The Girl of His Dreams Book

Fini! This completes my final read for the Leon Brunetti series, although I've read them quite out of order. This is #17 and very far from the most lighthearted at any point in the series of 25 books (so far- 2016).

This could be a tedious reaction and overlong. So I will refrain from all the particulars I might mention. Suffice it to say that Paola's pessimistic, fatalistic dissing, sneering snark and venting sarcasm reigns high and becomes core to at least a third of this book. And the "case" that Guido investigates does not even begin to raise its occurrence until well past page 100.

It starts with Guido's mother's funeral and the usual Brunetti observation of Catholic ritual without an ounce of religious interpretation or belief of any sense in the spiritual partaking of the ceremony. Such straight arrows they! Rather as in the mode of similarity to Chiara's going to Confession tale in one of the other books. In fact Leon uses the same confession story for Guido's 12 year old tale that she used for Chiara's hear-say for her friend's Confession. But you know, they are all the same anyway, right? Untrustworthy at the least. But that is a mere 8 pages or so for all the Brunetti's (Sergio's family too) grief- because the priest who is officiating becomes a character who has something to ask of Guido quite soon after the fact of his duties.

This case is about the Rom. It concerns immigrants and nomads of all types and the Italian response to stealing, cheating in charity schemes, cultural differences for their values, and crimes against property gone endemic. It made me truly wonder how they (Northerner Italians)feel right now in 2016 when I just heard today that 142,000 more non-Italians have arrived within Sicily alone, mainly from 4 countries in North and NE Africa in just the last few years. Maybe Palermitani aren't so bad after all, huh!

So glad I didn't read this one at the beginning- within the first 5 or 10 books I read, because I don't think I would have finished all of them if I had. At one point Guido reacts to a parable Paola relates from the New Testament by saying to himself. "She'll read anything." And in this one, IMHO, Donna Leon's hater skills become just as embedded within Guido as in Paola's more vocal displays. And he has the nerve to act scandalized by Vianello's more guarded and honest opinions!

There are some long, long passages that have nothing to do with the plot or family life, IMHO- but are merely situational descriptive parlays for coring 4 or 5 page preaching philosophy treatise material of superiority. And Americans with their "feelings" and "awareness" as answers to problems that require specific and quick action instead of emotion; that soliloquy did actually make me laugh. She detests in several different directions and entire countries are never left out.

But it is Spring and gelato is back and fresh- and the spinach risotto and shrimp go well with the prosecco and a grappa to finish. And our poor girl's family gets a new car. And the favors are all returned. Elettra even has a new slim black computer and keyboard you can barely see. Not my favorite, but I can see why others may 5 star this one. It's murky, but contains pithy masses of floating meat within that murk. And some methods by under characters are fully explained by themselves in words or in motions to the oversee context- so this one grabs crux to intents and to goals for all the books (Elettra's being that Patta should never trust her completely- because then he would not be afraid of separating her job from his circle.)

At the end I am going to list a couple of themes, thoughts, situations Leon repeats in numerous different novels of varying case or seriousness thought tracts during this series. One is the San Marco constant rehabbing project with the multitudes of scaffolding. Another is the methods used or jobs given to Alvise to get him out of everybody's hair because he is so stupid and ineffective (of course he gets promoted and ends up holding/heading an entire office of "Multi-cultural Appreciation") and another is the interplay between Chiara and her father, usually at meals or when he asks her to do a task. That last is delightful and has facets that are truly interesting. But Guido falls several times into the easy, yet dangerous, method of using her as a spy to know more about the habits of the "young" people. Raffi- we never, ever get that depth for him at all, IMHO. Only his appetite is fully disclosed. For both food and Sara. I wonder if Leon knows next to nothing about teenage boys?

If you only read one, read Beastly Things.