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A review by kentcryptid
The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin
4.0
A lovely confection of a book that throws the reader deep into Ottoman and Venetian history.
It's 1840 and the new Sultan in Istanbul wants to own a blasphemous painting: the portrait of his ancestor Mehmet the Conqueror. Dispatched to Venice to recover it are Yashim - a eunuch and something of a private detective - and his best friend Palewski; the Ambassador for a country that no longer exists.
The story is full of lush, rococo descriptions of Venice but is also well-paced and features a lot of vivid characters. Jason Goodwin is a historian of the Ottoman Empire and it shows in his writing; the portions of the book set in Istanbul are also skillful and avoid falling into stereotypes of the mysterious East.
The mystery itself isn't quite as expertly created however: the guilty party is overly obvious and there's too much heavy exposition at the end while Yashim explains the plot to people.
On the whole a really excellent read and I'll be searching out more of Yashim's adventures.
It's 1840 and the new Sultan in Istanbul wants to own a blasphemous painting: the portrait of his ancestor Mehmet the Conqueror. Dispatched to Venice to recover it are Yashim - a eunuch and something of a private detective - and his best friend Palewski; the Ambassador for a country that no longer exists.
The story is full of lush, rococo descriptions of Venice but is also well-paced and features a lot of vivid characters. Jason Goodwin is a historian of the Ottoman Empire and it shows in his writing; the portions of the book set in Istanbul are also skillful and avoid falling into stereotypes of the mysterious East.
The mystery itself isn't quite as expertly created however: the guilty party is overly obvious and there's too much heavy exposition at the end while Yashim explains the plot to people.
On the whole a really excellent read and I'll be searching out more of Yashim's adventures.