Book of the Week

Beastly Things by Donna Leon
Recommended by Sammy Assael-Francis

Beastly Things is the 24th book in the award winning series by Donna Leon, set among the snaking canals and winding side streets of La Serenissima,  and the surrounding areas of the Venetian lagoon and the mainland.  

The books centre around the charismatic Commissario Brunetti, a police inspector for the Questura (the non-uniformed branch of the Italian police force). Here, the murder of a disfigured man leads Brunetti out of Venice and into the complex world of bureaucracy, bribery and power politics.

Donna Leon paints a beautiful picture of Brunetti, an ironic and intelligent gentleman, who is constantly outsmarting his dim-witted superiors in the police force to fight for his rapidly deteriorating sense of justice, and right and wrong. His sense of alienation is set against the background of his modern family; his technologically obsessed teens, and a loving, but fiercely independent wife contrasting with his cat and mouse profession.

The atmosphere of Venice, its history and beauty all come together to create a mood of dread once the grime and criminal underclass of the most gorgeous city in the world is revealed. the difference between the beauty of the backdrop and the horror of what Brunetti is delving into creates a starting contrast which ensnares the reader. By confronting the imperfections of Venice, we understand that even among such magnificence, there can still be moral decay and depravity.  

Donna Leon (photo: Paris Match)

This book is filled with twists and turns, almost as complex as Venice's canals, which spiral to an ending which raises questions about the morals of those in charge of our modern world. It is delightfully written by Leon, with engaging characters and a narrative that creates suspense, just as it raises questions. However, outside the sphere of Venice (Brunetti is obliged to extend his investigation when he ascertains that the victim lived and worked outside the city), Leon loses a bit of her magic, and the story does not have the same drive as it does within Venice.  Apart from this, though, Donna Leon weaves a gripping narrative through Beastly Things that engages the reader at every level.