perednia's review against another edition
4.0
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Earthly Remains
By Donna Leon
Crime Fiction
April 2017
Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 978-0802126474
To protect a younger colleague from saying something he shouldn't in a case with political implications, Commissario Guido Brunetti fakes a heart condition. To his surprise, he is advised at the hospital to take some time off to recuperate in Donna Leon's 26th novel in the series, Earthly Remains. Brunetti realizes he should take a step away from his work.
His wife's family holdings include a villa on one of the largest islands in the laguna. There, he connects with an older man who knew Brunetti's father and who takes him rowing in a boat he built himself. Brunetti and Davide Casati quickly form one of those easy-going male friendships that is respectful of the other's privacy. Casati, the villa's caretaker, spends much of his time rowing and tending to beehives located throughout the laguna. He mourns his wife, who suffered before dying of cancer, and spends some time with his daughter and her family. But it is the rowing, the bees and the mourning that occupy most of Casati's time and heart.
It is the death of bees at several hives that appears to be a tipping point for Casati. He tells Brunetti his wife's death is his fault and he is going to go talk to her. Casati disappears.
In tracing Casati's life backward from the time he left a factory and became a caretaker and beekeeper, Brunetti encounters other people who together weave a story of legacy. When someone leaves this life, what will be his earthly remains? What of the earth will remain? As Casati asks Brunetti, "Do you think somme of the things we do can never be forgiven?"
Leon has a light touch when bringing conclusions into the story. It is the questioning, and the wanting to consider the possible answers to the questions, that form the strong underpainting in her work.
As our hero ponders:
Brunetti had spent much of his reading life amidst the minds and convictions of people who had lived thousands of years ago, and he had learned not to laugh at their ideas but to try to understand why they thought the way they did. After all, his own world lived in constant discovery of its own ignorance.
The contrast in characters, their motives and their fates is fascinating and provokes curiosity. Seeing the choices each character made in the past, and how it has impacted their present and the future of others, is one of the most rewarding aspects of Earthly Remains.
The most rewarding aspect, however is the time spent with Brunetti and Paola, Brunetti's colleagues and the Brunetti library.
--Reviewed by Lynne Perednia
TheLitForum Book Reviews
When quoting from this or any other TheLitForum Book Review, we ask that you credit TheLitForum Book Reviews.
Earthly Remains
By Donna Leon
Crime Fiction
April 2017
Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 978-0802126474
To protect a younger colleague from saying something he shouldn't in a case with political implications, Commissario Guido Brunetti fakes a heart condition. To his surprise, he is advised at the hospital to take some time off to recuperate in Donna Leon's 26th novel in the series, Earthly Remains. Brunetti realizes he should take a step away from his work.
His wife's family holdings include a villa on one of the largest islands in the laguna. There, he connects with an older man who knew Brunetti's father and who takes him rowing in a boat he built himself. Brunetti and Davide Casati quickly form one of those easy-going male friendships that is respectful of the other's privacy. Casati, the villa's caretaker, spends much of his time rowing and tending to beehives located throughout the laguna. He mourns his wife, who suffered before dying of cancer, and spends some time with his daughter and her family. But it is the rowing, the bees and the mourning that occupy most of Casati's time and heart.
It is the death of bees at several hives that appears to be a tipping point for Casati. He tells Brunetti his wife's death is his fault and he is going to go talk to her. Casati disappears.
In tracing Casati's life backward from the time he left a factory and became a caretaker and beekeeper, Brunetti encounters other people who together weave a story of legacy. When someone leaves this life, what will be his earthly remains? What of the earth will remain? As Casati asks Brunetti, "Do you think somme of the things we do can never be forgiven?"
Leon has a light touch when bringing conclusions into the story. It is the questioning, and the wanting to consider the possible answers to the questions, that form the strong underpainting in her work.
As our hero ponders:
Brunetti had spent much of his reading life amidst the minds and convictions of people who had lived thousands of years ago, and he had learned not to laugh at their ideas but to try to understand why they thought the way they did. After all, his own world lived in constant discovery of its own ignorance.
The contrast in characters, their motives and their fates is fascinating and provokes curiosity. Seeing the choices each character made in the past, and how it has impacted their present and the future of others, is one of the most rewarding aspects of Earthly Remains.
The most rewarding aspect, however is the time spent with Brunetti and Paola, Brunetti's colleagues and the Brunetti library.
--Reviewed by Lynne Perednia
TheLitForum Book Reviews
When quoting from this or any other TheLitForum Book Review, we ask that you credit TheLitForum Book Reviews.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
4.0
I've only read four or five of her books, and not in order, but I loved this one the most, of all those I've read. I loved that Brunetti has to get away from his job, his family, and everything and gets embroiled in a crime within seconds, and how it eats at him until he figures it out. This was the best of the Brunetti mysteries I've read so far, and I'll never tire of reading about Venice.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably Donna Leon's saddest and darkest book. If you are looking for a happy ending, don't read this. When Commissario Guido Brunetti is forced through some odd circumstances to take a medical leave of absence, his wife suggests that he use the home of a cousin of hers who has a villa on Sant'Erasmo, one of the largest islands in the laguna. The caretaker turns out to be an old friend of his father's, a man was part of a group that won a rowing championship. Davide Casati is a quiet man who mourns the loss of his wife from cancer, and also is mourning the loss of his bees. He and Brunetti go rowing every day. Then one day he doesn't show up. A search is organized. He is found drowned with an old grate that he used as an anchor tied to his leg. It seems as if he had committed suicide, a verdict Brunetti has accepted. However, he is still on leave so he decides to investigate to learn more about the man. One of the things he had noticed were the terrible scars he has on his back. They are a result of an industrial accident in his previous employment from which he has retired. This was one of the best books by this author & also, as I said in the beginning, one of the saddest and darkest she has written. This is a writer who loves Venice, but also sees the dark side of the Italian government that can't seem to shake off corruption and evil, not that my own country is really much different in the end.
gpg's review against another edition
5.0
Donna Leon is going on my list of all-time favorite mystery authors - I've already read about 15 of the Commissario Brunetti books, and #26 didn't disappoint.
rothieee's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dairyqueen84's review against another edition
4.0
Coming back to Commissario Brunetti is like coming back to an old friend. Now that I've been to Venice, I can picture where he is. This one ended on an ambiguous note. Hmm.
kristianamr's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5