Thumbs Up Tuesdays Three

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books, Donna Leon, favorite books, Guido Brunetti, Italy, mystery, series, Venice, writing

Since we went to Italy in 2011, I’ve continued studying and learning more about this wonderful country. Each of its 20 different regions boast its own heritage and culinary traditions, but my favorite by far was Veneto, home to Venice.

Canals wind through 118 small islands, connected by bridges, creating a sense of intrigue and possibility. Mystery writer Donna Leon lives here, and her “Commissario Guido Brunetti” series is a well-written doorway into Venetian life and habits. This series is my recommendation for Thumbs Up Tuesdays Three.

Our trip to Venice, Italy

Starting in 1992 with Death at La Fenice, Leon has written a total of 24 Brunetti mysteries, with the most recent, Falling in Love, due to be released in 2015.

I’ve been asked which Leon title is my favorite, and the answer is easy: all of them.

Don’t expect extreme action scenes or anything racy; rather, Leon gives a low-key series, written well, with a main character who progresses thoughtfully. Rarely does Brunetti treat anyone rudely; unless their behavior is beneath contempt, he displays remarkable self-control, especially in dealing with his arrogant boss, Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta.

Beneath that exterior, he’s wily, willful, intelligent, and entirely likable – there are times when I want Brunetti to act obstinately, and Leon has him do this in a way that leaves me feeling vindicated for his sake.

Brunetti’s wife, Paola, provides another foil – outspoken, intelligent, and opinionated, she regularly voices her thoughts to Brunetti on politics, Patta, and her parents. Brunetti manages to listen, placate when necessary, and ignore her if he must.

Interestingly, not every story provides the cut-and-dried sense of justice that we Americans have come to expect in our mysteries. Sometimes “justice” simply withers away, and Brunetti is left with a sense that this particular mystery isn’t going to be solved the way he thought it would.

When Leon was asked about this, she said people in Italy have “no illusions” about justice. “They know all politicians are corrupt, they know that all institutions are corrupt, and they never pretend that they are anything but that. I find that very refreshing.”

And you don’t have to read the series in order – pick up Death at La Fenice and watch Leon excavate revenge with Venetian subtlety; turn the pages of Dressed for Death and see Brunetti’s humanity come through in the face of senseless violence.

If you’ve already read any of Leon’s books, share your opinion below – I’d love to hear what you think!

 

 

The Power of Words

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Arabic, blessing, Egypt, Greece, history, Italy, language, power of words, travel, traveling, words, writing

Think about the last time words moved you. A quote that had you reaching for pen and paper; wedding vows that made your heart stop, or a speech that rocked you to greater goals.

In September, 2011, we took a trip to Italy and Greece. Many moments there were powerful in their own right – treading the same stones that Julius Caesar had at the Roman Forum? Hard to wrap my mind around. Dining in the shadow of the Colosseum? Everything tasted better with such a spectacular view!

Our view of Athens from the Acropolis

And walking between the immense columns of the Parthenon, staring out over the rooftops of Athens left me silent. Do modern-day Athenians take this view for granted? Forget that one of the world’s most iconic images looms above, day after day, watching?

One of the most powerful moments came on the last day of the trip. We woke, excited to be finally heading home, but torn by the the whisper of unrealized opportunities: new foods to try, side streets to explore and the endless, thrilling possibilities of just one more day in a foreign country.

In a room overlooking the Aegean Sea, we gathered to say goodbye to our traveling companions, scattering across the world to homes in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the United States. In the middle of goodbyes, the lady from Egypt stopped me.

Until now, we hadn’t exchanged much more than pleasantries, but I had seen her kindness to others: a woman from California lacked the necessary shoulder covering to enter The Vatican, so the Egyptian lady loaned her a beautiful scarf; she ate meals with different people and carried on friendly conversations with each person.

Aegean Sea on our last day in Greece

But now it was my turn. She grabbed my hands and started speaking in what I assumed was Arabic. She knew English – I heard her accented English many times on our trip – but for some reason, she spoke to me now in Arabic.

As I stood there, holding her hands, feeling the power of her words, a sudden comprehension flooded me with the knowledge that this was a blessing. I felt the power of that blessing reach across cultures, languages, and generations, straight from her heart and through my hands.

She finished, smiled, and walked back to her husband. I opened my mouth to call her back, to ask her to repeat the words in English, but I stopped.

The language didn’t matter; the power of her words did.

When have words changed you? Left you a little bit different than you were before you heard them?

Weird Word Wednesday!

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Barney, editing, Florence, funny, humor, Italy, proofreading, semiopathy, sign, signs, Wednesday, weird, words, writer

Wednesdays carry so much promise in our work-related culture. They’re symbolic of making it halfway through the workweek, of climbing that mountain to the peak and glimpsing Friday, glittering like a jewel only a few days away.

Humor certainly helps, and today’s weird word is a fun one. It’s semiopathy and although it’s vaguely medical-sounding, it really has nothing to do with that field. Semiopathy is the tendency to read humorously inappropriate meanings into signs.  Plain old signs like the kind that fill our world with instructions and information, not portents or omens or the doom-inducing kinds of signs. 

Take the one to the left. Semiopathy suggests that if the poor kid is ready to snap, if he’s reached critical mass after watching one too many episodes of “Barney and Friends” he can toddle over to aisle four to find some relief. Probably not what the sign’s creator had in mind, but it’s amusing nonetheless.

How about this one? Semiopathy has me imagining ladies in high heels and men wearing slick-bottomed dress shoes, all in a tangled heap at the bottom of the ramp because they didn’t “slip carefully,” while those who mastered the skill continue on to work, minus the embarrassing mishaps, scoffing slightly at their fallen comrades.

When we were in Italy last year, we stopped in Florence. It’s a wonderful city, full of rich history, absolutely beautiful architecture, great food…and one strange sign. This one popped up all over the place, and we were at a loss to figure out what it meant. No carrying heavy bars across the street? No lugging long suitcases along the sidewalk? We finally asked someone, who smiled in a very understanding fashion, like she’d been asked that many times before. She said it meant, simply, “no crossing the street at that point.” Hmmmm….I’m still not sure about this one.

So – semiopathy is the tendency of reading humorously inappropriate meanings into signs. We see them randomly, and like a small ray of sunshine and Weird Word Wednesday, they brighten our day in unexpected ways. This last sign really has no semiopathic meaning, but I share it because it’s a hoot anyhow. Have a great week!