So Shall You Reap

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Fazio wasn’t sure what happened. He called me when they brought Alvise into the Questura. He asked me to come. And bring you,’ Vianello said. As always, Brunetti is highly attuned to (and sympathetic toward) the failings of the humans around him.”— Seattle Times Brunetti had no trouble making the translation from police vocabulary to reality. ‘Violence? Alvise?’

I’m in awe of their parenting skills, and I would happily sit down to any meal at their dining table. The pacing is very slow, meandering, and full of reminiscence. She writes with wit and humor about her long life and career as an author. Some things remain constant throughout the decades: her adoration of opera, especially Handel’s vocal music, and her advocacy for the environment, embodied in her passion for bees—which informs the surprising crux of the Brunetti mystery Earthly Remains. Even as mass tourism takes its toll on the patience of residents, Leon’s passion for Venice remains unchanged: its outrageous beauty and magic still captivate her. Once again Leon shows her ability to paint the city of Venice, allowing the reader to see it through the eyes of those who live there, and her skill in creating complex characters brought to life vividly.The good news is that she ages him – so there is a sense of realness about her characters, which makes him and others believable. What I was expecting - perhaps what I was hoping for – was something that would, at least in part, lead me through the journey the author went on whilst writing the Brunetti books: what inspired her, how she gathered information on how policing works in the city, what the catalyst for some of her stories was. In fact, there was only one short section that touched on these books, and this only in passing.

I struggle to think of other series authors who are as dependable as the excellent Leon.” —Maxine Clarke, The Philadelphia Inquirer Mindful of the past, Brunetti has much to ponder. Meanwhile one of his officers runs into trouble at a Gay pride parade. The past and present are on a collision course. Her family was eccentric, a fact she only realised when she started meeting other children’s parents and their relatives. The stories she tells had me laughing out loud. Her father’s uncle married Florence who ‘bore a frightening resemblance to a horse’ and was ‘significantly less intelligent than one’. Henry was their Japanese cook, an unseen presence, who was said to be in the kitchen, though ‘none of us ever laid eyes on him’.

Donna Leon has enjoyed remarkable longevity as an author, and a wonderfully broad number of different careers over the 8 decades of her well-lived life. This is a meandering and unhurried series of vignettes detailing some of her experiences. Biography fans who look forward to facts and dates will have to dig a bit deeper; this volume is presented as a series of recollections, gathered loosely thematically: America (early life), wandering the globe, Italy, and later experiences living in Switzerland and elsewhere.

Donna Leon depicts the characters, food, culture, and people of Venice with a knowing eye for ‘just the right’ detail.” —Jennifer McCord, Bookreporter.com Four stars. Enjoyable, especially for readers who are already fans. It would make a good choice for gifting or public library acquisition. She explains the difference on a train between authors and traditional passengers. The passengers see the landscape and the tunnel ahead of them. The author imagines what disaster can happen in the tunnel. You become so wrapped up in these compelling characters . . . Each one is better than the last.”— Louise Erdrich, PBS NewsHour Each visit with Guido is different. Sometimes it’s about the shop owners or residents or elderly or theft of art or government or political or navyDonna Leon was born in 1942, in Montclair, New Jersey to Catholic parents. Her ancestry is European, with her grandparent hailing from Spain (paternal), Ireland, and Germany (maternal). She grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey. In her childhood, her parents would constantly urge her to get a good education, have a good life, and overall, have fun. Her parents survived the depression times, however, they never got a college education or degree. She started traveling the world soon after. Over the years, she went to Italy, Iran, England, China, and Saudi Arabia. In China, she taught for a year, and in Iran, she lived for 4 years. She also taught in Saudi Arabia for one year, but that country was not among her favorites. There is no better literary tour guide to Venice and the surrounding landscape than Leon, and each entry provides complex, memorable characters and storylines that touch the moral center of the human spirit . . . So Shall You Reap is authentic throughout and lives up to the lofty reputation that Donna Leon has rightly earned for this series, which never fails to enlighten with each new intriguing mystery.”— Book Reporter In the thirty-second installment of Donna Leon’s bestselling series, a connection to Guido Brunetti’s own youthful past helps solve a mysterious murder On a cold November evening, Guido Brunetti and Paola are up late when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice’s canals. The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Because no official record of the man’s presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city’s far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim. Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim’s interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s.

Leon’s] memoir invites readers into her world of adventures, and she’s certainly had plenty . . . She vividly and engaging describes her love of crime, Venice, and opera, her dream of finding the perfect cappuccino (more difficult than one might imagine), and the games she created with friends throughout the world. Leon’s wit and life well-lived will draw in varied audiences, who can live vicariously through her. Fans of her series will certainly enjoy this memoir and the brief letter she includes to dissuade them from trying to find Guido Brunetti at the Questura.” — Library Journal Many chapters are mere vignettes, and key topics are overlooked: Ms. Leon shares a story about her enterprising scheme selling tomatoes during her school vacations but says nothing about her college years; she gushes about her “greatest joy” of opera and admits to being “an American Handel junkie” but discloses next to nothing about the nuts and bolts of her writing. Readers of my blog know that I am a great fan of Leon’s Brunetti series of Venice-set mysteries. Both the books and the TV series have been so enjoyable. (The TV show episodes got me through some of the early days of Covid. I found Brunetti having dinner looking out at the canals so grounding in that time.) I love the character that she has developed in him; Brunetti sees so much corruption yet remains a good man, a good husband, a good father and a good friend. I have found the books to be ones that I am always eager to read. For those who know Venice, or want to, Brunetti is a well-versed escort to the nooks, crannies, moods, and idiosyncrasies of what residents call La Serenissima, the Serene One . . . Richly atmospheric, [Leon] introduces you to the Venice insiders know.”— USA TodayWhile in Venice, Leon became enamored with the gondola as a form of transportation --- one which Guido Brunetti often finds himself on when traveling from the Questura to various crime scenes. It was when she was living in Venice that Leon wrote an introduction that is still posted at the local Questura for travelers who might venture there to get a look at the place their beloved fictional detective Guido Brunetti worked at. I would give anything to be able to experience that welcome letter! The beginning was the most fast pace and one of the sweetest parts of the book. They were called to the gay pride parade because there this year was a fight. Times are changing. Acceptance of people’s preferences and differences are opening up. The bulk of the time there was about a peaceful and kind undocumented Sri Larkin immigrant named Insen who was living in a guest house on a mansion’s property. And about his dog Sarah. There was a female Benediction monastery behind it on the compo who had a lovely garden with fruit trees. The garden by the mansion was overgrown and the mansion itself was very rundown. The couple who lived there were very badly matched. It was sad. A hand was found first in the water and that led to the finding of Insen’s body. Who is he? What’s he doing in Venice? Why undocumented? Was he a Tamil Tiger? And other questions were raised. Brilliantly evokes Venetian atmosphere. The characters of Brunetti and his family continue to deepen throughout this series.” — The Times (London) Brunetti’s Cookbook, recipes by Roberta Pianaro, culinary stories by Donna Leon (Published previously in the United Kingdom as A Taste of Venice: At Table with Brunetti, William Heinemann, London, April 2010; Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, hardcover, May 2010)