Brunetti had no trouble making the translation from police vocabulary to reality. ‘Violence? Alvise?’ Donna Leon is the bestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti novels, one of the world’s most beloved and enduring crime series, set in the wondrous city of Venice, Italy. While there is an interesting plot, don’t read this book for fast action, but rather savor the words and thoughts, the pace of daily life in La Serenissima. And note that Brunetti’s mother has a lesson modern politicians would do well to heed. In this slim volume, Leon discusses her passion for reading and admits that she becomes obsessed with subjects that intrigue her. For instance, she writes eloquently about bees, those fascinating and productive insects who are an essential part of our ecosystem. In addition, Ms. Leon is a devotee of the composer Handel, whose works have moved her to tears. Leon has taught English in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Italy, and might have finished her doctorate had her dissertation not been confiscated by the Iranian government. 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.

Mystery novelist Donna Leon continues the long tradition of foreigners writing about Venice. No other city has been so celebrated by its expatriate writers and visitors, from Ruskin’s glittery tributes to Henry James’s hesitant adoration to Thomas Mann’s fatal seduction. But Commissario Brunetti is not a foreigner, so his Venice illuminates the paradox of living in the world’s most beautiful urban setting built—not just on water—on danger and menace. From his first walk in the prize winning 1992 Death at La Fenice he never forgets her past glory nor ignores her diminished present. With these twin views his every walk through the city creates a richly layered vision.

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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.

I wish I better enjoyed this memoir. I have read several of the Commissionario Brunetti mysteries, which were fine, and I thought it would be interesting to learn more of its author.

When she discovered discovering that words could mean different things as opposed to objects which like a bicycle moves forward and a ball runs downhill she became enthralled with words. Leon] has never become perfunctory, never failed to give us vivid portraits of people and of Venice, never lost her fine, disillusioned indignation.” —Ursula K. LeGuin, The New York Times From teaching English to US Army recruits in Venice, Leon jumps to her first taste of Italy, a year with a college friend in which she fell in love with the people and the country. What prompted this? A body was found. It was a pleasant Buddhist Sri Lankan, Inesh Kavinda, who was living in the garden shed of the Palazzo Zaffo Sri Leonie. Brilliantly evokes Venetian atmosphere. The characters of Brunetti and his family continue to deepen throughout this series.” — The Times (London)

A real-estate query leads to more troubled waters for Venice’s Commissario Guido Brunetti . . . The commissario’s company and sensibility keep a reader in thrall throughout this and every entry in Ms. Leon’s indispensable series.”— Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal 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. 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 Today There’s no denying that Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries_ Are well written in a manner that eliminates the extraneous without becoming showily stoic.” —Charles Taylor, Bloomberg

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 Today) Leon] is terrific at providing, through [her] weary but engaging protagonist, a strong sense of the moral quandaries inherent in Italian society and culture.” —Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle On a Saturday in early November, Guido Brunetti, reluctant to go outside, was at home, trying to decide which of his books to remove from the shelves in Paola’s study. Years ago, some months before the birth of their daughter, he had renounced claim to what had been his study so that their second child could have her own bedroom. Paola had offered his books sanctuary on four shelves. At the time, Brunetti had suspected this would not suffice, and eventually it had not: the time had come for The Cull. He was faced with the decision of what to eliminate from the shelves. The first shelf held books he knew he would read again; the second, at eye level, held books he wanted to read for the first time; the third, books he’d not finished but believed he would; and the bottom shelf held books he had known, some- times even as he was buying them, that he would never read.

While in Venice, Leon became enamored of the gondola as a form of transportation. It’s no coincidence that Guido Brunetti often finds himself on a gondola when traveling from the Questura to various crime scenes. Leon wrote an amusing letter that is still posted at the local Questura to travelers hoping to meet her fictional detective. I would give anything to be able to experience this! For the thirtieth time Donna Leon takes us to Venice, with its multitude of picturesque canals and grand palazzos but also its somewhat hidden criminal underbelly. This is the working patch of Commissario Guido Brunetti, a senior policeman who was brought up in this unique place and who still lives and works in the city. Regular readers will be used to the fact that these books profile the place, its ways and its people as much as any investigation Brunetti is engaged in, and in fact it sometimes takes a while to figure out precisely what crime is to be the focus of Guido’s attentions. When Claudia Griffoni informs Brunetti that Luigi Rubini, an art thief, may be operating in Venice again, the Commissario has a surprising reaction. How does Brunetti attempt to explain his response? Do you think he admires Rubini’s dedication to his daughter, his expertise in art, or both? Is Brunetti’s regard for Rubini ultimately justified? In Donna Leon’s sure hands, the crime novel becomes an instrument for exploring social justice and universal truths about human behavior while beautifully telling a compelling story. (The Guardian) And now, here she is, with her 32nd book (her latest) showcasing Commissario Guido Brunetti, as always.A Question of Belief (William Heinemann, London, April 2010; Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, hardcover May 2010; Donna Leon] has never become perfunctory, never failed to give us vivid portraits of people and of Venice, never lost her fine, disillusioned indignation. (Ursula K. LeGuin) Even the idea of writing it came to her by chance, after a casual comment at a dinner party reminded her of a game she played with friends while working as a teacher in Iran in the late ’70s, to the accompaniment of machine-gun fire and exploding bombs. Convinced that her life hasn’t been so humdrum after all, Ms. Leon set out to chronicle it—although not in a fluid, narrative but rather in a series of scattered, at times haphazard, recollections. 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. When an author wants to write about a topic, they do a lot of research first. Her chapter about bees is a fantastic example.