is at least a particularly European problem. And unlike most other dedicated fictional police officers Brunetti always finds time to eat fabulous meals which is also evocative of Italy (and the reason I don’t recommend you read it when hungry: sheer torture).Brunetti is the only police officer to be a fully developed character in the book. There’s a superior officer who Brunetti treats as stupid but there’s no real evidence of that stupidity in this book (I assume it’s apparent in one or more of the earlier outings). A couple of Brunetti’s colleagues appear as minor characters but their characters are not particularly well developed. However, as Brunetti doesn’t work the long, hard hours of many of his fictional cohorts he’s got more time to devote to a family so his wife and children are fairly solid characters in the book and his wife in particular is a person I quickly got the feeling I’d like to meet.
As a mystery I have to say this lacks something. There’s a single event that takes place about half way through the book and it’s not until the very last few pages that we find out whether or not it was even a crime. There is a vaguely interesting back story about environmental concerns resulting from Venice’s glass making industry but it’s not really enough to keep a die-hard mystery buff’s eyes glued open. The inclusion of a long passage in which Brunetti and his wife analyse Dante’s Infernoand the way it may, or may not, provide a clue to the case is an example of the largely unrelated content that fills up some of the book.
If you're looking for a fast-paced, page turner this probably isn't for you but if you like thoughtful stories where things other than crime are also important then I’d give it a go. And if you’ve ever been to Venice, or ever wanted to go, then I’d highly recommend you lose yourself in the book for a while: you won’t regret it.
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LibraryThing member cyderry
Commissario Brunetti continues to evolve as a crusader investigating where crimes may occurring before an official crime is reported.
This time on the island of Murano at the glass factories, has there been polluting gone unreported which may have caused a chi8ld to be born with severe defects? When
This time on the island of Murano at the glass factories, has there been polluting gone unreported which may have caused a chi8ld to be born with severe defects? When
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the father who has been making such claims is found dead near one of the glass furnaces, Brunetti sets out to undercover the truth. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
What begins as an unofficial investigation gradually turns into an official one. The owner of a troubled glass factory on Murano made threats against a woman's husband. It is really uncertain if the owner would carry out such a threat or not, and Brunetti agrees to evaluate the situation. A night
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watchman for the company is convinced the factory is responsible for his daughter's birth defect because of pollutants. The investigation determines that an aspiring politician who is a neighboring factory owner is rumored to be a possible buyer for the troubled company. Environmental issues are central to this novel, and I probably learned more about pollutants from glass factories than I ever cared to learn. Brunetti, as usual, is a likable sleuth, even if his superior yields too much to the powers that be, possibly bordering on being politically corrupt. One can't go wrong spending a few hours in this Venetian setting with its network of canals. I listened to the audio version of this book read by David Colacci for Blackstone Audio. It was well-done. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazeedi73
Love Brunetti, love elletra, love the food, sometimes I have to laugh out loud.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Commissario Brunetti doesn’t hesitate when his partner, Vianello, asks him for a favor. Vianello is an environmentalist, and one of his environmentalist friends has been arrested at a protest that somehow turned violent. The appearance of the friend’s father-in-law, the owner of a Murano glass
This book is very different from most of the other books in the series. It doesn’t begin with a murder, although there is eventually a death to investigate. It’s more character driven than plot driven. It works at this point in the series because of the character and relationship development throughout the series. I also found the ending more satisfactory than the ending of most of the books up to this point.Instead of being discouraged that the closing of his case will not result in justice for the murderer, Brunetti is elated by the discovery of information that will break the prime suspect’s alibi.
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factory, adds a further complication. The father-in-law is nearly incoherent with rage, mostly directed at his son-in-law. Brunetti unofficially questions some of the father-in-law's employees and associates to determine whether he’s likely to carry out his threats.This book is very different from most of the other books in the series. It doesn’t begin with a murder, although there is eventually a death to investigate. It’s more character driven than plot driven. It works at this point in the series because of the character and relationship development throughout the series. I also found the ending more satisfactory than the ending of most of the books up to this point.
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LibraryThing member themulhern
A genre writer with a formula, but the formula is not so bad. In this one there is discussion of the glass-making trade and its mechanics.
LibraryThing member ecw0647
Donna Leon is a marvel. She has created a cast of appealing characters that deliver intelligent solutions to mysteries. You won't get a lot of shoot-em-ups or car chases or flying off cliffs and surviving thousand foot falls. What you will have is well-written, realistic dialogue, and an
The focus in this story begins with Brunetti helping the friend of a colleague who has been arrested at an ecology demonstration protesting workers' exposure at glass factories to harmful chemicals. That morphs into death threats from the owner of a factory and blame one of the workers assigns to those chemicals for the mental disability of his children. We all know a murder is on the horizon and it soon arrives for Brunetti to solve.
All her stories are told through Brunetti's eyes so we get a view of Venetian sprintime, the art of glass-making, as well as his wonderful relationship with Paula and the comic antics of Signorina Elletra as she and Brunetti suffer the foolishness of their superior Vice-Questore Patta, not to mention the food, culture and ambiance of Venice.
Excellent if not the outcome Brunetti would have wished.
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examination of Italian, or at least Venetian, culture.The focus in this story begins with Brunetti helping the friend of a colleague who has been arrested at an ecology demonstration protesting workers' exposure at glass factories to harmful chemicals. That morphs into death threats from the owner of a factory and blame one of the workers assigns to those chemicals for the mental disability of his children. We all know a murder is on the horizon and it soon arrives for Brunetti to solve.
All her stories are told through Brunetti's eyes so we get a view of Venetian sprintime, the art of glass-making, as well as his wonderful relationship with Paula and the comic antics of Signorina Elletra as she and Brunetti suffer the foolishness of their superior Vice-Questore Patta, not to mention the food, culture and ambiance of Venice.
Excellent if not the outcome Brunetti would have wished.
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LibraryThing member ffortsa
I really enjoyed this entry into the Brunetti series. I don't recall one I enjoyed more, as Brunetti tries to help a friend of Vianetto's and gets involved in a pair of Murano glassmakers way before anyone dies. I felt could see the glassmakers at their furnaces, manipulating the hot glass into the
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beautiful works of art we still associate with that area, as well as the pollution that results from that work. Leon lets us see the tight-knit community of craftsmen, and the beauty of spring in Venice. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
Commissari Brunetti finds himself investigating a murder in the glass world of Murano. Originally he was contacted about death threats.
The daughter of glass factory owner, Giovanni De Cal has heard her father has been making death threats against her husband, Marco Ribetti. She has asked Brunetti
The dead body of a watchman is found on the foundry floor, in front of one of the furnaces, that burn at 1400 degrees and are used for working the glass. The verdict is quickly judged to be death from exposure of high heat. Brunetti has other thoughts as this man is well read and extremely concerned about pollution coming from the factories in the area. Could De Cal have murdered this man? Was he considered a threat?
The main clue Brunetti has is a copy of Dante’s “Inferno” that has notations in it. Finding out who is guilty of polluting the land and the waters of the lagoon, who is the murderer and any connections. Brunetti has a lot to sort out.
The daughter of glass factory owner, Giovanni De Cal has heard her father has been making death threats against her husband, Marco Ribetti. She has asked Brunetti
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to investigate. De Cal has no affection for his son-in-law, and many know it. Ribetti is concerned about pollution from the glass factories in the area. De Cal thinks Ribetti has married his daughter for the family money, as the factory is to pass to his daughter on his death.The dead body of a watchman is found on the foundry floor, in front of one of the furnaces, that burn at 1400 degrees and are used for working the glass. The verdict is quickly judged to be death from exposure of high heat. Brunetti has other thoughts as this man is well read and extremely concerned about pollution coming from the factories in the area. Could De Cal have murdered this man? Was he considered a threat?
The main clue Brunetti has is a copy of Dante’s “Inferno” that has notations in it. Finding out who is guilty of polluting the land and the waters of the lagoon, who is the murderer and any connections. Brunetti has a lot to sort out.
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LibraryThing member addunn3
Murder in a glass factory.
LibraryThing member waldhaus1
Murder on Murano motivated and solved by greed. A night watchman at a glassworks on Murano is found dead under suspicious circumstances. It becomes Brunetti’s job to understand the crime and its motivation. In the course of investigation the reader learns about the details of running a glass
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furnace on Murano. Of course there is the usual interpersonal details in Brunetti’s life. The solution to the investigation is almost too cute. Show Less
LibraryThing member witchyrichy
Another fascinating Donna Leon mystery, this one set on Murano, the glassmaking area near Venice. Leon explores glassmaking as well as larger social issues of industrial pollution.
LibraryThing member smik
Jazz Jardine has been arrested for the suspected murder of her husband, internationally famous surgeon, humanitarian and World Health Organisation expert, Dr. David Studlands. Her friends, teacher and mother-of-two Cassie O'Carroll and the fabulously wealthy and childless Hannah Wolfe, begin an
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investigation that tests their own marriages. The author, co-author of the now famous Puberty Blues, writes in an almost slapstick comedy style, stringing together quip after quip and joke after joke, almost in the manner of a standup comedian. The book could perhaps fit the classification of chick-lit mystery. It is spiced throughout with sexy jokes, and, I'm no prude, but this just isn't my style. Had it not been the fact that I'm reading it for my face-2-face group, I wouldn't have finished it. Another thing that goaded me to the finish was the fact that "the Studz" supposedly disappeared while swimming at Cape Catastrophe on my very own South Australian coastline. It appears from a list at the front of the book that there are another 8 in similar vein waiting for me to borrow/buy them - but I won't be. If I had to think of books in a similar vein there would be Sarah Strohmeyer's "Bubbles" series, which I can just read. If you like them, you'll probably like this - but I don't guarantee it. Show Less
LibraryThing member FicusFan
Another fabulous entry in the Guido Brunetti series.
Leon finds different ways to present a mystery story about a crime so that you don't seem to be reading cookie-cutter books.
Love the main character, his family and co-workers, and Venice itself. The landscape, the food, the culture are all
Can't wait for the next one to come out in paper.
Leon finds different ways to present a mystery story about a crime so that you don't seem to be reading cookie-cutter books.
Love the main character, his family and co-workers, and Venice itself. The landscape, the food, the culture are all
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characters in the story too.Can't wait for the next one to come out in paper.
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LibraryThing member diana.hauser
Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon is Book #15 in the highly recommended Commissario Guido Brunetti series.
The mystery revolves around a murder (of course) at the site of a glass-works facility.
Very interesting reading about the glass-blowing process.
I love the last sentence of the book -
I am so glad.
****
The mystery revolves around a murder (of course) at the site of a glass-works facility.
Very interesting reading about the glass-blowing process.
I love the last sentence of the book -
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Brunetti asks Foa to turn the police launch around and head to Harry’s Bar. Foa asks if he is joining the Vice-Questore for lunch. “No, as a matter of fact,” Brunetti said with the beginnings of a smile, “I think I’m going to ruin the Vice-Questore’s lunch.”I am so glad.
****
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006
Physical description
272 p.
ISBN
0434014524 / 9780434014521
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |