{"id":11779,"date":"2019-03-20T10:32:46","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T14:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11779"},"modified":"2021-06-07T21:23:27","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T01:23:27","slug":"unto-us-a-son-is-given","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11779","title":{"rendered":"Unto Us a Son Is Given"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unto Us a Son Is Given<\/a><\/em> (2019) Donna Leon<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Brunetti’s father-in-law is worried about a friend, and asks Guido to see if his concerns are justified.<\/p>\n

\u2018Gonzalo\u2019s my best friend. We were at boarding school together.\u2019 He looked across at Brunetti and said, unable to restrain his surprise, \u2018My God, it was more than sixty years ago.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The issue is that inheritance in laws in Italy.<\/p>\n

\u2018As you know, the law decides where most of his estate will go, regardless of his wishes.\u2019 Before Brunetti could summon to mind the relevant law, il Conte went on. \u2018It stays in the family, goes to his siblings, no matter how he might feel about them, no matter what sort of Philistines they might be.\u2019 So neutral was il Conte\u2019s tone that he might as well have been reading the recipe for plum cake. Then, in the same calm tone, he remarked, \u2018I suspect it\u2019s a law made for the convenience of the rich.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The problem is that it’s more confusing than just the inheritance laws.<\/p>\n

Brunetti thought about how taking a look at one\u2019s unconscious motives and prejudices was like walking barefoot in cloudy water: you never knew whether you were going to step on something disgusting or bang your toe into a rock.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll be honest, it took me a bit to really understand they whys of the murder that happens. We get a lot of excerpts from letters and emails, but they never really made sense to me in the context of why they make Brunetti so unhappy.<\/p>\n

The murder itself made sense, after the inheritance laws were repeated several times, but I didn’t see the motive Brunetti did in the exchanges.<\/p>\n

But still, I do love Brunetti.<\/p>\n

Brunetti started to get up, and his copy of The Trojan Women fell from the sofa to the floor. He bent and picked it up, saying, \u2018I finished it.\u2019 Then, almost sulking, \u2018Now I don\u2019t have anything to read.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Paola smiled up at him. \u2018You\u2019ve got three long shelves in my study, Guido. Surely there\u2019s something to read there.\u2019 <\/p>\n

He nodded. \u2018I know. It\u2019s really that I don\u2019t know what I want to read.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This was a so-so Brunetti mystery. It checked off all the boxes: Vianello, Elettra, Paola, food, Italian politics and law. But it didn’t have the same pull other books in the series did.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed it, but not as much as previous stories.
\nPublisher: Atlantic Monthly Press <\/p>\n

Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unto Us a Son Is Given (2019) Donna Leon Brunetti’s father-in-law is worried about a friend, and asks Guido to see if his concerns are justified. \u2018Gonzalo\u2019s my best friend. We were at boarding school together.\u2019 He looked across at Brunetti and said, unable to restrain his surprise, \u2018My God, it was more than sixty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[193,8,42],"tags":[97,96],"class_list":["post-11779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-10","category-mystery","category-police","tag-commissario-guido-brunetti","tag-donna-leon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-33Z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":588,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/588","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":0},"title":"Quietly in Their Sleep","author":"Michelle","date":"June 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Quietly in Their Sleep (1997) Donna Leon This was a rather strange story in comparison to the previous books. Brunetti is given only a vague idea that there might be something untoward happening in a nursing home--a home that is run by the same man as the home in which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Quietly-in-Their-Sleep.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20171,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20171","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":1},"title":"Give Unto Others","author":"Michelle","date":"August 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Give Unto Others (2022) Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti) This is the 31st Brunetti book. It seems weird this series has been running for 30 years. Partially because at some point she stopped aging Brunetti and his family, so his eldest has been on the cusp of adulthood for more than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Give-Unto-Others.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5500,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5500","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":2},"title":"About Face","author":"Michelle","date":"November 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"About Face (2009) Donna Leon I clearly remembered parts of this book, which meant I wanted to re-read it. Guido and Paola are invited to a dinner at her parents', and Guido meets a woman who captivates his attention. 'I beg your pardon.' Brunetti answered, stalling. 'You beg my pardon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/About-Face-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1307,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1307","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":3},"title":"The Girl of His Dreams","author":"Michelle","date":"August 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Girl of His Dreams (2008) Donna Leon This has all of the elements I've come to expect of a Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery--death, intrigue, good food, and corrupt Italian politics. This is not to say she presents all Italians as corrupt, after all we have Brunetti and Vianello on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Girl-of-His-Dreams.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5729,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5729","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":4},"title":"The Waters of Eternal Youth","author":"Michelle","date":"March 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Waters of Eternal Youth (2016) Donna Leon This is the 25th book in the Guido Brunetti series, which shouldn't surprise me, yet somehow does. Brunetti remains as astute as ever, with many sharp little comments on life. Contessa Lando-Continui had always been polite to him, at times even warm,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"The-Waters-of-Eternal-Youth","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Waters-of-Eternal-Youth.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2016,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2016","url_meta":{"origin":11779,"position":5},"title":"About Face","author":"Michelle","date":"October 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"About Face (2009) Donna Leon Brunetti and Paola are invited to a formal dinner at her parent's house. During the dinner, Brunetti is seated across from an arresting woman--her facial features are frozen--rumor says through too much plastic surgery. Brunetti is unsure how to take this woman, but when she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/About-Face-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}