Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by cc_it
By Its Cover by Donna Leon
The marriage dynamics between Brunetti and Paola are so vivid....here's a fun glimpse:
Recalling his conversation with Contessa Morosini-Albani, Brunetti said, 'She makes a distinction between people like herself, who understand and love beautiful things, and people who simply want pretty things to put on the walls.' Even though he had tried to temper it, his uneasiness was audible, even to himself.
Paola set her cup down without making a sound and turned to him. 'If I make a distinction between the careful reading to give to Roman history and a journalist who refers to the court of the Emperor Heliogabalus as a parallel for the current situation in Rome while having no idea who Heliogabalus was, would you call that a spurious distinction?' Her voice was mild, but Brunetti heard the rustle of her tail in the underbrush as she prepared to strike. 'Or if I refer to my own benighted profession and suggest that my reading of The Portrait of a Lady might be a more nuanced than that given in a Hollywood film, is that a spurious distinction?'
He lowered his head and studied the remains of his own coffee, then set his cup on the saucer beside hers. 'I suppose it depends on how visible you make your contempt for Hollywood,' he said.
'All contempt for Hollywood should be made as visible as possible.' That said, she smiled brightly and added, 'You know she's a snob. We all are. But she might have reason on her side.'
'Perhaps,' Brunetti said, making it clear it was concession and not agreement. He glanced at his watch, saw that he still had half an hour before he had to start back to work, and decided to ask Paola: she read everything and thought about what she read. 'You ever read science fiction?'
'Henry James wrote so little,' she said with a laugh.
'I'm serious,' he said.
'Yes. Some. But no more.'
'You ever read the one about burning books?' he asked. If she had, he knew it would be in there, packed away.
'No, not that I remember . Can you tell me more?' (p.113-114 of By its Cover by Donna Leon
Recalling his conversation with Contessa Morosini-Albani, Brunetti said, 'She makes a distinction between people like herself, who understand and love beautiful things, and people who simply want pretty things to put on the walls.' Even though he had tried to temper it, his uneasiness was audible, even to himself.
Paola set her cup down without making a sound and turned to him. 'If I make a distinction between the careful reading to give to Roman history and a journalist who refers to the court of the Emperor Heliogabalus as a parallel for the current situation in Rome while having no idea who Heliogabalus was, would you call that a spurious distinction?' Her voice was mild, but Brunetti heard the rustle of her tail in the underbrush as she prepared to strike. 'Or if I refer to my own benighted profession and suggest that my reading of The Portrait of a Lady might be a more nuanced than that given in a Hollywood film, is that a spurious distinction?'
He lowered his head and studied the remains of his own coffee, then set his cup on the saucer beside hers. 'I suppose it depends on how visible you make your contempt for Hollywood,' he said.
'All contempt for Hollywood should be made as visible as possible.' That said, she smiled brightly and added, 'You know she's a snob. We all are. But she might have reason on her side.'
'Perhaps,' Brunetti said, making it clear it was concession and not agreement. He glanced at his watch, saw that he still had half an hour before he had to start back to work, and decided to ask Paola: she read everything and thought about what she read. 'You ever read science fiction?'
'Henry James wrote so little,' she said with a laugh.
'I'm serious,' he said.
'Yes. Some. But no more.'
'You ever read the one about burning books?' he asked. If she had, he knew it would be in there, packed away.
'No, not that I remember . Can you tell me more?' (p.113-114 of By its Cover by Donna Leon