First Sentence: He had always hated formal dinners,
and he hated being at this one.
When is a case, not a
case? When it is a favour for the friend of your in-laws, even though the incident happened 15 years ago, with no dead body, and no real police
investigation. A wealthy aristocrat asks Brunetti to look into the
supposed suicide attempt by drowning of her granddaughter, now irreparably
brain damaged. But to the Contessa, things just don’t add up and, as she ages,
she would like the truth. With a little creativity, Brunetti convinces
his boss that Guido should re-open the investigation, and finds things were not
quite what they seemed.
Leon has a lovely way of
taking us immediately into the story and introducing us to the important
characters without even seeming to. She also provides us a look into
Brunetti’s understanding of human nature—“Only someone who knows us well knows
how best to flatter us, knows which virtues we’d like to have attributed to us
and which not.” Yet such introspection is also offset by subtle
humor—“There was a single cup of coffee, a silver sugar bowl, a spoon, two
short glasses of thick cut crystal\al, and a bottle of whisky whose label made
Brunetti stare. … ‘To your health,’ she answered and took a sip. Brunetti
did the same and thought he’d sell up everything and move to Scotland.
Paola could find a job teaching, and the children would find something to do
with themselves. Beg, for example.”
It is two Leon’s great
credit that there is a wonderful balance between Brunetti the policeman, and
Brunetti the husband and father which makes the book so realistic and the
character so identifiable. His family life is such a wonderful asset to
the full development of the character and to the story. This this is one of the rare times, at least in this reviewer’s memory, that we
have a physical description of Brunetti..Yet all the characters work so
well. One cannot help but love and admire the skills of Signorina
Elettra, and understand their mutual disdain for Lt. Scarpa and the easily
manipulated Patta.
A side story has to do
with Italy’s immigrant situation, which is very interesting…”It didn’t matter
how he had entered the country; the distinction between legal and illegal
immigrants had long since been abandoned by the press….” With immigrants
being such a pivotal issue in so many countries, it is fascinating to learn how
Italy deals with it. But then, there is much in Leon’s
writing to make one stop and consider, including about class prejudices.
The plot is fascinating as
we really can’t quite tell where we are going, until there is one very
well-done plot twist, followed by another. It is interesting seeing Brunetti
switch modes between doing research and investigating a crime scene.
Although there are coincidences and the case-solving clue comes upon us rather
abruptly, it is not the end of the story as we still learn about a
superstition, and witness a lovely ending.
“The Waters of Eternal Youth” is far more than a mystery. It is about people, and relationships,
and is all the more wonderful for it.
THE WATERS OF ETERNAL YOUTH (Pol Proc-Comm. Guido
Brunetti-Venice, Italy- Contemp) – VG
Leon, Donna – 25th
in series
Atlantic Monthly Press,
March 2016
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Yes, this IS a good review!
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