Our weekly reviews of the latest books from home and abroad.
Readers of Donna Leon's
crime novels set in Venice are well-acquainted with her
depiction of justice in that city, which hinges on the wealth
and position of the accused and his or her family.
This is certainly the case in her latest work Girl of his
Dreams (William Heinemann, pbk, $37).
Commissario Brunetti has been investigating a supposed scam
involving a small new-age church group when his attention is
diverted by the discovery of a dead young girl in the Grand
Canal.
No child has been reported missing and there is no
identification on the body.
Brunetti and his team slowly winkle out a Gypsy family and
the circumstances which led to their child being involved in
crime as a means to make a living, but the reason for her
murder is not easily understood.
The perpetrator and his family connections are finally
discovered and Brunetti realises, yet again, that justice for
the victim will never be achieved.
It is an engrossing, if somewhat depressing, read. - Helen
Adams
Hamish Beaton's
Under the Osakan Sun (Awa Press, pbk, $34.99), is one
of the funniest books I have read in a long time.
As a young New Zealander with a good command of the Japanese
language, Beaton set off for the Land of the Rising Sun to
work as an English teacher in the government-sponsored Japan
English Training programme.
His reminiscences of the three years he spent in Japan plumb
the depths of the enigmatic Japanese psyche, somewhat
puzzling to an Antipodean initially ignorant of what makes
these invariably hospitable people tick.
His descriptions of the various diverse personalities with
whom he rubs shoulders are often quite hilarious.
Especially so are his portrayals of the extravagant drinking
habits of some Japanese men, all too ready to let down their
hair.
Beaton's account of both the action-packed and sometimes
desultory three years he spent in Japan is rather too long
and somewhat repetitive.
But his is an engagingly easy style, and the book is very
good fun. - Clarke Isaacs
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.