The Jewels of Paradise

A sleuthing story focused on a composer from centuries ago? Such a delightful premise. Satisfying to nerds like me. And no physical violence, no murders, in the present day!But I withhold one star because of a certain murkiness at the end. Motivation and intention remain a bit puzzling. I will say no more, to avoid spoilers. Glad I read this one, though!

This stand alone novel left me with a big smile of satisfaction. Catarina, a musicologist from Venice, jumps at a temporary job in her home town to escape the boredom of her university position in Manchester, UK. We follow her scholarly and lighter researches into the life of an 18th century composer, the oddities of her new position, and her own place in the world. Along the way we are in the author's beloved Venice, walking its streets, eating in cafes and homes and confronting its morés. This is an extremely satisfying intellectual thriller.

Don’t worry, though — her beloved Venice remains at the center of this modern mystery seen through the eyes of a musicologist focused on a Baroque opera composer. Quite enjoyable.

My Thoughts...I've myself just read some of the existing ''reviews'' on this book, and both agree and disagree with many of them.I have read nearly all of the wonderful / sometimes loveable Brunetti Series, and.... in the sequence they were written, as I watch the interesting cast of characters grow and bond.Many reviewers complained here, that the characters here, in The Jewels of Paradise, were not at all as well fleshed out. Impossible to do in one book, as compared to a series of 20 or so.I had a quite tough time with the first 30 pages or so, finding it mortally pretentious, and with all the foreign names / facts, it will be difficult for many to keep with it.I kept on, finally getting into the rhythm, and then becoming ''positively hooked'' into the overall back-story.True, DL took liberties, like the so often complained of: Caterina not setting up a simple additional Gmail account. However, If she had done this simple thing, the over-all plot line of the story-- certainly ''would not have worked''. So yes, possibly this book was started /written many years ago, or it should have been ''noted'', to have taken place a bit further back in time.I to am also very annoyed by DL's often used italics in comments in Italian.As for this book '''there are those in several other languages''', with no glossary to aid the reader in what their meaning's are.That alone would help to ''draw in the reader '', further into the plotline.. I'm not one to read with a device at my fingertips, so I can look up the meanings of a foreign language phases. Case in point, Caterina's last word in the book in ''Russian'' !!!In total, I quite liked Caterina, as well as some of the other characters... But at the same time I found her a bit dense.I soon became ''very involved'' in the story, finding parts of it quite ''gripping''. But in the end, was very disappointed by the sudden / abrupt ending.True, the heroine had been mislead with how long her employment would last, and was trusting of one she later came to distrust. In the end, I just can't believe that Caterina, as a living, breathing, well educated woman, would have herself, ended the story as ''abruptly'' as Donna Leon did.I felt cheated, thinking Caterina herself, would have shown more spunk and guts, prior to her exit / end of the story.This is one I will not recommend to my friend, also a Donna Leon loving reader.At the same time, I think Caterina has potential, overall, to be written of again. The thing is, the reviews would need to be much better, overall, for me to purchase/read it.

Warning: while this review does not detail the plot of this delightful book, it is in a way a spoiler, because even to call this book a shaggy dog story gives something away about the plot. By the way, I apologize in advance if I am wrong about what this book was intended to be; this review, of course, simply contains my own opinion.Like most of the reviewers of this newest Donna Leon book, I have been a fan of hers from the start. Her Brunetti books are fabulous in their plots, characterizations, and writing. To an extent that makes her truly remarkable as an author, her books keep getting better; there is not a dud among them. Having said this, I think that The Jewels of Paradise is completely different from Ms Leon's other books in almost every way (except geographically). Like her other books, this one is beautifully written and held me riveted to the very end. But unlike her other books, I think it is something of a joke (in a good way).It was the ending itself that made me change my mind about what the book was intended to be. The book generated suspense, but nothing terrible ever came of all the threatening atmosphere Ms Leon created. The denouement itself was massively anticlimactic. These attributes changed my perception of what the book was into my current view: that it is a shaggy dog story. And, like all shaggy dog stories, it should not be taken too seriously.What I think that a reader needs to do with this book is to read it not with the preconception that it will be like her other books, but independently, as a stand-alone book of a different genre from the detective stories Ms Leon usually writes. The sinister atmospheres, the threatening characters, the feeling that someone is watching and that that someone is definitely not benevolent. . . just enjoy them! Given Ms Leon's consummate skill, it is much easier for me to view those attributes of the book that many of the reviewers here seem to think make it silly or trivial all as part of the fun instead.

I can't remember the last time I read a book as tedious as this one. I kept reading waiting for Brunetti to appear, but sadly that never happened. I persevered to the end hoping that it would improve, but sadly that didn't happen either. It would seem that this was a self-indulgent academic exercise by Donna Leon to show that she had learnt about Steffani and his life, with endless dull facts and details about his musical compositions and the people in his life. The constant phrases in Italian with no translation were an irritation and, I felt, rather pompous. If this had been my first book by this author I would not read her again. However, I love the Brunetti stories and have read all 22 of her previous books about him and will make sure in future that I check the subject matter carefully before downloading.

Having read all the "Brunetti" crime novels (in the right order, too) by Donna Leon, I was hopeful that I would enjoy this, my first non-Brunetti.It did not disappoint. It is a mystery novel, and sets out to unravel a supposed bequest from the 18thC. The present-day benefactors expected that a musicologist researcher would unearth "treasure" left by a Venetian composer of sacred music. His descendants discovered an unopened chest, which had been locked away for centuries. For me, much of the interest came from different ideas of what "treasure" means, a theme that is minutely explored. Donna Leon's fluid style of writing shines through, as it does through all her novels. This book was well-researched, and the result feels authentic.

I admire Donna Leon and have read almost everything she has written with admiration for her plotting, research, deep knowledge of Venice and its culture, local patois and history, as well as her special passions for music, opera and the Classics. Her characters are always engaging, believable and well drawn.As a writer, I understand her desire for a fresh direction, new characters and situations separate from those of Brunetti and his colleagues/family. However, The Jewels of Paradise falls short on so many levels. The protagonist is not interesting enough to persuade me to continue plodding with her through her historical researches. The antagonists - in the persons of “the greedy cousins” who are awaiting her revelations so that one of them can claim the putative “treasure “ are also pretty sketchy. How can the reader care about two people who appear briefly and then disappear except for oblique references for man6 chapters?If Leon had created a treasure hunt relying on relics, architecture or other clues scattered through Venice that an avid visitor might also trace and discover, and if it was hinted that that a very real modern day treasure has, indeed been secreted somewhere, the author would be onto a winner. But, of course, that might wreak havoc with the great institutions or venues and alienate both native Venetians and the authorities.So, instead, we are forced to sit in a boringly restricted room, at the protagonist’s elbow, while she painstakingly swims through a Sargassum raft of tangled and oppressively soporific historical details and musical asides about a long-dead composer. I have tried to make this journey for the sake of some magic “aha!” moment. But it still hasn’t occurred. Life is too short to waste on the failed career experiments of other creatives. I am abandoning this book. Someone hail me when Leon has attuned herself better to her audience and written a book worth the effort of reading.

This is the first of Leon's non-Brunetti books I have ever read and I found it immensely interesting - partly because until I became deaf,nearly 40 years ago I enjoyed having perfect pitch (and believed until that time that everyone else had it) so the basic belief in music made sense. I could see no solution to the problems until the last few pages, although I guessed that there was more to the Jewels of Paradise than I realised. Do not miss it!

If you are drawn to this because you love the Brunetti stories, save your money. Read the back of the cornflakes packet instead.This is dreadful.It's turgid, dry as dust, pretentious and condescending, long-winded, humourless and yes, boring.If Leon was thinking to emulate Josephine Tey's wonderful Daughter of Time she's singularly and boringly failed.It's 336 pages, It's basically a (very) short story padded beyond its life into words for the sake of words. It needs a good editor. But I guess no editor dare to mess with an author of Leon's stature. Did she really write this?? Frankly if it were her first book, I can't believe any self-respecting publisher would touch it.Read Magdalen Nabb instead. Or Valerio Varesi. Or Carofiglio. Or the great Camilleri of course. Or the dictionary.Please don't waste your time on this.