Donna Leon - Suffer the Little Children (2007)
Reviewed by Fiona Walker
As John Peel said of The Fall, "always different, always the same";
it's a sentiment that could equally apply to the Venetian novels of Donna Leon.
Always different in the plots, the players, themes, always the same in terms of
wonderful style, rigid social engagement and interrogation, and Guido Brunetti
and his family. These elements don't really vary from book-to-book: Leon's
style, her intense interest in the social issues effecting her fair city, and
the comforting presence of Brunetti and his warm, reassuring family. That's why
so many people are drawn back novel after novel, thanks to these reliable
elements. And it's no different here. All these things are present, correct, and
as attractive as ever. They make every Leon novel a guaranteed pleasure.
However, it's the differences that add the spice and flavor of each novel, that
stand them off in competition with one another, and that make Suffer the
Little Children one of the strongest entries in the series, certainly the
best since the career highlights that were Uniform Justice and Doctored
Evidence.
Three Carabinieri officers burst into the apartment of a local Venetian
pediatrician and his wife. After trying to defend his family, the doctor is left
in hospital, and one of the officers is the victim of "assault." Their 18-month
old son is taken. Brunetti is summoned to the hospital in the aftermath to try
and find out what's gone on, what motivated such a violent reaction from the
military police? Why was their son taken? This initial event will set Brunetti
into a practical and moral maze of police work involving illegal adoption,
infertility clinics, desperate parents, fraudulent pharmacists and nefarious
moralizing doctors. And, as always in Leon's Venice, the long influential arms
of those who wield the real power.
If there is any crime-writer alive guaranteed to provide a complex moral or
social issue to mull over, it is Donna Leon. Past novels have taken a
beating-stick to the military, conflict diamonds, lagoon pollution, and this
16th novel takes a long hard uncomfortable look at unwanted children and illegal
adoption. Better that babies go to loving homes rather than stay with parents
who don't want them and would (and do) sell them for paltry sums? Better to
stick to the law rather than set a precedent? Better to remove these illegal
children to orphanages? As always, no answers are provided (though Leon's
politics and probable views aren't exactly difficult to work out), but much for
food thought is given. As intelligent social and moral tracts, they're almost
unrivalled.
It's hard to describe what is so attractive and engaging about Leon's novels,
and it's all the hard with this one for some reason. They're just immensely
readable at the same time as being immensely... "important" sounds too
pretentious, but that's essentially what I mean. They're readable but there's
also a deep seriousness and darkness to them, like the dark murky waters of the
Laguna. It's sometimes a shame that Leon isn't a little more ambitious with her
series, considering what she can do when viewing it (as she does) as merely an
easy hobby! Given that she seems to view her novel writing almost as just a
pleasant distraction, it seems to allow her a freeness with the form, and,
though not exactly "ambitious" she displays an incredibly admirable and
liberating willingness to disregard conventions of the genre to very good
effect, and she partly does that here. It's almost like a crime novel in reverse
in some respects, in that the burst of violence comes at the end.
Suffer the Little Children is, in a way, an examination of the
build-up to a crime. It's also admirable in that there is no murder. How odd,
for a crime novel! No murder, but still a deeply unsettling crime (the traffic
of children). It's a good lesson, to other crime-writers. The power of these
very real issues is quite enough to drive an engaging novel and fill it with
suspense. The puzzle doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of a dead
body.
Suffer the Little Children is the 16th book in the series, and one of the
best. It's a supremely refreshing read, and, despite the comforts of its humane
protagonist, a nicely unconventional and challenging crime novel. I recommend it
to all (though it is probably not the best to start with). The final 20 or so
pages are completely brilliant. But then, Leon has always been wonderful at
messy endings. Do read her.
Posted by Fiona Walker in Book Reviews | Permalink
