A Noble Radiance

Rating:
Summary: very good writing but not a classic mystery
Review: A Noble Radiance is the second Guido Brunetti mystery set in Venice by Donna Leon that I have read. Leon is a very good writer, and she has made an admirable character in Brunetti, but this is not a typical mystery novel of the "whodunit" variety.

The story centers upon the newly discovered body of a young nobleman who was kidnapped two years previously. After two ransom demands, the kidnappers made no further contacts with the young man's family, and so the case remained a mystery. Now with the body discovered buried on a rural farm, Brunetti of the Venice police department, reopens the case as a murder investigation.

Other than Brunetti and his family, most of the characters were not very interesting. What did hold my interest was the life and attitudes of the Venetians and how the European world of commerce works with the opening of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Bloc. The murder case was rather secondary to the actual story of the young man's family's business and not much of a puzzle. Leon's strength as a writer is to make the reader really see the story through Brunetti's eyes, which is no small feat, especially when she uses third person narration. I just wish she could give Brunetti a more complex mystery to unravel.

Rating:
Summary: as pure as crime fiction gets
Review: Donna Leon is wonderful. A Noble Radiance is the first book of hers that I have read, and I just know that she is wonderful. There is something so pure about this book. That's the only word i can think of to describe it. It is pure crime fiction, crime fiction with its heart in the plot, its pace in the movement of it, and its pleasure in the unravelling of it. Instead of giving us a deep and fascinating character study, Leon manages still to create a brilliant main character. He is developed subtly, gradually and fully, but he never becomes more important than the mystery. That is something lacking from some crime fiction today. The actual mystery takes a back-seat to things like setting, character, atmosphere. Here, the plot takes the front seat, but Leon still is able to present a brilliant backdrop, a wonderful atmosphere steeped in culture, and very fine characters. She uses seemingly large brushstrokes to draw them, and then fills in the details with tiny ones, imperceptible ones. She lays the clues masterfully, moves her plot along with brilliant skill. I can't really describe what a sublime pleasure it was to read this, and what joy I feel at having several more to read!

A Noble Radiance is an absolutely lovely book. Venice is beautifully described, i want to visit the city. It is very rare to find a book so rich in culture. (Also, the idea that the police of Venice have enough money spare form their budget to buy new flowers for the offices every week is an exquisitely romantic one)

I would reccomend Donna Leon to everyone. I can't believe i've been missing out for so long.

Rating:
Summary: Leon: Another Glowing Thriller!
Review: For Donna Leon's fans, Venice, the Most Serene Republic, is anything but serene! In yet another, the seventh
sure-winner in her Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Leon once again masterminds a plot, setting, and unforgettable characters in a must-read book.

In "A Noble Radiance," Leon shows what a master she is in establishing a grappling narrative hook, an absorbing
plot filled with dangerous curves, pitfalls, and landmines, and a theme that at once is contemporary and yet for all

time. The novel begins with the discovery of a badly decomposed body in a lonely farmfield in the north of Italy, and,
as her previous novels have it, Brunetti is given the case.

Just as he suspects, the body belongs to a kidnapped young man, the noble heir to a considerable estate. It is
Brunetti's responsibility to bring the news to the young man's family. Realist that he is, Brunetti is quick to find that,
indeed, something is rotten in the land of the nobili, and from this point on, the reader is led--even carried--to the
conclusion. The conclusion, however, appears a bit weak, albeit quite satisfying, I suppose, as Leon's endings usually
have a way of being far more thought- provoking.

Still, the book is well-worth the time spent--unfortunately, the time goes all too fast when reading Leon; one has the
tendency to wish they would keep on going, as they are, indeed, so mesmerizing. She has created such memorable
characters, most notably Brunetti, who has such a noble philosophy. It is almost as if he is a salmon without a stream,
as his ideals, his honesty, his concept of right and wrong seem at odds with today's sense of morality, whether it be
Italian politics or not. Leon's books are never ones to shy away from social issues and concerns and it is almost as if
she is Cassandra weeping outside the gates of Ilium, begging for anyone to believe her as she touches on responsible
concerns: the environment (especially), corruption (both political and social), and immorality in various forms. Unlike
Cassandra, Leon will be believed, one hopes.

London's "Sunday Telegraph" describes "A Noble Radiance" as a book "with a backdrop of the city so vivid you can almost
smell it." Indeed, and the smells are not always so desirable. Leon herself (always one with the apt literary allusion)
quotes Mozart at the beginning: "The nobility has honesty painted in its eyes." We find this quite appropriate for the
novel. She manages to evoke the landscape and atmosphere is a manner that lends strong support to her story line.
Her growing flock of readers have come to expect this in each succeeding book. So far, she has not let them down.
Like Caesar, her books have crossed the Rubicon with their social messages and readers should not let them go back! ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Excellent mystery novel!
Review: I came across this novel purely by accident, purchased it, and finished it within 4 hours. I could not put it down. This was a very well-written mystery and I am thrilled to know there are other books about Commissario Guido Brunetti. I obviously read this slightly out of order with her other Brunetti books, but this was written with no other knowledge of the Commissario needed. The book was self-contained and was a fine read. I have already ordered the rest of her books.

Rating:
Summary: A standout in a very good series
Review: I have not listened to the audio version, but the book is very, very good. It is the seventh novel in the series of (currently) twelve starring the Venetian detective Guido Brunetti. As a mystery it works quite well on its own: a body unexpectedly discovered on an abandoned farm in the Dolomites is identified as the scion of a noble Venetian family whose kidnapping had never been solved, and Brunetti must struggle to determine the identities and motives of those responsible before they claim another life. What readers of the previous books in the series will particularly appreciate, however, is the subtle mystery Brunetti finds himself facing within his own family. The solutions to the Comissario's personal and professional challenges are ultimately intertwined in a conclusion which does not represent perfect justice (as is typical in Ms. Leon's novels) but is nevertheless extremely moving. Because Brunetti's relationships with his wife and growing children broaden and deepen over the course of the series, I would recommend that readers start with "Death at La Fenice" if possible, and enjoy the first six books in eager anticipation of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing first taste
Review: This is the first Donna Leon book I've read, and I doubt I will be reading more. I've glanced through the other reviews that were posted, and I must say, I'm quite shocked. How this book is an international best seller is beyond me.

First, A Noble Radiance was extremely dull. I found myself skipping entire chapters just so I could finish (I can't just stop reading a book, even if it's awful -- I have to finish it). There was no tension, no characters to really care about, no suspense. The plot was completely transparent from the very beginning, and the end was so weak I wished I hadn't read the book at all.

Second, there were way too many Italian phrases with too little translation. I could make my way through a lot of them, thanks in part to the languages I do understand, but Italian is just not one I've had time to master. Some contexual assistance would have helped, but just throwing a phrase out there and expecting the majority of readers to understand it isn't fair.

A big peeve of mine is spelling errors and grammatical issues in best selling books. If it's a best seller, you should have a proofreader for the paperback. I can think of three obvious misspellings off the top of my head, and some of the sentence structures were incomprehensible.

Overall, I found A Noble Radiance a complete disappointment. The cover is pretty, but that's about all the inspiration it holds.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing first taste
Review: This is the first Donna Leon book I've read, and I doubt I will be reading more. I've glanced through the other reviews that were posted, and I must say, I'm quite shocked. How this book is an international best seller is beyond me.

First, A Noble Radiance was extremely dull. I found myself skipping entire chapters just so I could finish (I can't just stop reading a book, even if it's awful -- I have to finish it). There was no tension, no characters to really care about, no suspense. The plot was completely transparent from the very beginning, and the end was so weak I wished I hadn't read the book at all.

Second, there were way too many Italian phrases with too little translation. I could make my way through a lot of them, thanks in part to the languages I do understand, but Italian is just not one I've had time to master. Some contexual assistance would have helped, but just throwing a phrase out there and expecting the majority of readers to understand it isn't fair.

A big peeve of mine is spelling errors and grammatical issues in best selling books. If it's a best seller, you should have a proofreader for the paperback. I can think of three obvious misspellings off the top of my head, and some of the sentence structures were incomprehensible.

Overall, I found A Noble Radiance a complete disappointment. The cover is pretty, but that's about all the inspiration it holds.