The Day of Atonement: A Novel (Benjamin Weaver)

Far fetched plot with little realism. I enjoy historical fiction but the main character in this story was not only hard to like, he seemed to be exaggerating his every action like a true blowhard.I felt like I was watching a made-for-tv movie. I expected better from this author.

I have enjoyed previous books by this author more but this was worth reading. I found the main character a bit hard to like and early in the book the story was slow. As the book progressed I find more depth to the characters and enjoyed it much more

I had read two other Liss novels several years ago (Conspiracy of Paper, Coffee Trader); as I recollect, Liss received an Edgar for Conspiracy. I enjoyed Conspiracy but was less enamored of Coffee, and had not read any of his subsequent novels until I saw that Atonement had been recently released. The story begins in the early 1740's with the arrest of a young boy's father by the Inquisition, somewhat dormant at this stage in other European capitals but very active in Lisbon. Knowing that other family members would soon be targeted, his mother uses the family savings to quickly send the boy to London where he spends the next ten years under the tutelage of a guardian. He then returns to Lisbon as a young man in his early 20's bent on avenging the deaths of his parents by killing the priest heading the Inquisition. Upon his return, though unrecognized, he encounters people from his past and becomes embroiled with their problems. Soon he has not one mission to accomplish, but four or five. But he has super powers! He can survive attacks from a pack of three muggers in the dark of night. Six soldiers come to arrest him....no problem. With a few quick moves, the soldiers are soon on their backs, some dead, most with broken bones. Yes, I started to get bored with this when it morphed from a historical novel to an action thriller. But hey, if you like this combination go for it. The dialog seemed to me to get rather silly in the last third of the book. To my ears it sounded like one those drippy romance movies from the early 30's. I had other problems with the book, too many things seemed overdone including the climax, Inquisition and the hero's romantic pursuit of two damsels in distress. Yes, two, not one. Enough is enough, already.

Far fetched plot with little realism. I enjoy historical fiction but the main character in this story was not only hard to like, he seemed to be exaggerating his every action like a true blowhard.I felt like I was watching a made-for-tv movie. I expected better from this author.

The main character is capable of calculating his every move in getting his revenge. He has total control of his behavior, though not entire control of his feelings. He is omniscient. And totally unreal and rather ridiculous. And what woman doesn't recognize her now-adult childhood sweetheart even after 10 years apart? And good grief, 10 years passes like a flash, not like a huge gulf in time. I've read 60% of this book and it is stupid. This is not David Liss, I'm sure of it. It's probably a ghost-writer student, or Liss just crapped this book out to meet a deadline.

    David Liss is the author of several very well researched novels taking place in mid 18th century London.  He uses Benjamin Weaver, a man of Jewish descent as his principal protagonist. Day of Atonement is set at about the same time involving a man with the anglicized name of Sebastian Foxx (born Sebastiao Raposa).
     Sebastian is born in Lisbon, Portugal into what  was then termed a New Christian family.  This denotes people that converted to Christianity in order to avoid capture and torture by the Portuguese Inquisition. But they secretly practiced Judaism among themselves in order to maintain contact with the religion of their birth.  Inquisitions in other countries in Europe had somewhat toned down their inhumane  practices, but the Portuguese sector remained as harsh as ever.
     When Sebastian is about 13 years of age his father and than his mother are seized by the Inquisition, imprisoned and eventually die.  Fortunately, Sebastian's mother is able to send him out of the country to England, where Benjamin Weaver takes him in and raises him into early manhood. Weaver is a bounty hunter and teaches him all the physical and coercive tricks used on the objects of his hunts.    
     Sebastian eventually makes the decision to return to Lisbon, to avenge his parents by killing the priest that imprisoned them, possibly find and continue with a girl he knew before he left Portugal and thought that he was in love with and perhaps get hold of the fortune that his parents had and secreted from the Inquisition.
     Liss is a master of bringing his readers into the period and place he is writing about and Day of Atonement is no different in that regard from the books about Weaver in England.  We see a Lisbon a city filled with filth, terrified of the Inquisition, and replete with corruption.
     A highlight of the novel is a description of a monumental earthquake that struck Lisbon on November 1, 1775 killing about 90,000 people, and leveling most of it.  The same quake did damage in north Africa, and neighboring European cities.  We are brought into the disaster and made to understand the horror felt by all that were involved in it.  Sebastian and people he has met and befriended in his attempting to accomplish what he wants while in Lisbon are affected by the change in circumstances of the monumental quake.
     The novel ends on a perfect note to set the reader up for the next one in a possible series using  Sebastian Foxx as the principal protagonist.  Well written, well researched and a draw for the reader into the world of the 18th century.

“Because for sins of one man against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.”
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The story opens in the year 1745 when 13 year Sebastiaio is sent from Lisbon to London to be saved from the Inquisition. His parents are New Christians, Jews who converted over the generations to save their family and manage a livelihood. Fast forward 10 years later - he returns to Lisbon as Sebastian Fox seeking revenge with plans to kill the priest that was responsible for his parents' arrest and subsequent deaths.

Sebastian becomes involved in more than he was planning and before he can get his revenge, he has decided to help the man who saved his life. In order to do this, he devises a somewhat complicated scheme. About half way through I just wanted it to get moving. Instead of the scheming, I wanted things to happen and then suddenly I just couldn't put it down and I was intrigued every step of the way.

In spite of his intent to kill, you discover that he is still a good man whose anger is fueled by his profound losses of family, friends, a beautiful young girl and his home. He cares about those he believes are his friends and it is touching to see that he feels he has become a father to the orphan street boy, Eneas, who has become his loyal servant. He naively thinks he can help and save everyone. He's smart and clever and knows the art of deception, trying to manipulate his enemies and so he can retaliate and right some wrongs for the people he cares about. However not everyone is as they seem and others are well schooled in the art of deception as well. This makes for a thrilling journey through the streets of Lisbon and this period of time.

Through Sebastian's story we see how the Inquisition impacted the lives of people by taking family and friends away from them, stealing their money and controlling their lives, and attempting to control their religious beliefs. We see what it did to one man and how he makes his peace.

Thank you to Random House and Net Galley.

I’m a massive fan of David Liss, especially the Weaver novels, so I was looking forward to reading this.

The Day of Atonement isn’t about Weaver, although he has a cameo in it. It features Sebastian Foxx (born Sebastião Raposa). In a flashback we learn that Foxx was taken in by Weaver as a boy after he was smuggled out of Portugal to escape the Inquisition.

The main events in this book takes place in 1755, some thirty years after the last Weaver novel and ten years after Foxx’s arrival in London. Foxx has grown up an accomplished fighter but tormented by his past. He decides to return to Lisbon, in the guise of an Englishman intent on making his fortune, and avenge the death of his parents by killing the priest who led to their detention by the Inquisition. Of course when he gets to Lisbon life is more complicated than that…

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the voice of Foxx and the pages turned nicely. The book evokes the atmosphere of Lisbon, and the different cultural and religious groups. It was interesting seeing the differences between London and Lisbon at that period. But it disappointed me on a number of levels.

I’m not particularly interested in a character who only wins because he’s better at fighting than other people. In the early stages of the novel, we get the suggestion that Foxx is a gifted investigator and actor like his mentor. He pretends to be foolish and naïve, with a backstory intended to draw out his prey. But increasingly as the story goes on, he appears not terribly bright and to have misunderstood everything he’s seen. So he’s thrown back onto violence.

The reversals are contrived. Basically if someone seems like a goodie they’ll probably turn out to be a baddie and vice versa. There are a number of holes in the plot. Foxx initially pretends he can’t speak Portuguese but then floors someone in public with his wit and apparently only one person notices his suddenly acquired fluency. Numerous times he has the opportunity to do what he came to do but suddenly can’t because of a laboriously explained complication to the story.

There is none of the subtlety and ambiguity I expect from David Liss. More than that, Liss’s novels are normally about something. Whether it’s the birth of the limited company or political corruption, they have a theme and a complexity interwoven with the adventure. Perhaps the publishers told him to tone it down a bit, people aren’t interested in that clever stuff, just given them an ambush and some blood, but that is one of the things I’ve most admired about his other books. I also like the wry humour of the Weaver novels which is lacking here.

I’m not saying that I expect authors to keep writing the same book, or be afraid to innovate for fear of alienating their readers. I enjoyed this book – I just think it’s not as good as most of his others.

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A note on the paperback – the font in this book makes it very hard to read, especially against a background of grainy grey paper. This is particularly annoying as the book is not available on Kindle.

David Liss is an incredible author. His historical novels tend to focus on economics in places of historical significance. His latest “The Day of Atonement” brings the reader back into the middle 1700s, in London and in Lisbon, during the period of the Inquisition, when the Roman Catholic Church showed an evil side.

Sebastiao Raposa parents are facing imprisonment by the Inquisition, so his father obtains passage for his young thirteen year old son to London where he will be cared for by Benjamin Weaver, an individual known to readers from a previous novel of Liss. Weaver takes young Sebastiao into his home and trains him in the street skills that have made Weaver such a force in old London.

Ten years later Sebastiao returns to Lisbon with his new skills, but now as Sebastian Foxx, as he wants retribution from the priest Pedro Azinheiro who imprisoned his parents, an imprisonment from which they died, as well as seeking out those that spread false words about his father to the church which caused him his loss of financial livelihood and eventually his life. Also, there is the attractive Gabriela, the young girlfriend from his youth, who he hopes is still alive and single.

From the moment of Sebastiao’s arrival in Lisbon there is hardly a dull moment. New relationships are developed and not always as expected. Liss novels are very well researched and the reader simply feels like they are in the story experiencing the color of the environment and the sounds and senses of the scene.

Every novel of David Liss is a classic and this reader looks forward to his next.

David Liss
Day of Atonement 2014
I look forward to reading the books of David Liss - I learn a great deal about an historical period and savor the rich detail and tapestry of his plots. Often I met old friends, and greatly enjoyed finding Benjamin Weaver as the formative mentor to Sebastian Foxx. For ten years Sebastian learns his trade of thief taker/bounty hunter, while the desire for justice and retribution hone his skills. He abruptly departs London for Lisbon in 1755 seeking revenge for the deaths of his parents and the profound loss of his love/youth/ innocence. He understands the game and the stakes and is a dangerous match for the Inquisition. Although that makes it sound quite melodramatic, and indeed this would work on the big screen, with fast action, danger, natural disasters, love, betrayal and redemption. The great earthquake which leveled Lisbon (and killed 90,000 people) provides a convenient escape, but adds another historical element.

I was exhausted when I finished breathtaking read. I lived through atrocities, bore the weight of judgment, and travelled both in time and culture. Many passages were underlined highlighting gems of wonderful writing and human moments.
It has humor which lighten some of the despair and betrayal and make it all too real, a story you are experiencing not just reading.

I closed the book with a sigh and a sense of well done. Well written, well researched, well developed characters. A most enjoyable read, as expected given his other similar novels, usually classified as historical mystery or historical thrillers (he does have one contemporary thriller Ethical Assassin). Don't miss any of them; start with A Conspiracy of Paper, which won the 2001 Edgar for best first novel. I might even try his comic books.

4.5 stars
Digital ARC from NetGalley (thank you!)
Posted on the store, goodreads, friends of rochester public library blog, celtreads

Goodreads Win Copy

At thirteen Sebastian Raposa finds himself without parents when they are imprisoned by the Inquisitor a priest for crimes they did not committed. He escapes from Portugal to England with the aid of one of his father’s friend.

Ten years has past as he seeks revenge for the death of his parents as he returns to Lisbon to kill the priest involve. But things are not black and white as he returns. In a city of terror and treachery where money rules and the wrong religion can get you killed, you cannot trust anyone.

The man who helped him escape wants him to get back money that a couple who stole his money due to a bad investment. So Sebastian goes undercover with his new identity to make connections with his new life.

Sebastian finds himself caring for people that he least expect and falling for the couple beautiful wife. While he initial stalks the Inquisitor priest Pedro Azinheiro, he finds the Inquisitor also has him followed as he keeps popping up wanting him to spy for him.

It is a game of deception and sometimes finding atonement means you must give up on revenge to find happiness. A plot that is fascinating as we are drawn into the world of greed and corruption

The narrative is interesting and engaging. The bit of history about the Portuguese Inquisition, "New Christians", and Lisbon earthquake of 1775 was enlightening, but would have liked more. The failing was in the characters, particularly Sebastian, our hero. He announces everything he's going to do, although it involves mayhem and murder. He can't decide whether he's a super hero, monster, or martyr. He vacillates between slaking his need for revenge and "trying to be a better man". The plot suffers from being to predictably unpredictable - what Sebastian declares will happen, of course, doesn't.

Liss is a better writer, as he's shown in his Benjamin Weaver books. He's not brilliant, but he's good and workmanlike. He set out to write a revenge thriller, but just didn't pull it off. The characters lack depth and consistency, i.e., character. A worthy revenge thriller is "Best Served Cold" by Joe Abercrombie.

This book is supposed to be the next Benjamin Weaver, but he is only a framing device and we see very little of him. However, we see his imprint on a New Christian from Portugal that he raised after the child's family were taken by the Inquisition. Lots of twists and turns, lies and trust, explored but not the big sweeping tale that was Conspiracy of Paper. I did enjoy this story of redemption revenge and what those concepts really mean in practice. Cared what happened to the characters, but it wasn't my favorite David Liss.

If “The Coffee Trader” is like a Fanz Hals painting, then “Day of Atonement” beckons to Francisco Goya – a work masterfully rendered in stark light and dark tones. This is a sweeping epic of love, loss, retribution, and redemption set in Portugal’s 18th Century Inquisition period. Some reviewers have described the protagonist Foxx as a wooden character – I disagree – he is a damaged and therefore incomplete one. Liss has done an excellent job of capturing the catharsis of such a person. Yes the novel will speak to those of Jewish faith, but the concepts explored here are universal.

I have read all of David Liss' novels and enjoyed all very much, but I think this one is the best. As other reviewers have said, he does a fantastic job of bringing the reader right into the action and into the time and place of the story. There are many things I never knew before about the 17th and 18th centuries, things one doesn't get from a history book, but it is right there in his novels.

This particular one was especially good as all of the characters were well drawn. I think that after writing so many books, Mr. Liss is just very good at it now. It is almost like a movie how you can picture exactly what is happening. I actually listened to the audio book so that may aid in the ability to melt into the story. The motivations of the main character, Sebastian Fox, are very clear and you can feel his anguish when he is frustrated or makes a mistake. I didn't love the ending, but perhaps it is a set up for a sequel.

I've enjoyed almost all of the David Liss books. This one does not disappoint. While I could take the author to task for having the protagonist being a shade too naive in what information he tells to questionable characters, I understand he needed some of this to advance his plot. The brilliance for me was the palpable tone of paranoia and threat in the Lisbon of the Inquisition. What I knew from history became more real. By avoiding graphic descriptions of the torture of prisoners of the Inquisition, Liss heightens the dizzying fear "on the outside" of being noticed, possibly being caught, and knowing you would sing once they had you. Without a spoiler, I was delighted what event was used to conclude the novel and I enjoyed going to Wikipedia to re-research this major event in philosophical and social history.

Have never read this author before but he will be at our local library in May and I wanted to read this book prior to attending. I love historical fiction and this one did not disappoint. I knew nothing about the Inquisition in Portugal not the earthquake so in reading I was constantly looking up facts in Wikipedia.Am always doing this when reading historical fiction as it makes the story so much more real plus I like the knowledge I gain.Sebastian Foxx(the protaganist )certainly did remind me of Lee Child's character Jack Reacher. Would like to read some of this authors other books since I can see from the reviews he has a popular character names Benjamin Weaver. This was a really good read and a page turner for sure.

I usually enjoy David Liss' novels. I particularly have enjoyed A Conspiracy of Paper, The Coffee Trader and The Whiskey Rebels. His plots are well-thought out and enjoyable. He creates characters that are interesting. All of this is true in Day of Atonement. However, the problem is the author's writing style in this book. It tends to be flowery and overly emotional. That can be irritating when you want the action to move along quicker. It also seems silly when you are reading a thriller.

I did not realize The Inquisition was in Portugal as well as Spain. Truly horrendous times. Hopefully, Mr. Liss' next book will have more of Mr. Weaver than just the last chapter.

Vengeance and power and conflicts deeply embroiled here, why? Historical period so detailed. Judaism to the Christian faith, because of the inquisition they were persecuted. I was not disappointed at all because the protagonist entertain me with his anger, hell bent on getting revenge. Very interesting read that kept me reading further along with much eagerness and fervor . The author's writing style is reflected here, very influential. Good job! I won this book on Goodreads First Read Giveaway. Thank you, Darlene Cruz

3.5 stars for execution of plot and main character. 4.5 stars for Liss's eye for historical detail and the ability to convey it so well throughout this tale. I found the cobbled together perils a bit too much at times, but the setting and the use of period were so top notch that the thin elements were easy to gloss over for the most part. Liss has a particular voice that is a pleasure to return to.

Just finished listening to David Liss's new book, Day of Atonement from Auditble. As usual, Liss has written a wonderfully compelling book about revenge, justice and the ability to grow and change, set in LIsbon of the Inquisition. It seemed timely, as it struck me that that Iran and area under ISIS control must be very much like Inquisition Portugal for a dissenter.
Anyway, read the book. It's fantastic!

Sebastian Fox returned to Lisbon to find his childhood love and wreak revenge for the death of his parents by the Portuguese Inquisition. What follows is deceit, intrigue, friendship and survival. This fascinating tale is spellbinding and a must read.

Well done historical fiction novel with philosophical connotations. Action and intrigue abound. This is my first introduction to Mr. Liss's work and I plan on reading his other works. I received this novel from Random House through Good Reads First Reads program for an honest and impartial review.

by David Liss, © 2014

I wrote to this author (privately) about the egregious mis-use of 'had' in his "The Coffee Trader", sometime on or around 2004, when it came out, and suggested to him that he was badly misusing 'had' by putting it in front of past tense verbs. In his short reply he did not acknowledge that he even knew what I was talking about. He called me a "rxging xssholx (two vowels are changed to get past the the store computer). Now the clock has ticked and it is ten years later and he proves in his "The Day of Atonement" (2014) that he should have listened to me. In the first 21 pages of text, (my standard test), the word 'had' appears 115 times (count them yourself). Of these, 20 are used correctly as the past tense of 'to have', or in the past perfect, or in the subjunctive. Thus 95 are in error, giving an error percentage of 83%, which is on the high side of what 'had' abusers typically do. Of the 95 in error, 71 are in front of past tense verbs - 55 in front of regular past tense verbs and 16 in front of irregular past tense verbs. 18 are used where 'was' or 'were' belong, and the remaining 6 are used where ' 'did' belongs. Had he not let his temper override his good judgement, he would have done better on this latest effort, "The Day of Atonement". 'Tis a pity. Anger makes fools of us all. I will not read the book, so this is NOT commentary on the book, only on the demonstrated egregious misuse of the word 'had'. I can put up with a lot, but not a snowstorm of 'had's in front of past tense verbs. Peace.

Simple, but effective historical fiction depicts Lisbon Portugal at time of Inquisition. Author portrays Jesuit as Stalinistic in hunt for Jews and non-believers. Action and adventure throughout. However, not as clever as other Liss novels. Still enjoyable for plane rides, waiting room etc.