Give Unto Others (A Commissario Brunetti Mystery)

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As always, Brunetti is highly attuned to (and sympathetic toward) the failings of the humans around him.”— Seattle Times One of the most popular crime series worldwide . . . While the Brunetti books, with their abundance of local color and gastronomic treats, appeal to the fans of the traditional mystery, Leon has something darker and deeper in mind.”— Life Sentence Terrific at providing, through its weary but engaging protagonist, a strong sense of the moral quandaries inherent in Italian society and culture.”— San Francisco Chronicle

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. You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts, The second part of the verse is problematic. It most likely means that if one fails the test of loving a visible brother, such a one makes it certain that he or she does not love the invisible God; this proves that such a person has no true love at all.

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Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye give to others, it shall be measured to you again. I’ve been following Brunetti for over twenty years (this is book number 31) and whenever I sit down with the latest episode I feel that I’m reacquainting myself with a group of old friends: Guido, his wife Paola and their children and also Brunetti’s colleagues at the Questura. The crime itself – if you can actually identify one – is often inconsequential to my enjoyment of these books, what I most enjoy is the verbal jousting that takes place between the various players and the frequent tangential musings on art, food, literature and history, or simply on the overt bureaucracy that is an inescapable component of life in this country. If this makes the books sound somewhat muddled or confused then I can only assure you that they don’t read this way. And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. I did finish the book, with a little skimming, but I found it a disappointent. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great either, I’m afraid.

But Brunetti also decides to look into a charity that Enrico helped his father-in-law set up pro-bono, something that seems to have potential when his colleague Ispettore Lorenzo Vianello explains how little official oversight there appears to be on these entities. Of particular interest are the two other principals of the charity.Donna Leon is the undisputed crime fiction queen . . . Leon’s ability to capture the social scene and internal politics [of Venice] is first-rate.”— Baltimore Sun Strong's 488: To measure in return, give equivalent measure. From anti and metreo; to mete in return. The sophisticated but still moral Brunetti, with his love of food and his loving family, proves a worthy custodian of timeless values and verities.”— Wall Street Journal

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” 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). I had started listening to the audiobook on Thursday, then on Friday I had a free evening, so I decided to go on listening through my activities, enjoying a quiet night in. I listened for hours remaining engaged the entire time. I appreciate how Donna Leon skillfully builds the story slowly, adding new characters and laying out the state of play. You become so wrapped up in these compelling characters . . . Each one is better than the last.”—Louise Erdrich, PBS NewsHourAlthough many believe Jesus coined the phrase in his Sermon on the Mount, this isn’t true. Confucius and Epicurus who lived before Jesus, had a similar version of this rule. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus said repeatedly “ You have heard that it was said…but I tell you.” Jesus wasn’t correcting the law; He was illuminating the Spirit of the law—the life and meaning behind it. Give Unto Others is the thirty-first book in the Commissario Brunetti series by award-winning American-born author, Donna Leon. Venice, in the pandemic’s tail end, and the Questura is not overrun with criminal cases, so Brunetti agrees to look into a private matter, off the books, for a former neighbour.

Brunetti ultimately realizes that because Elisabetta’s request was “clothed in the trappings of old friendship” (p. 247), he behaved in ways contrary to his instinct and his training. What is the turning point in his approach to the puzzle that Elisabetta’s visit sets into motion? How do his brother’s recollections of their childhood help refocus the issue for Brunetti? The true victim of the crime at the center of this book is trust—in those we love and in ourselves as well . . . Even as an entry in such an idiosyncratic (and appealing) series, this case is one of the most personal our protagonist – a thoughtful, compassionate man – has faced. Fraud, and the lax Italian laws that accommodate it, may be at the center of this narrative, but the issues at its heart are human rather than legal: loss, aging, and the ways in which time plays on our character, for good or ill.”— Arts Fuse What he discovers shows the Janus-faced nature of yet another Italian institution as well as the wobbly line that attempts to differentiate between the criminal and the non-criminal.When reading a Brunetti novel, you expect to get more than just the story with which to immerse yourself. There are the sights, sounds and foods of Venice and the surrounding area. There is also Brunetti’s family: his wife Paola, an academic, and their two college-age children. One night at dinner, Chiara asks for her father’s help with an assignment --- they are to choose their favorite Greek play and scene. For Brunetti, it’s “Oresteia” and Clytemnestra’s first speech. When she asks why, he says, “Because she is so much stronger than I am.” Weather and tides and looting by “baby gangs” require a bit of real police work, but then the vandalism of Flora’s veterinary clinic on Murano, which might be linked to their enquiries, gives their work official standing. What they ultimately uncover presents them with a dilemma, which is then taken out of their hands by others. But the deeper truth, when Brunetti uncovers it, admonishes him for forgetting to be a policeman when he most needed to.