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Arrow Books, Random House Australia, April 2007
Reviewed by Kerrie Smith
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is set in Venice, with the action mainly centred on
Murano, the famous Venetian glass making island. Donna Leon's very human
Commissario Guido Brunetti, influenced by the onset of spring, begins an
unofficial investigation for a colleague. A friend has been arrested while
protesting against the chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon by the
factories of Marghera. The investigation reveals threats by a glass
factory owner against his own son-in-law; a father who believes his young
daughter's intellectual disability has been caused by chemicals; mystery;
a murder; and serious questions about the future of Venice.
All the usual characters of this series are here. Guido Brunetti is not
just a policeman, married to a professore; he is cultured, educated,
sensitive to the feelings of others, intuitive, and unafraid to follow his
hunches. Middle-aged, a husband and a father, he is deeply in love with
his wife and with the city of Venice. He and the other characters are
richly and vividly drawn. The enigmatic Signorina Elettra uses her
networks to obtain sensitive information, while Brunetti's boss, Vice-Questore
Patta is buoyed by hopes of an Interpol position.
The stories Donna Leon tells us through her novels are believable and
carry elements of authenticity, often focussing on current issues. THROUGH
A GLASS DARKLY is no exception. It invites the reader to think about the
pollution of the Venetian lagoon, and the future of Venice's industries as
the markets are undercut by cheap imitative imports.
The title THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is a clever play on the biblical
quotation where "glass'" is often interpreted as a mirror. I prefer to
think of it as "not very clear" glass. The quotation was also used in
Shakespeare's The Tempest. It generally means that we don't really
understand properly what is happening now, but eventually we will. Donna
Leon has used that meaning but also links it to the fact that the setting
is the island of Murano, where the best Venetian glassware comes from.
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is fifteenth in the Brunetti series. Number
sixteen, SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN, is already available. Donna Leon has
lived in Venice for a number of years and her love of the city, knowledge
of its history, and concern for its future come through very strongly. If
you've ever been to Venice, or even if you haven't, you'll wonder why you
haven't read any of this series before. And if you are already a Donna
Leon friend, then here is another that will not disappoint.
April 2007 review originally published at Murder and Mayhem
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