A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon: A review

This one was perfect. It was my comfort read and it provided everything that I needed just when I needed it. Visits with Commissario Brunetti and his families - both his own and his work family - are like that, but this one was even better than most.

It begins on the island of Pellestrina on the Venetian lagoon. Two clam fishermen, a father and son, have been found murdered on their fishing boat. The older man's head had been caved in by a couple of brutal blows and the younger had been knifed in the stomach and bled to death. But that wasn't the end of it. In the middle of the night, the community was awakened by a loud boom as the boat's gas tank exploded and enveloped it in flames. The flames spread to the boats moored on either side and things looked very dicey for a while until the other fishermen managed to get things under control and extinguish the conflagration. When the neighbors finally realized that the owners of the burnt boat were missing, someone thought to dive and look into the cabin of the damaged boat and the bodies were found.

Of course, no one immediately called the police. Calling the police is not something that is routinely done on Pellestrina. At least they brought the bodies out because the crabs had already gone to work on them. Eventually, someone does notify the police and Brunetti and his sergeant, Vianello, head out to investigate. And thus begins their adventure.

This adventure will also directly involve the wonderful Signorina Elletra, super-secretary, who takes on the mantle of an undercover agent to try to break the wall of silence from the villagers about the murders and the men who were murdered. Elletra had relatives on and ties to Pellestrina where she often spends summer vacations and she volunteered her services. Brunetti tried to dissuade her, but she is effectively her own boss.

All of this culminates in a horrendous storm on the Adriatic where boats are tossed about like matchsticks and for a while, it seems like this may be the last adventure of Commissario Brunetti. He survives, but sadly, one of the recurring characters readers have come to care about does not. Sigh.

Nevertheless, all of that is in service of the plot and it is a very good, well-executed plot. The action is crisp, the likable characters are really likable, and the hatable characters are deliciously hatable. Really, what more can one ask of the mystery genre?

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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