Give Unto Others

Why do we read Donna Leon? For the mystery? Not really. We read for her insight into the hearts of her characters and for the deft way that Brunetti and his team make their way forward through the thicket of politics, crime, family, and memory that is Venice. This is perhaps not the most thrilling Brunetti ever but I found it particularly affecting, especially the initial chapters. Then, when the truth is revealed, these initial chapters and the emotional response evoked, are especially – what is the word I want here? Poignant? Telling? Sad? You read it and tell me.

I received a digital review copy of "Give unto Others: Commissario Brunetti 31" by Donna Leon from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com.

Unlike most of the series novels, this one does not start with a murder. Instead of that, an old acquaintance of Brunetti's mother comes to ask him for help with her daughter - the mother is concerned with what the son-in-law had said one day. Apparently it was a slow day/week for crime in Venice so he decides to help and even gets his usual collaborators (I mean favorite coworkers - Claudia, Vianello and Signorina Elettra) to help him. Before long a real crime is committed but things just do not add up - either in that crime or in the initial situation. So they keep digging... all the way down to the truth and its horror. If you thought that murder is the vilest crime, you may change your mind after this novel - humanity can be much show more more cruel than that.

It is a calm novel - Venice is still recovering from the pandemic, the tourists had not come back yet (which is both a relief and a concern for a city which relies on them) and the author chose to spend a lot more time in Brunetti's head than usual - we get details about his past (some we knew, some we did not from previous novels), we get his usual musings on the economy and Venice, we get more details than had become usual for the series about his family and their life. In a way, the book is too calm - it is not a thriller under any definition, it is barely a mystery. And yet, it works. I am not sure it can work as a standalone - most of the strong moments came from the connections to past novels and from knowing everyone. While the Brunetti novels can rarely work if you remove him and Venice, this one is especially impossible without them - even the crimes when they finally are revealed are Italian and Venetian and while not impossible elsewhere, won't work if removed to somewhere else. And their resolution needed the Brunetti style in more than one way - the imperfect Commissario who knows who he is and what he can (and cannot do) and who is first and foremost a Venetian.

A nice entry to a long running series - and now waiting on Leon to write the next one. Again. show less

Commissario Guido Brunetti agrees to do a favor for a former neighbor because her mother had been kind to his mother. Her daughter has confided in her that some unspecified danger threatens her husband and, by extension, herself. Her concern for her only child motivates her to seek out her old acquaintance in the Questura. Guido enlists the help of his colleagues Griffoni, Vianello, and Signorina Elettra to do some unofficial exploring. Their research soon leads them to a dodgy charity founded by the former neighbor’s husband. Will Guido and his colleagues finally pay the price for their off-the-books investigative methods?

I found this latest Brunetti novel less satisfactory than most of the series books that precede it. First of all, show more it’s not a homicide investigation. Secondly, Brunetti has had back-of-his-mind worries about his team’s unorthodox investigations throughout most of the series without these fears being realized, so why would it be any different this time? The tension feels exaggerated. The main thing this book accomplishes is to show that Brunetti is fallible, since he takes his old acquaintance’s story at face value and doesn’t suspect until very late that she’s been manipulating him all along. show less

Commissario Guido Brunetti is approached at work by a woman he had known as a youngster when their families were neighbours; the woman is concerned about her daughter, whose husband had been acting strangely and perhaps violently toward her, but she does not want a formal police investigation. Because the woman’s mother had been kind to his own mother decades ago, Brunetti agrees to look into the matter privately, although he brings in a few of his colleagues who can check certain things better than he alone could. As troubling information comes to light, Brunetti must decide how to handle the case while protecting himself and his colleagues from charges of illegally using police resources…. The thing about Donna Leon’s Brunetti show more books is not the particular case or cases he might be working on (although those are all fairly plotted and interesting), but rather the philosophical cast of mind of our main character, who reads classical Latin treatises for fun and whose depth and breadth of understanding of the inner workings for Venetian society is matched by his curiosity toward and caring for the human condition in all its vagaries and faults. “Give Unto Others” is the 31st book in this long-lived series, and we actually learn quite a bit about Brunetti’s past for once; I’m not sure I ever even knew he had a brother, for example! Very highly recommended - but really, start with “Death at La Fenice” and carry on through the series consecutively, it’s really the best way to approach this series. show less

When Commissario Guido Brunetti is contacted by his childhood neighbour, he is a bit perplexed and does not know what to do. Elisabetta Foscarini is worried about her daughter Flora. She does not provide any real details but Flora's husband Enrico Fenzo makes her feel uncomfortable. The accountant has helped her husband Bruno to set up a charity but then suddenly left the project to take care of other clients. Her feeling might stem from Fenzo's business contacts but she cannot really nail it down. Brunetti promises to look into the matter even though he is not convinced of any threat. Since life has become slow in Venice due to the pandemic, he and his team have got the time to investigate the matter. Just when the start digging, show more Flora's veterinary clinic is vandalised and some animals are seriously harmed. Soon after, clever Signorina Elettra finds some remarkable facts about "Belize nel Cuore", Bruno del Balzo's charity.

Not a classic murder investigation for the Venetian Commissario. However, Donna Leon cleverly integrated the pandemic into the plot which slowed down life in the Italian city due to the lack of tourists. Thus "Give Unto Others" differs quite from the other crime mysteries in the series but in my opinion, it is a lot more complex and interesting since it is not that obvious where the investigation will lead to and the characters, too, have a lot more depth.

What brings Elisabetta to Brunetti is quite vague at the beginning, neither does she really know where her uneasy feeling comes from nor does the detective know where exactly to start and to look. As it turns out, things are not what they seem and people have motives they successfully hide for a long time thus exploiting others reach their questionable aims.

Rapidly, the story develops into a financial crime novel which is complicated on the one hand, and, on the other, tells you a great deal not only about people but also about legislation. At the end, you have learnt a lot of things you actually did not really want to know and again, the thin line between legal and illegal reveals itself to be quite flexible depending on the point of view: what is morally questionable might be perfectly legal.

A thought provoking crime mystery that, again, I thoroughly enjoyed. show less

This latest in Leon's Brunetti series is current enough to take place during the covid pandemic, which of course is wreaking havoc on Venice tourism. Brunetti is contacted in confidence by a distant childhood friend who is vaguely concerned that her adult daughter has been placed in danger by her husband's actions. With little to go on, and working somewhat outside of normal channels, Brunetti and his staff uncover the clues and piece together the situation without much fanfare. As usual with Leon's mysteries, Venice plays a major part and sets a lovely stage for Brunetti's work.

Brunetti Does a Favour
Review of the Atlantic Monthly Press hardcover edition (March, 2022)

Give Unto Others starts with a simple premise. Commissario Brunetti is asked by a childhood acquaintance to look into the behaviour of her son-in-law, who is described as having said something to frighten her daughter. Brunetti takes it upon himself to make unofficial enquiries and enlists his most trusted allies: Inspector Claudia Griffoni, Sergeant Lorenzo Vianello and computer expert Signora Elettra Zorzi into the investigation. It is gradually revealed that there is indeed a crime behind the scenes, but that the reason for Brunetti being asked for a favour was more diabolical than initially thought.

See photograph at show more target="_top">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Veneto_Venezia4_tango7174.jp...
A panoramic view of the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice with the equestrian statue of mercenary Bartolomeo Colleoni on the extreme right. The history of the mercenary, the statue and the location are featured during "Give Unto Others." Image sourced from Wikipedia.

This was a comfortable return to Brunetti World with all of its regular touchstones. The outside world has moved on and there are references to a post-pandemic situation where some are reluctant to wear masks or are forgetful about it. Wife Paola is still teaching at the university and kids Chiara and Raffi are still in school (after 30 years!!). The timeless Brunetti household is an oasis from any turmoil of the outside world, where Brunetti can curl up with his favourite classical Roman or Greek literature and consult Paola for her opinion on his current case. It is a cozy world which is only occasionally interrupted by the criminal or ethical problems of those outside it.

Trivia and Links
Donna Leon discussed Give Unto Others in a March 12, 2022 online interview with the Poisoned Pen Bookstore which you can watch on YouTube here. The book is mis-titled in the video description as Give Unto Death.

There is a really fascinating interview with author Donna Leon at ItalianMysteries.Com even if it was done 18 years ago. She discusses all sorts of background to the books and characters and also gives the reason that she won't allow the books to be translated into Italian (and it wasn't because she feared criticism by her neighbours in Venice).

Give Unto Others as the 31st book of the Commissario Brunetti series is unlikely to be filmed, as the long running German TV series wrapped up after 26 films with the episode Stille Wasser (Quiet Waters) (2019) based on book #26 Earthly Remains (2017).

An English language summary of the German language Commissario Brunetti TV series (2000-2019) is available at Fictional Cities (Spoilers Obviously, although often the films differ from the books). As explained in the above interview, the TV-series was a German production as the books took off in popularity the most in the German speaking countries of Europe as Leon's publishing agent was Swiss-German and knew that market the best. show less