The Golden Egg (Guido Brunetti Series #22)

( 11 )

Overview

In The Golden Egg, as the first leaves of autumn begin to fall, Vice Questore Patta asks Brunetti to look into a minor shop-keeping violation committed by the mayor’s future daughter-in-law. Brunetti has no interest in helping his boss amass political favors, but he has little choice but to comply. Then Brunetti’s wife, Paola, comes to him with a request of her own. The mentally handicapped man who worked at their dry cleaner has just died of a sleeping pill overdose, and Paola loathes the idea that he lived and ...
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The Golden Egg (Guido Brunetti Series #22)

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Overview

In The Golden Egg, as the first leaves of autumn begin to fall, Vice Questore Patta asks Brunetti to look into a minor shop-keeping violation committed by the mayor’s future daughter-in-law. Brunetti has no interest in helping his boss amass political favors, but he has little choice but to comply. Then Brunetti’s wife, Paola, comes to him with a request of her own. The mentally handicapped man who worked at their dry cleaner has just died of a sleeping pill overdose, and Paola loathes the idea that he lived and died without anyone noticing him, or helping him.

Brunetti begins to investigate the death and is surprised when he finds nothing on the man: no birth certificate, no passport, no driver’s license, no credit cards. As far as the Italian government is concerned, he never existed. Stranger still, the dead man’s mother refuses to speak to the police, and assures Brunetti that her son’s identification papers were stolen in a burglary. As secrets unravel, Brunetti suspects that the Lembos, an aristocratic family, might be somehow connected to the death. But why would anyone want this sweet, simple-minded man dead?

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Commissario Guido Brunetti, out of a sense of guilt and at the urging of his compassionate wife, investigates the suspicious death of a disabled man, Davide Cavanella, in Leon’s intriguing 22nd mystery featuring the crafty Venetian police inspector (after 2012’s Beastly Things). Davide’s mother is unwilling to discuss his death. Worse, there’s no official evidence of Davide’s existence: he apparently was never born and never went to school, saw a doctor, or received a passport. The colorful locals are uncooperative. Brunetti’s understanding of the Venetian bureaucracy, which operates smoothly on bribery and familial connections, allows his subordinates to enlist the help of various aunts and cousins, as is neatly shown in a subplot involving the mayor and his son. Appreciative of feminine charms, the deeply uxorious Brunetti amply displays the keen intelligence and wry humor that has endeared this series to so many. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
“[An] unusually reflective detective story.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Appreciative of feminine charms, the deeply uxorious Brunetti amply displays the keen intelligence and wry humor that has endeared this series to so many.”—Publishers Weekly

“[Readers] will savor the pleasures of dialogue as elliptical in its way as Henry James and a retrospective shock when they finally appreciate the import of the tale’s unobtrusive opening scene and its sly title.”—Kirkus Reviews

Library Journal
Leon fans will welcome the newest entry (after Beastly Things) in her superb series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, Venetian police officer extraordinaire. Interwoven among Leon’s seductive cameos of Venetian life, the plot is especially compelling. Paola, Brunetti’s wife, implores him to investigate a case that hits close to home—the tragic death of the visibly deaf, dumb, and retarded man who was a fixture in the local dry cleaning shop. To complicate matters, there is no official trace of the man’s (commonly referred to as “the boy”) existence. In the end, of course, Brunetti arrives at the subtle, sad conclusion that will move readers.

Verdict Leon delivers an intricate plot couched in spare, Hemingwayesque prose. Her elegant, masterly use of language captures perfectly the quality and pace of life in Venice. Readers will particularly savor the long, leisurely, enticing lunches enjoyed by Venetians, and Brunetti’s numerous breaks in cafés will elicit envy from espresso aficionados. A sine qua non for Leon fans who also enjoy Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series.—Lynne Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA

(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Reviews
Commissario Guido Brunetti, the second-sharpest member of the Venetian Questura, investigates the death of a man who barely had a life to begin with. Brunetti's wife, Paola Falier, rarely intrudes into his professional life, but she can't help being distraught at the death of the boy who helps out at her dry cleaner's, even though he's not a boy--he turns out to be over 40--and she doesn't know his name. Davide Cavanella, a deaf-mute who may have been mentally disabled as well, apparently swallowed a handful of sleeping pills because they looked like candy, then choked in his own vomit. More interesting than any questions about his death, however, are questions about Davide's life. Why has this obviously disabled person never made a claim on any of the government programs designed to help him? For that matter, why has he left no paper trail at all? Brunetti (Beastly Things, 2012, etc.) doesn't believe Ana Cavanella's story that her son's papers were stolen years ago, but he's brought up short by the alternative: that there never was any official record of his existence. Aided by Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta's subversive secretary, Signora Elettra Zorzi, the sharpest mind in the Questura, Brunetti turns over all the stones of Venice in his search for Davide's roots. The clues that link the dead man to the wealthy Lembo family won't surprise readers familiar with the pervasive corruption Leon's unearthed in Venice past and present (The Jewels of Paradise, 2012). But they'll savor the pleasures of dialogue as elliptical in its way as Henry James and a retrospective shock when they finally appreciate the import of the tale's unobtrusive opening scene and its sly title.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780802121011
  • Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
  • Publication date: 3/26/2013
  • Series: Guido Brunetti Series , #22
  • Pages: 256
  • Sales rank: 275
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Donna Leon
Donna Leon is the author of the international best-selling Commissario Guido Brunetti series. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Leon was born in New Jersey and has lived in Venice for thirty years.

Biography

Donna Leon's love affair with Italy began in the mid-1960s when she visited for the first time. She returned frequently over the course of the next decade, while working as a teacher in such far-flung paces as Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, England, Iran, and China. In the 1980s, the New Jersey native made the decision to move to Venice, where she still lives.

Leon's writing career began accidentally. One evening, following a performance at Venice's famous opera house, Teatro La Fenice, Leon and some friends were discussing a certain conductor they all heartily disliked. Someone jokingly suggested killing him off; and when the conversation turned to how, where, and why, suddenly the idea for a dandy murder mystery took shape in Leon's mind. Published in 1992, Death at La Fenice introduced Commissario Guido Brunetti, the melancholy Venetian policeman who would go on to star in a series of witty, intelligently plotted, and critically acclaimed detective novels.

Brunetti is, indeed, one of the most appealing characters in crime fiction, and one of the pleasures of the series is the revelation of new and surprising facets to his personality. Intellectual, introspective, and world weary, he is also happily married, totally committed to his job, and a lover of classical music, good food, and jokes. But, above all, Guido Brunetti is "Venetian to the bone" -- born into and shaped by a society filled with cultural contradictions. Through her detective's eyes, Leon illuminates the central paradox of Venice: Beneath the ravishing beauty and civilized veneer lurks a core of insidious and utterly pervasive corruption. Brunetti's cynicism stems from his inability to stem the tide -- although, bless his heart, he never stops trying.

Elegant writing, deft characterization, and lots of local color elevate the Brunetti novels above run-of-the-mill series, and Leon's reputation has grown with each installment. But although her books are international bestsellers, they have never been translated into Italian. The author explained why in an interview with National Public Radio: " I do not take any pleasure whatsoever in being a famous person. The tenor of my life would change if these books were translated into Italian, because I'm completely anonymous here." Anonymous in Venice, perhaps. Elsewhere, Donna Leon is a rock star!

Good To Know

An opera buff with a passion for baroque music, Leon has written the libretto for a comic opera entitled Dona Gallina.

For a few years, Leon reviewed crime fiction for the Sunday Times.

In Germany, several of the Commissario Brunetti novels have been adapted into television mini-series.

A woman of strong opinions, Leon reads voraciously for topical issues to use in her novels. Among the serious matters she has written about are industrial pollution, human trafficking, illegal adoption, and corruption in the Catholic Church.

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    1. Hometown:
      Venice, Italy
    1. Date of Birth:
      Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 EDT 1942
    2. Place of Birth:
      Montclair, New Jersey
    1. Education:
      B.A., 1964; M.A. 1969; postgraduate work in English literature

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 11 )
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  • Posted Wed Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Like all the Brunetti books, this is billed as a mystery, but it

    Like all the Brunetti books, this is billed as a mystery, but it is not so much as mystery as a meditation on language. It opens with the Brunetti family playing a game at dinner using language and ends a non-conversation with the suspect. In between the two is the death of a deaf mute man. I think this is best Donna Leon is a while.
    Her stories, which she said in a reading I went to, are triggered by things she reads in the paper, are unconventional mysterties. Yes, there is a police investigation, but it rarely ends in arrest. One is left instead to consider the consequenses of what happened and the suspect is left to live with (or in some cases not) the knowledge of what they did. The stories reflect the uncertainty of our time. We want certainty but often don't get it.
    This is another beautifully craft book by Leon. I hope she keeps writing.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Very good read

    Like most of Donna Leon's novels, The Golden Egg, is a most enjoyable story. Not only is Guido Brunetti an interesting character but the reader gets insight into the uniqueness of Venice.

    I can't wait for the next Leon novel!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Recommend...

    I am a huge fan and have read all of the Brunetti books.. I love the character
    and the description of Venice, the family and wonderful meals.. very enjoyable.
    The main character has such heart.. and intelligence. I appreciate his sensitivity.. and
    the mystery as it unfolds is realistic.. and in that way not formula and completely
    satisfying to me. There is even humor like life has its ups and downs so does Brunetti.
    All of the characters are very realistic.. and similar to people I have known.
    I would recommend this for a book club discussion..
    It is a case study beginning to end with sidebars getting to know other aspects of
    the characters lives. The setting is always colorful.. but is also steady and REAListic..

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  • Posted Fri Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Lucky Us!

    Another Inspector Brunetti! Guido's life in Venice with Paola and two almost adult children always give insights into humanity. The relationships within the family and also at the workplace are filled with experiences we all face. This particular book showed "inhumanity and just desserts."

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Highly recommend!

    Truly one of her best in this series.

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  • Posted Fri Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Touching read.

    Of all the Donna Leone books I have read, I found this one the most poiniant.
    I didn't see a connection to the title, though.
    The ending was very satisfying.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Apr 13 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Detective Brunetti Is Back. Ms. Leon's Detective Brunetti ser

    Detective Brunetti Is Back. Ms. Leon's Detective Brunetti series is always so enjoyable. As soon as the latest
    book is out, I am reading it. The latest book has the detective questioning the death of a deaf man. I love how Ms. Leon makes the detective not only a policeman but a philosopher. He is compassionate and so thoughtful of his co workers, family and the people involved in the investigation. Guido Brunettis is foremost a detective but one with intelligence. Sorry to wait another year for the next Detective Guido Brunetti book. Thank you Ms. Leon.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Goldkeep

    Strong silver striped gold tom with green eyes and a black and ornge striped tail

    0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Apr 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Blueheather

    Im a white she cat with gray spots and heather blue eyes

    0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Apr 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Apr 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

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