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A review by carlacbarroso
Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon
3.0
I didn't knew this author and was a surprise to notice she had several books published in Portugal of the series Commissario Brunetti in which this books corresponds to the 15th volume. All I can say is that I expected more of someone who is compared to Agatha Christie.
We follow the commissario and his assistant while trying to confirm whether there's any intention behind Giovanni de Cal's threats, who owns a glass factory in Venice, against his son-in-law Marco Ribetti, friend of Brunetti's assistant. In between, they get to know the glass making world, if the factories pollute or not the lagoon of Venice, and they stumble upon a death that might or not be murder and which deviates from what the description on the back of this book gave the impression of.
To begin with, it has very little mystery. I wondered if the author wanted to write a murder mystery or a book preaching about ecology. I do worry about pollution and do what is within my reach to prevent it but I didn't like the preacher tone, especially when I was looking for a murder mystery! Up until the middle of the book we seem lost within it, not really knowing what are the characters looking for and what's the purpose of it all. Then you come across the said death and the rest of the book becomes predictable.
The characters have little depth, even when it comes to the protagonist, yet we learn that he doesn't work overtime, because he likes to be with his family, and has an existential doubt... he never seems to know how should he address people (“Should I call him Docttore?” Should I address him as an equal, by you?”). The reference to Dante's Inferno had left me curious but we see little of it and it seems to lead the story nowhere.
Frankly, despite my rating, I think the most correct would be a 2,5 and I don't recommend it. It might be good for those who want to read about Venice and the glass making industry, which were the positive points for me, otherwise it's one of those books you can skip
We follow the commissario and his assistant while trying to confirm whether there's any intention behind Giovanni de Cal's threats, who owns a glass factory in Venice, against his son-in-law Marco Ribetti, friend of Brunetti's assistant. In between, they get to know the glass making world, if the factories pollute or not the lagoon of Venice, and they stumble upon a death that might or not be murder and which deviates from what the description on the back of this book gave the impression of.
To begin with, it has very little mystery. I wondered if the author wanted to write a murder mystery or a book preaching about ecology. I do worry about pollution and do what is within my reach to prevent it but I didn't like the preacher tone, especially when I was looking for a murder mystery! Up until the middle of the book we seem lost within it, not really knowing what are the characters looking for and what's the purpose of it all. Then you come across the said death and the rest of the book becomes predictable.
The characters have little depth, even when it comes to the protagonist, yet we learn that he doesn't work overtime, because he likes to be with his family, and has an existential doubt... he never seems to know how should he address people (“Should I call him Docttore?” Should I address him as an equal, by you?”). The reference to Dante's Inferno had left me curious but we see little of it and it seems to lead the story nowhere.
Frankly, despite my rating, I think the most correct would be a 2,5 and I don't recommend it. It might be good for those who want to read about Venice and the glass making industry, which were the positive points for me, otherwise it's one of those books you can skip