About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)

There are several catastrophic failures of logic that undermine one of the (poorly-connected) subplots in this book. Or perhaps someone can explain something that I have missed.

SPOILERS: I couldn't find a way to explain without giving away the ending, since that is where the logic really falls apart. Please STOP reading if you have not read the book.

If something happened to alter your appearance drastically, and there was nothing to be guilty about in your behavior, wouldn't you just tell people what had happened? Or would you rather pretend that this was a result of stupid, run-away, deliberate plastic surgery and suffer the disapproval and sneers of your social group? Why would a husband and wife act like disclosing the real source of the disfigurement was a big deal?

Even if it had been a really important secret, what woman would decide to protect her husband's "honor" by becoming the sex slave of a person he told? Her husband has let slip the secret that her odd appearance is because of (get really to gasp!) botched dentistry. Somehow the husband is able to retain his honor when everyone believes his wife is openly cheating on him but he would die of shame if (pay attention, it is really convoluted) HE found out that SHE knew he'd blabbed their secret. Does this make sense to anybody?

Or perhaps her actions are supposed to be related to the fact that the criminals who knew the secret inexplicably took it on themselves to kill the man responsible and to rape his wife. Perhaps she is afraid they will claim her husband pressured them to do this? They can't go to the police and blame him for inciting this without confessing they committed the murder, so what is the threat?

Her excessive sensibility about her husband's tender feelings is matched by her total indifference toward the raped woman who just might like some help in convicting the man who raped her and killed her husband.

I cannot remember how I met Guido Brunetti, not from the beginning, but I have read every single one, and from the 4th or 5th approached each with glee and sadness. I knew I was in for a treat, but it would be transitory as Ms. Leon is an excellent descriptive writer and her books are too short.

The titles always intrigue me. This one, "About Face" had military connotations for me (about face, forward march) but it isn't this at all but how we take cues from peoples' faces to structure our responses to them and our inability to read a face and conflicts between face and speech causes erroneous assumptions.

I just finished listening to a recorded interview Donna Leon did in which she was asked how she we going to end the series, would she kill Brunetti off. I was pleased to hear the shock in her voice as she responded, No, that she liked him too much, that she would just stop when it was no longer fun to write about him.

In some ways Donna Leon's knowledgeable and often humorous writing about the inner workings of the Venice police reminds me of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels. Add to this the always-fascinating background of Venice, and the author has a winning formula for a large audience.

Do not read this book first, though. That was my mistake. It's number 18 in the series. Go to #1, which is Murder at La Fenice.

This book contains the usual enjoyable Donna Leon ingredients : authentic Venetian background, a morally upright policeman Brunetti with an interesting and stable home-life and a varied cast of colleagues : Patta is almost a universal figure - the manager many employees will recognize from their own work-places.

Where the book falls down is in the strangely divided plot - what starts out as a toxic waste corruption scandal turns into a tale of a disfigured beauty. The motivation is by no means convincing and some of her backstory is bizarre. The two parts of the book just don't seem to tie together.

PS. The Scarlet Pimpernel is an Englishman.

Leon is an excellent writer, and specializes in offbeat mysteries.

This one contains her usual pitch-perfect portrait of Venice, but it contains much more.

Much of the book is a subtle commentary on various ideals of beauty, old and new. Leon cleverly works in Brunetti's mother- and father-in-law to explicate beauty, and solve one of the stranger mysteries about the woman with the ruined face.

As is often true with Leon, politics and class trump justice, but still justice is done.

Brunetti's wife Paola is always praising the subtlety of Henry James (an author she teaches), and this novel is quite Jamesian in its nuanced gradations of guilt and punishment.

Very intriguing.

I have read many of Donna Leon's Brunetti mysteries and admire her ability to create characters that are realistic and evolve from book to book. However in this book, the initial mystery is dropped as if she didn't know how to develop it and so the reader gets no conclusion, which is maddening! A new element is introduced and is what ends the book, however it wasn't fully explained and seems illogical. Too bad! I enjoyed the book otherwise, as it was well written as far as the characters go.

Initially I was glad I had borrowed this book from the library - her social/political 'theme' this time was garbage, and, despite the increased involvement of Guido's family and in-laws, I wasn't too engaged. But I persevered, and was glad I did. Donna's book often take unusual twists and turns, with interesting surprises, and this was no exception. Some new parts of town (casinos), some new dynamics in the station, and even gun fire. Sometimes her endings are downers - yes, the case was resolved, but it wasn't "justice". This ending was more affirming.

I read this last Guido Brunetti book as slowly as I could, knowing there were no more. For the past year and a half, my only cure for a certain restlessness has been to "go back to Venice" and reengage with Brunetti's search for truth and justice in a world so flawed as to make finding either a near impossibility. Brunetti's consolations in this bleak dystopia are family love, beauty, and the joy of intellectual engagement, both with living people and with often long dead authors. Brunetti and Leon have been wonderful aids for me in dealing with my own, much less exotic, dystopia. I will sorely miss them.

Since I am an English teacher, I considered the title of About Face. Being a left brained person, I took it literally, but soon discovered that About Face had nothing to do with changing one's attitude or direction. A fascinating book that keeps the reader in suspense until the end. Leon's crafting of characters is expert. Also, she includes little details about facial expressions, room decor, and clothes. All these add to the ambiance of the story. I feel as if I am present as the action unfolds.Imagine working for a man such as Patta. God forbid!

David Collacci is the reader. It's not his fault that Leon spends an unbelievable amount of time with a dinner party, with long long details and conversations. However, what I disliked the most was Collacci's phone Italian accent. It was excruciating. He does all the voices, and if I didn't know better, I would think it was a parody.

Donna Leon's novels usually move more steadily through the plot; maybe because I read About Face over the holidays, later at night when I was more ready for sleep than reading, it took me a longer time to read. This installment is a not a page-turner but Brunetti's conversations with Paola are memorable and touching. His fascination with ancient authors is delightful, not pretentious. His kindness and firmness inspiring. Descriptions of Venice's pollution and the international garbage 'problem' are enlightening and alarming. About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)

For fans of Donna Leon, the 18th Commissario Guido Brunetti novel titled About Face, provides a welcome return to Venice and to a familiar cast of characters. First-time readers can also find a well-told crime story packed with rich character development, fine dialogue and descriptive language that places readers clearly in each setting. One face to which the title refers is Franca Marinello, the beautiful second wife of Maurizio Cataldo. Her face was damaged from surgery that most conclude was done for cosmetic reasons. Brunetti met them at a dinner party at the home of his in-laws, the Conte and Contessa Falier. Brunetti's interest in Franca became lively when she revealed to him that she reads Cicero. The Conte asks Guido to investigate Cataldo because they may do a business deal together. This unusual request provides some development in the complicated relationship between Brunetti and his father-in-law. Much of the action in the novel centers on crimes relating to the dumping of industrial waste. Throughout, About Face is entertaining, intelligent and a joy to read.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Leon delivers a strong statement about male and female responses to beauty and to evil. The pre-dawn discussion between Guido and Paolo says a lot about marriage between two intelligent liberals who haven't quite reached the same response to a ruined life. Brava, Ms. Leon.

Donna Leon spins another complex study of the trials of human nature. I found this to be a multi-layered thriller of great interest. The title seemed to me to refer to; something about someone's face, the change in direction of an "about face" and the culture term "face"... quite fascinating..

Novel or Mystery? It does not matter. Donna Leon always writes a book that makes one think. Everything that I learn about Venice makes me want to visit that intriging city. However, I would not want to live there and deal with the constant corruption that Brunetti describes.

Donna has become famous with the inquiries of Guido Brunetti in Venice. She knows how ho handle with the job, she likes defining the plot and leading the reader to ask himself about existential questions. So it is a good novel which explores the hidden places of the mainland, like Marghera....

If you enjoy reading Donna Leon's stories about the amiable Commissario Brunetti and his family and soaking into Venice's atmosphere I guess you'd have fun. However, I found the story too unrealistic and less intriguing than older novels.