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Summary: A really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next!
Review: A clever book with some really interesting and even vile characters, this story is one you'll long remember, especially if you're a coffee junkie like me. Books and coffee-that's all I need! Jokes aside, this is a truly remarkable book in that it is entertaining and informative, though, on the down side the dialogue was a little forced. But I did learn a lot neat things like smoking prevents the plague! Now if you're looking for a few other interesting titles that will keep you glued to your seat look no further than these, Buckland's Hot List: most creative, The Butterfly: A Fable (Singh); most engaging, The Alchemist (Coelho); most interesting, Life of Pi (Martel); most enlightening, 9-11 (Chomsky); most thrilling, The Lovely Bones: A Novel (Sebold); and finally, the most creative, engaging, interesting, enlightening and thrilling book of all, The Little Prince (Saint-Exupery). These are the books I'd recommend to my family, friends, students, and wife. There are many more, trust me, but these are the first that come to mind (for having left an impact slight or proud as it may be). If you have any questions, queries, or comments, or maybe even a title you think I should add to my list, please feel free to e-mail me. I'm always open to a good recommendation. Thanks for reading my brief but hopefully helpful review. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland
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Summary: Another Great Historical Novel from David Liss
Review: I was elated that David Liss' new book was finally available. I very much admired his earlier book "A Conspiracy of Paper" and have been doing a major "word of mouth" on that first book among my circle of acquaintances (who have also enjoyed it). I am so impressed with the research that Liss evidently must do to create the elaborate plots and detail he conveys --you truly can feel (and smell) 17th century Amsterdam. However, I did feel that the plot, or rather the complexity of the stock transactions were at times a bit too convuluted but overall it is a wonderful and fascinating read. Highly recommend this book if you have an interest in history and financial matters.
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Summary: Over rated novel of Jews in Amsterdam of 1659
Review: The author does a wonderful job evoking the setting of Amsterdam in 1659. Miguel Lienzo, a Portugese Jew and trader on the commodities exchange, has entered into a partnership with Gertuid, a widowed Dutchwoman. They are set to corner the market on coffee, which is just becoming known as a drink to evoke the mind, rather than dull it the way alcholic beverages do.It is a novel of repressed longing, misdeeds and the Jewish community of Amsterdam. The protagonist is haunted by his past and is harassed by the "parnass" of his synagogue. Amazingly little to do with coffee, and mostly to do with Jewish persecution within it's own community. Not as good as the author's first novel, and much over rated.
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Summary: Adventures in commodities
Review: A "Secret Jew" from Portugal, his skills in deception honed by fear of the Inquisition, Miguel Lienzo revels in his new freedom to worship and do business in 1659's tolerant, Protestant Amsterdam. Though he ascended headily from penniless refugee to cocky and successful broker in the world's first commodities exchange, a dip in the market and a few mistakes have brought him just as quickly to the edge of ruin. "How long, he wondered, until his wide and boyish face turned pinched? How long until his eyes lost the eager sparkle of a merchant and took on the desperate, hollow gaze of a gambler?" Liss' adroit and energetic second novel, more intricate and less swashbuckling than his acclaimed (and Edgar-winning) first, "A Conspiracy of Paper," again finds excitement, suspense, duplicity and romance in the arcane world of finance and the precarious community of Jews among Gentiles. Where the protagonist of "Conspiracy" was a 17th century London thief-taker and brawler, purposely estranged from his family and heritage, Lienzo is devout and ambitious to secure himself a prominent position in Amsterdam's strict Jewish community. He wants nothing more than to prosper, read Torah, and establish a family. As the novel opens, however, over a bowl of dark, murky, uninviting liquid, foisted on him by a wily Dutch widow, Lienzo's goals are receding. Reduced by debt to a room in the basement of his dour brother's house, he has also made himself a powerful enemy, a trader with a disappointed daughter and an influential position on the Ma'amad, the rule-making body of Amsterdam's Jews. The Jews may be free in Amsterdam - but not if they want to remain Jews. The Ma'amud imposes strict rules of conduct, including many restrictions on fraternizing with Gentiles in personal and business life. Offenders risk ex-communication. And there's another enemy, less powerful, but less predictable too - a Gentile whose money Lienzo lost along with his own - a man who seems to be losing his mind along with his respectability and who dogs the trader in the streets and sends him threatening letters demanding his money back. But as the sexy widow urges Lienzo to sample the repellant brew and join her in a partnership to promote it, she describes its enticements. " 'You take it not to delight the senses, but to awaken the intellect,' " she tells him. " 'Beer and wine may make a man amorous, but coffee will make him lose interest in the flesh. The man who drinks coffee fruit cares only for his business.' She paused for another sip. 'Coffee is the drink of commerce.' " As the coffee inflames his blood, it fires his imagination. Lienzo pictures himself rich beyond his dreams. He devises a scheme which dazzles him with its brilliance and beautiful intricacy. All it requires is secrecy and money. Money he can get from the widow, though she's reluctant to say where it comes from and cannot be believed when she does. And secrecy - it's the lifeblood of the exchange, and traded about as freely as everything else. But Lienzo has faith in his ability to hoard his own secrets while sniffing out others'. Meanwhile, his brother's unhappy wife has discovered Lienzo's stash of coffee and become a fiend for the berries, which she crunches throughout the day until, almost on a whim, Lienzo introduces her to the brewed version. The attraction between them, long smothered, smolders ever hotter over copious bowls of coffee. Plots and counterplots, intrigues, lies and disbelieved truths tangle with unforseen events. Guessing, scheming, second guessing, Lienzo nimbly remains a step ahead of his enemies. But who, exactly, are his enemies? What is the mysterious widow up to? And what about the money lender, whose own first-person narration interjects the advantage of hindsight - as well as another plotter's point of view. There's none so easy to deceive as a deceiver and no easier form of deception than self deception. Liss brings his plot to a rousing, suspense-filled climax, but saves his best twists and secrets for the denouement. In a beautifully written, intricately constructed story, Liss transports the reader into a little known period and community. His psychological insights ring delightfully true and Lienzo, with all his faults and hubris, is engagingly sympathetic. Liss has another winner.
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Summary: Liss has created a masterpiece with this incredible saga!
Review: If Starbucks Coffee was smart, they'd start selling David Liss's new novel THE COFFEE TRADER right alongside all their other caffeinated laced beverages. After winning the 2000 Edgar Award for Best First Novel for A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER, Liss has created another masterpiece relating to the historical fiction genre. His second novel takes place in 17th-century Amsterdam in 1659 during the Golden Age. The book's main character is a Portuguese Jew named Miguel Lienzo, who has recently lost a bundle after the sugar market crash and is now trying to resurrect himself by searching for investors who would consider a new product called "coffee". Broke and busted, Miguel must take shelter in the basement of his brother's house. Daniel, who also works at the booming commodities exchange, tells his brother not to waste his time vying for a lucrative fortune in the coffee trade. But after learning about the possible financial windfall from the provocative Dutchwoman Geertrud Damhuis, Miguel is utterly convinced that coffee will become a worthwhile investment. However, being Jewish in Amsterdam during the Golden Age was extremely difficult for any promising entrepreneur. For instance, Miguel must be careful not to scorn the Ma'amad, the restrictive and mysterious governing body of the Jewish community. He must also be wary not to conduct business with anyone who is not Jewish, something extremely forbidden during the mid-1650s. Miguel also has to deal with his bothersome brother Daniel and his mousy wife Hannah, who seems to be falling in love with Miguel. On top of that, he has to deal with Hendrick, a man seething with anti-Semitism and a close associate to his business partner, Geertrud. Throughout the book, Hendrick refers to Miguel as "Jew Man." During the course of close to 400 pages, I couldn't read THE COFFEE TRADER without either sitting in the kitchen of my apartment and brewing a pot of the luscious black beverage or venturing out to my local Starbucks and ordering a grande Sumatra with room for milk. Even from the opening pages of the novel, Miguel is sitting with Geertrud and she is introducing him to the wonders of coffee. This is where Liss's work truly shines. He does a magnificent job conveying to his audience the allure of coffee and its magical ability to induce mental awareness and intellectual prowess. Not only is this wonderful novel chock full of suspense, intrigue and a touch of romance, it's also extremely funny at times. For instance, when Daniel's wife, Hannah, who is obviously smitten with Miguel, raids his stash of coffee beans instead of attempting to brew them in a conventional fashion, she chomps on the beans and finds them to be utterly exquisite. Yuck! Liss also completed exhaustive research before sitting down to write THE COFFEE TRADER, which took a year and a half to finish. At the end of the book, after his Historical Note, is a lengthy Works Consulted section with over 30 books Liss read in order to set the proper tone for this historical piece of fiction. What's most fascinating about Liss's work is his incredible ability to transport the reader back in time. His ability to handle the nuisances of everyday life in Amsterdam over 344 years ago is utterly amazing. Liss paints an incredible landscape in detailing the rising commodities exchange in Amsterdam at that time. He also does an excellent job describing the seediness of pub life and how schemers would spread rumors about ships being looted by pirates in order to decrease the worth of cargo expected to arrive in the nearby docks. It gets to the point where Miguel doesn't exactly know who to trust and, in some ways, THE COFFEE TRADER emulates the risks that investors take today in dealing with high finance. If you are a coffee fanatic like myself, then by all means go out and get yourself a copy of THE COFFEE TRADER, head to your nearest coffee shop and hunker down with this incredible saga. --- Reviewed by David Exum
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Summary: Before Starbucks there was...
Review: The Coffee Trader immediately engages the reader in a vibrant world of intrigue and high-stakes speculation in an unlikely but wonderfully exotic setting-- Amsterdam in the middle of the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. It is a story of loyality vs. betrayal, honesty vs. duplicity, familial battles and unpredictable alliiances. David Liss has managed to capture the colorful world of Sephardic Jews, who having escaped the inferno of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition, struggle to find their identity in their New Jerusalem, the sometimes not-so-tolerant Dutch Republic. The story centers around Miguel Lienzo, a Jewish commodities trader who hatches a plan to corner the market in a newly discovered commodity--coffee--and become rich overnight. His challenge is to keep his plan a secret from those who would scheme against him, including members of his own family and community. The Coffee Trader serves not only as a primer on the history of the coffee trade, but a lesson on the mechanics of trading techniques on the first modern commodities exchange-- the Bourse in Amsterdam. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the Dutch Republic, Sephardic Jewry; coffee lovers and futures traders."
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Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: This first time reader of Mr. Liss offers these critical remarks.
The Coffee Trader is a historical novel replete with believable characters, dialogue, and a plot which entertains, captivates and educates the reader!
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Summary: Another Hit.
Review: David Liss has done it again. The warning I'll give regarding his latest book is: be careful -- you might find yourself drinking a LOT of coffee. Mr. Liss creates such marvelous imagery as he describes someone's first cup of coffee --ever, you'll find yourself craving a cup of your own. The genre is, once again, the 17th Century with all its beauty and simplicity. Mr. Liss' ability to capture life in Amsterdam and the machinations of the emerging commodities market is just splendid. So sit down pour yourself a thick cup of French Roast and enjoy!
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Summary: a different brew
Review: In his first novel, 'A Conspiracy of Paper,' David Liss examined the lives of Spanish Jews working the fledgling stock market in 18th century London. In 'The Coffee Trader,' it's Portuguese Jews and the 17th century Dutch commodities market. What's intriguing about both books is that these are rare settings for suspense novels and that both books offer cultural, religious, and economic opportunities for labyrinthine plotting. Like other Jews in Amsterdam, Daniel Lienzo came to Holland for the religious freedom he was denied in Portugal. Religiously-tolerant and business-savvy Holland would seem like just the place for adventurous Jews to fit in. There are differences, of course. While the Jews dress in bright colors, they have their own religious police that keep an eye on everyone's business and behavior. The Dutch may wear black, but men and women enjoy a degree of freedom the Jews find uncomfortable. So when Daniel receives a tip from a Dutchwoman about coffee--a commodity little known in Europe--he is not quite sure how to take it. He has had several ruinous business failures and needs a big success fast. He accepts some sample coffee beans and thinks the deal over. Before you know it, coffee is working its addictive powers on a number of people, especially his sister-in-law, who finds the bitter beans give her the courage to give voice to her feelings. Daniel discovers that what the Dutchwoman told him is true: as opposed to commonly drunk beer or wine which make you torpid, coffee gets you rarin' to go and gives you that competitive edge. You can imagine what kind of effect raw coffee beans would have on the virgin system. As Daniel begins to have one menacing conversation after another, it is hard to tell whether there's real danger involved or whether he's just flying close to paranoia on caffeine. 'The Coffee Trader' works well in its descriptions of a time, place, and culture, but less well as a coherent mystery. Liss's depiction of commodities trading is lively and interesting, but his creation of characters is less so. There is really no one to like except the sister-in-law, a woman who was raised Catholic until her wedding day when she was told that she was actually Jewish and that she and her new Jewish husband were leaving Lisbon immediately to live in Holland. Daniel is too much of a manipulator, too false to like. Most of the other characters are too shifty to care about. Lacking a sympathetic center, the novel becomes tiresome with too much convoluted back-alley conniving. David Liss should have dropped the mystery element and written a straight novel. He's certainly got the knack for choosing fascinating historical settings. He's got the skill to bring them to life. This book would have been much more satisfying as a novel about Portuguese Jews making their way in 17th century Amsterdam than it is as a thriller.
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Summary: Terrific read!
Review: Best historical novel I've read in years. This book gives the reader the sense of being in 17th century Amsterdam; a most enjoyable way to absorb some history!
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