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hoboken's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointing--I like her Brunetti novels a lot. And how can you go wrong in Venice? But characters flat, plot clunking along, mystery tepid. Italian phrases keep popping up which, per lo piu, aren't translated. At p. 70, I decided to check GR to see if others said it got better, but apparently not acc. to most opinions. I hope Leon goes back to Brunetti where the characters, plots, and moral questions have been compelling.
violinknitter's review
I really enjoyed the first Leon book I tried, so I was looking forward to this one. Besides the fact that I really like the musicological tidbits (yes, I am easy to please, and so far Leon seems to have gotten most things at least mostly right), the story is slow moving so far, and the characters are fairly boring. Le sigh. Hopefully this will get better.
[After finishing the book] Meh. I can't even decide whether to give this book two stars or three stars. The story never really drew me in. The ending could've been both clever and surprising if I still cared about the characters by that time, but I didn't care.
[After finishing the book] Meh. I can't even decide whether to give this book two stars or three stars. The story never really drew me in. The ending could've been both clever and surprising if I still cared about the characters by that time, but I didn't care.
stmchester's review
3.0
For me, this book had too much historical background information and not enough character development. On the other hand, it resulted in an interesting discussion with my co-reader about why he liked it so much and why I didn't! I gave it an extra star because of that.
400mom's review
3.0
I didn’t realize that this is one of her standalone books. But I was only mildly interested.
ms_dzt's review
3.0
Leon's first non Brunetti book. It's a shadow in comparison, but still enjoyable. A beautiful way for her to express a passion for music that she hasn't been able to do w brunetti. I missed all of paola's cooking though!
rukmini's review
3.0
"Most of the other people at the table had learned Italian to facilitate their reading of opera libretti; thus few of her colleagues could hold a conversation in that language without descending into wild declarations of love, terror, remorse and, upon occasion, bloodlust."
turrean's review
2.0
A sad letdown. I have little interest in baroque opera, so the pages and pages of historical background were wasted on me. I was impatient with the tease of a possible love interest, and INCREDULOUS at how the supposedly sensible main character handled a supremely creepy encounter with a bad guy. I did not buy it. The solution to the "mystery" was facile and anticlimactic. Very disappointing.
thelaurasaurus's review
4.0
I didn't realise this wasn't a Brunetti book when I picked it up, but it was still an enjoyable read - just a historical mystery, rather than a crime mystery. As with the other Donna Leon books I've read, the main story took quite a while to get going, and then rushed to its conclusion. I'd prefer it if the books were just longer, so that I could enjoy the ending playing out with a bit more subtlety. Having said that, I still enjoyed this book, as I have her others.
hubsct's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25