Rating: 
Summary: Better than Conspiracy of Paper
Review: I liked Conspiracy of Paper very much, but Liss is even more successful with The Coffee Trader.The plot is extremely intricate, and the reader must work to stay with it, but the work pays off in a terrific resolution. Though I admire Liss's attention to detail and historical veracity, what I most appreciate is that his characters are convincingly three-dimensional. Few people are all good or all bad, yet the proliferation in modern fiction of characters who are no more than straw men is appalling. Liss gives a reader characters that are convincing in their strengths, flaws, and manifold complexities. All in all, this is one of the better suspense stories of recent years, and I recommend it without qualification.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book about Commodities, Intrigue and Judiasm!
Review: This is a great book about commodities trading, intrigue and medieval Jewish life. The lives of former Iberian Jews living in Amsterdam are brought to life by depicting their synagogue life, their relationship to the Dutch community and their dealings in the Amsterdam commodities market. The book is a really hard to put down once you get into it and most satisfying on all fronts.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping suspense, rooted in fascinating historical moment
Review: The Coffee Trader more than continues David Liss's tradition of crafting gripping suspense stories embedded within a fascinating historical moment. The story begins with the father from A Conspiracy of Paper, down on his luck and struggling to survive some poor trading choices, being approached by a strange associate about a mysterious new drink she has encountered, that is reputed to have strange powers... Liss uses a variety of voices to skillfully keep the reader off-balance, as characters' lives and agendas intersect in unpredictable ways. Each new twist had me gasping, and I stayed up long past a reasonable hour to find out what would happen. Liss also manages to maintain the historical integrity of his characters - giving them ideas and opinions that honestly reflect the times, while still managing to make them appealing protagonists. The character of Hannah, the wife of the main character's brother, is a particularly excellent example of this. Romance, suspense and humor combine to produce a satisfying story with an unsettling ending. Although it took me awhile to accept some of the fates and choices made by men and women in the book, ultimately I admire Liss for making his own complex choices and refusing to simplify characters for the sake of a sugar-coated end.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: I loved Liss's first book, A Conspiracy of Paper, but I have to say I think I love The Coffee Trader even more. This one is set in 17th century Amsterdam and concerns a trader's efforts to get a monopoly on coffee just as coffee is first emerging in Europe. This novel moves and feels like a thriller, and I kept turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next, but Liss doesn't rely on tricks used by cheap thrillers ' no piles of bodies or burning buildings, etc. His protagonist's anxiety about debt, ruin and humiliation make this novel moving and real and very, very compelling. Liss tackles a number of tough topics here: commodities speculation in the 1600s, the insularity and paranoia of the Amsterdam Jewish population, the corrupting nature of trade, and so on. He clearly knows his stuff, and I walked away from the book feeling like I had received a great history lesson, but the book never gets bogged down with details. Probably because the characters are so believable and compelling. Every character has some kind of secret agenda, but it is never what you think, and the novel's conclusion is risky, but very, very satisfying. This is the best historical novel I've read in years. It is suspenseful, funny and addictive. Even people who don't like historicals should check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Put on the kettle and hunker down for a lively read.
Review: As enjoyable as David Liss's first book, A Conspiracy of Paper, may have been, his sophmore effort revals no slump, easily trumping his debut. The Coffee Trader, whose characters Liss's readers may find familiar, takes place in 1659 in Amsterdam, one of Europe's more cosmopolitan and lively cities of the era; merchants and traders, Jews and gentiles, thieves and whores, enliven the city's human tapestry providing intrigue at every turn. The story follows Miguel Lienzo, a Portugese Jew chased from his homeland by the brutal tactics of the Inquisition. Thinking such horrors behind him, he embarks on a career as a trader in Amsterdam; astonishingly, he encounters unsavory characters within his own community whose deviousness eerily echoes that of the Inquisition. But, perked up by a strange, new, bitter berry extract, brewed up for him by an enterprising woman he knows from unsavory taverns, he grinds out a plan to introduce coffee to this part of the world, defeat his enemies and conquer the market in the process. Liss's hilarious descriptions of these nescafe-neophytes is classic -- some chew the beans, others inexplicably mix it with other beverages, never quite getting the brewing process right; in fact, though none of them really like the stuff, they have to have more. Isn't this how we all got started? And the thoroughness of the author's research allows him, through vivid descriptions of streets and markets that one might even recognize today, to transport his readers to 17th century Amsterdam with remarkable clarity. Liss is good enough not to wrap the book up with a Hollywood-style ending, either (if it's made into a film, it surely will be made nice and tidy). Instead, the story concludes with an embedded lesson: all things come with a price.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I have never been into historical novels before but I picked this up because I was intrigued by the title and I started reading. I couldn't stop. What a fascinating time that was - the beginning of modern speculation with its two famous courtiers side by side - fear and greed. The book is a roller coaster between both those extremes as we follow Miguel through his coffee trade just when coffee and its powers have been introduced into the western world. I'm a bit gullible and tend to absorb the qualities of well-written characters until the feel of the book shakes off. I haven't stopped drinking coffee since I started reading the book. I learned, I enjoyed, I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Deception Begins On the Cover
Review: "View Down A Corridor", is a famous painting that resided in a home in London, and also is on the cover of this new novel by David Liss. I came across the same image in another book of non-fiction I just read. It was owned by Thomas Povey and is one of many tromp-l'oeil paintings that he owned by the Dutch artist Samuel van Hoogstraten. These paintings were extremely complex, for the knowledge that was required to create the fantastic illusions the artist sought were many and varied. This particular piece was hidden behind a door that when opened, appeared to open on an extended hall, when in fact it was simply a brilliant optical illusion created by the artist. David Liss also chose to reverse the image on the cover of his new book, "The Coffee Trader". I don't know if this was simply done to have the primary animal figures face toward the center of the book, or whether he intended to magnify the idea of deception which runs throughout his newest work. In his first book stocks were the method that leads many to take wild risks and chance ruin. In 17th Century Amsterdam it is a new commodity coffee that takes center stage and plays the object that brings forward from many it touches the worst of their human nature. In both books the author never allows for his characters to have unqualified victories, the nature of the business they are in either by definition does not allow this, or the participants rationalize that this is the case. Even when a person may not be a party to deception they are often tainted by just participating and being just as badly hurt as the worst manipulators. This book is a novel but it also approaches near to Historical Fiction as the list of referenced works at the end will attest. The author does a tremendous job of recreating the unusual social structure that was 17th Century Amsterdam, not only for the Jews and their feelings of being guests on a tenuous welcome, but also for the Catholics who were tolerated as well. For some readers he may spend too much time on the social structure of these populations within populations, but I enjoyed it as the book became more than just a novel, but also a lesson in History. The first book by Mr. Liss won him the Edgar Award for best debut novel. "The Coffee Trader", has proven that, "A Conspiracy Of Paper", was no fluke, and I would wager here, just as I did when I reviewed his original book, than when the time comes for awards to be handed out, the work of Mr. Liss will once again be amongst the chosen few. I initially was not going to go with 5 stars for the book's end left me a bit less than satisfied. However that is how Mr. Liss seems to feel those who participate in his book as characters should feel. By keeping a measure of reality with his books and not having an explosive ending, good or bad, he maintains realism, and in the end I like that a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: A treatise on deception
Review: I must admit up-front my bias. I trade futures and love history and historical fiction so....The Coffee Trader by Liss will garner five stars from me. This book is all about deception, and as such is not only a fun read but I must say, some of these deceptions are still being used today; they are timeless. In the coffee trader, the protagonist trader Miguel is attacked using several manners of deception. First his archrival employs a hoodoo to harrass and distract Miguel, and he gets the local jewish council to launch an investigation into Miguel's business relationships which creates quite a distraction for Miguel. Then he uses redirection by bribing Miguel's broker to delay the delivery of Miguel's coffee shipment from the East India Company to an undisclosed warehouse of his choosing until after monthly expiration and contract settlement. Additionally his rival manipulates Miguel's brother to trade against him in whale oil on his behalf so that Miguel's profits from the oil can not be easily collected and his capital base is reduced. Plus there are numerous cases of blending going on throughout the novel as people are not who they claim to be, or are not on the side (long or short) that they claim to be. On top of this we have threads on love, loyalty, and family. Suffice to say that in the game of speculation, two can play the game and the hunter can easily become the hunted.
Rating:
Summary: "This devil's piss is going to make both our fortunes"
Review: In his first novel, "A Conspiracy of Paper", Liss introduced an eclectic character that captured the affection of most readers. In this second novel, we do not get to read about the adventures of Ben Weaver once more. But those who read the first book will probably remember that Weaver's real name was Lienzo, and in "The Coffee Trader" Liss goes back to the year 1659 in Amsterdam to tell the story of Miguel Lienzo. He is a Portuguese Jew living in Holland and earning his life by trading in the quickly developing markets.
Right from the start, the author demonstrates an outstanding ability for describing the people, places, attires and everyday situations in the Holland of the seventeenth century. This is an era of great economic development from this country with the rise of mercantilism, and fortunes can be made quickly. The problem is that it can also go the other way, and that is exactly what happened to Miguel, who lost most of his money when the sugar market collapsed. His only remaining hope is to embark on a venture that saves him from total bankruptcy, and the opportunity knocks on his door when Gertrude Damhuis approaches him with a proposition for entering the markets in the trade of a new and mostly unknown fruit: coffee.
In my opinion there are three main elements that make this a great novel. First, the detailed way in which Liss describes the functioning of the markets at the time, since I find the topic to be appealing and I found the depictions extremely interesting. I do believe though that the author makes an effort in explaining the different aspects in such a way that there is no need to have previous knowledge of Economics in order to fully comprehend how the system works. Second, there are vivid descriptions on what it meant to be a Jew at that time. For example, Miguel had to leave Portugal due to the Inquisition, and even in Holland there is a Jewish council, Ma'amad, which enforces a set of strict rules and scrutinizes the behavior of the members of the community. One of theses rules creates a considerable difficulty for Miguel, since he is not allowed to carry business with gentiles, so he must hide his relationship with Gertrude. The third element is the great story, which is based on a complex set of relationships among the different characters and several twists and turns that will spice things up all the way to the end.
Besides the main characters mentioned above, there are others that add to the story's attractiveness. One of them is Parido, who has been a sworn enemy of Miguel since two years ago they had a problem that ended with Parido retracting from offering his sister in marriage to Miguel. Now Parido seems to want to make amends and start from scratch, and is trying to use his friendship with Miguel's brother as a tool to achieve his goal. The question is: what is his real goal? We also get to meet Alferonda, a Jew that has been expelled by the Ma'amad and who is a sworn enemy of Parido. Alferonda gets an added level of significance because part of the narration is extracted directly from his diary.
It has been a long time since I found a writer like Liss, who has an uncanny sense for mixing together all the different elements needed to make a great story. Also, being able to read a novel that is educative as well as enthralling is not something I get to experience that often. That is why I will keep looking forward to this author's work for as long as he maintains this level of quality in his novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Educating and Compelling STory
Review: Set in Amsterdam after the ruthless Spanish Inquisition, author Davis Liss presents us with his third historical fiction novel in which a Jewish "misfit of the times" is placed in circumstances of intrigue, betrayal, and conflict with his religion. Miguel Lienzo, the lead character, has found his fortunes in the developing Dutch trading exchange perversely reversed, and as a once wealthy "up and comer" in the know, he is now desperately surviving in the basement of a pious, judging brother and his beautiful, intelligent, but caged wife. Seduced by a mysterious heiress confidant, he is enticed into a scheme to regain his lost fortune, by cornering the market in coffee, a new drink that promises to replace the stupor of spirits with an new found ability to remain alert and focus on the so new, fast-pasted, trading economy of the mercantile exchange. In this venture, Miguel begins to encounter forces that seek his ruin, arising unexpectedly from the Ma`amad, the local board of rabbis that attract and teach religious neophyte immigrants their lost culture, but only to replace it with authoritarianism using the looming threat of ex-communication to control the entire Jewish community. As with his other works, A Conspiracy of Paper and A Spectacle of Corruption, Liss's novels are especially appealing to Jewish readers, who will find themselves simultaneously educated in a distinct period of European Jewish culture, while immersed in a compelling story that is hard to put down.
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