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Title: The Coffee Trader : A Novel by David Liss ISBN: 0-375-76090-3 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 (39 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The Stock Exchange - circa 1659
Comment: David Liss historically recreates Amsterdam in 1659 in his intriguing novel The Coffee Trader. The Netherlands in the mid 1600's has become a haven for Inquisition persecuted Jews who have fled their Iberian roots. In Amsterdam under the direction of the Ma'amad, the law giving Jewish ruling council, Jews were permitted to openly practice their religion.
The story revolves around Miguel Lienzo, a transplanted Portuguese Jew who is a trader of some note on the Dutch commodities exchange. Lienzo has seen his fortunes take a tumble in the sugar market. He is in debt and in forced to take up residence with his scornful brother Daniel and his pregnant wife Hannah.
Lienzo has been recruited by an attractive Dutch widow, Geertruid Damhuis to be a broker in a coffee buying deal in which he will be an equal partner. Coffee at this time in Europe is a very speculative commodity and not as of yet popular as a beverage. The potential for the deal to be extremely profitable strongly exists if Lienzo can bring it all together.
The story proceeds to document the hardships Lienzo encounters while endeavoring to make the deal happen. The most difficult stumbling block is one Solomon Parido, a wealthy merchant and parnass or powerful member of the Ma'amad. Parido believes he has been slighted by Lienzo in an impending arranged marriage between Parido's daughter and Miguel. Parido is using all his power to try to destroy the coffee deal and seek revenge on Lienzo.
Davis Liss is a gifted wordsmith as he paints a wonderfully descriptive picture of Amsterdam in the 1650's. His story expertly navigates it's way through the highs and lows encountered by Lienzo in his dealings to consumate the coffee deal.
Rating: 4
Summary: 4 1/2 Stars...A Heady Brew!
Comment: Set in 17th century Amsterdam, "The Coffee Trader" is a delicious historical novel. Liss takes us on a romp through the alleyways and taverns of the renowned city, divvying out details without becoming burdensome. Having lived in Amsterdam myself, I loved every nuance of the city and its history. What a heady brew!
The story follows Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew, who has aspirations of making his fortune in the exciting new business of stocks and futures. With recent setbacks still weighing on his mind, he knows he must come up with something financially worthwhile. Soon, he is enticed into a risky scheme by a Dutch woman named Geertruide. She introduces him to the seductive taste and aroma of coffee. Together, they plan to monopolize this commodity and make a fortune.
All is not as it seems, however, and betrayal lurks around every corner. As Miguel finds himself increasingly entwined with the fortunes and misfortunes of others, he realizes that one false move could bring his schemes down upon his own head.
Two other narrators add depth to this seemingly simple storyline. First, Miguel's sister-in-law stumbles upon his new commodity, providing some humorous insights into the effects of coffee. She also shows us the oppression of the time-period, and a believable uprising against her husband and his culture. Troubles increase when she finds herself attracted to Miguel. Second, a shady character named Alferonda offers us journal excerpts to expose the full scope of the schemers at work. This plot device works, but seems disjointed at times.
By the novel's end, Miguel reaps his just rewards and punishments, and the author keeps a few surprises up his sleeve. Although a former era is depicted, I kept thinking how relevant the story is to the greed and manipulation of today's business world. Not to mention the corruptions of the human heart. I applaud Liss in his ability to dovetail these themes under the guise of entertaining fiction. Well done!
Rating: 4
Summary: Amsterdam and coffee.... my two favorite things
Comment: 17th century Holland was important for a lot more than art and tulips, and if nothing else, this book deserves praise for remembering that. The Netherlands was also the commerce capital of the world, the first modern republic, and famous throughout Europe for its religious tolerance.
All three of these aspects come into play in this book, whose main character is Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew who flees the Inquisistion and finds acceptance in Amsterdam. He finds that his skill in lying, honed by years of pretending to be a Catholic, serves him well as a merchant and eventually a broker on the Stock Exchange. Unfortunately, as the book opens, he has just lost a fortune in a bad trade and finds himself in serious debt. So when a Dutchwoman acquaintance offers him a chance to be her partner in a scheme designed to take advantage of an obscure commodity - coffee - he jumps at the chance to regain his fortune, his luck, and his reputation.
The details of the scheme - whereby they will establish a monopoly on coffee, simultaneously creating interest in this new "drink of commerce" and manipulating its price - are complicated and ever-changing, as the expected complications arise. At first, the pace is slow enough that Liss does a pretty good job of explaining just what is going on on the floor of the Exchange - what a future is, how stocks and money exchange hands, that sort of thing. And his descriptions of the Exchange itself are great - imagine Wall Street, if it were only open for two hours each day and held in an outdoor courtyard. But as the plot thickens, and moves and countermoves are made more and more desperately, it's increasingly hard to follow the flow of trading. This is a distraction, but it's a slight one, and it's possible to follow the story without understanding every detail of the Exchange.
The plot twists themselves are another matter. Crosses and double-crosses fly past you so quickly its impossible to remember who's on what side, or what hidden motivations each character is keeping secret from the others. Major characters move to the background, minor characters come rushing in at the last minute to have a huge impact, and on occasion you're as helplessly confused as poor Lienzo.
For all these faults, I still greatly enjoyed this book. It brings new depth to an era that is on the verge of becoming cliched, and it exposes a hidden underworld few of us are familiar with. My mom, who was born in Holland, read "The Coffee Trader" before she gave it to me, and while she didn't like it as much as I did, she said it was fascinating to her the way the Dutch were portrayed. I agree. In the end, the real hero of this book might not be Lienzo, or any of his colleagues, or even the coffee of the title. I think it's the city of Amsterdam and its people that are the stars here.
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