The Golden Egg

The Golden Egg (2013) Donna Leon

This mystery is good, but the resolution is so awful, it makes me dislike the whole book.

This, I think, sums up what I found so awful (don’t worry, not a spoiler):

‘I wonder if it’s possible that he got to the point where his life was so bad, he couldn’t stand it any more?’
Brunetti thought about this and said, ‘He’d have to know it was bad, wouldn’t he?’
She turned her head to him sharply, mouth open. But before she could ask him what he meant, Brunetti saw her hear her own question and begin to consider it. Finally she said, ‘Of course. If that’s the only life he knew, then it was just that: life. Something worse would have to have happened, I suppose.’

That’s heartbreaking.

As usual, there are the comments about Italy:

‘He also has a job as a regional counsellor.’
‘Doing what?’ Brunetti asked, then, remembering that he was talking about a political position, changed it to, ‘Meant to be doing what?’

But there remain comments that I still should remember.

Brunetti was about to snap back at him when he recalled the mantra Paola had been beating into his head for two decades: ‘This is the only power this man has, and it is the only power he will ever have in his life. Either you show him that you respect it, or he will cause you more trouble than it’s worth.’

Funny that Paola would be the one to recognize that.

I’ll skip the rating on this, because I can’t separate the feelings the story evoked from the writing.

Published by Atlantic Monthly Press

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