The Coffee Trader
by David Liss (Goodreads author!)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 545)
Read in May, 2007
For the most part I really enjoyed reading The Coffee Trader by David Liss. The main protagonist is Miguel, a Portuguese Jew, living in Amsterdam, and working as a broker in the emerging stock exchange. Miguel and a Dutch woman, Geertruid, scheme to corner the coffee market. Hampering there efforts are Solomon Parido, a wealthy member of the Jewish community, who harbors a grudge against Miguel, and Joachim Waagenaar, a Dutchman who lost everything in a financial deal Miguel brokered for him. ...more
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Read in May, 2006
It was good, not great, and I'd recommend it to people who are interested in the history of Jews in Europe during the Inquisition and beyond, or if you're interested in getting a down and dirty look at the way capitalism operates.
The whole time I was reading this I was thinking of this game I used to play with my kids when they were younger called "Diplomacy." In that game you set up alliances and made deals, but you didn't have to honor them, and so you never really knew who your...more
The whole time I was reading this I was thinking of this game I used to play with my kids when they were younger called "Diplomacy." In that game you set up alliances and made deals, but you didn't have to honor them, and so you never really knew who your...more
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Read in June, 2008
I read this because my husband really enjoys David Liss's writing and suggested I might like it. I rarely read anything he does (because I am not interested in all the ins and outs of wars, how to be a spy or navy seal, or how differences in Teslas improve MRI imaging), but I thought this might be a great crossover book - give us something to talk about at the table.
This is a manly book. The narrator follows Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew living in Amsterdam during the 17th century, who h...more
This is a manly book. The narrator follows Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew living in Amsterdam during the 17th century, who h...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2008
I chose this book because I'm interested in the history of commodities. I wished there were a little more about the actual growing and commerce of coffee but there was enough about the origins of coffee's use in Arabia, then Turkey and India as well as its gradual introduction to the European market in the 17th century that this book addresses.
I did learn a good bit about the Jewish community of Conversos -- from Portugal -- and how they lived in Amsterdam especially the close community v...more
I did learn a good bit about the Jewish community of Conversos -- from Portugal -- and how they lived in Amsterdam especially the close community v...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
those who like suspense and ethically flawed characters
I keep debating whether or not to give this three or four stars. I really enjoyed reading this and literally couldn't put it down. I haven't read during a meal (at least not a meal where I wasn't eating alone) in a while. I haven't read anything else by Liss (though I do have a copy of Conspiracy of Paper). I'm interested in Restoration coffeehouses right now, so this was right up my alley. But even without my research geekiness, it is still a fun book with a likable, but flawed character. I wa...more
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Read in June, 2007
I’ve been a fan of Liss’ work for a while now; his two earlier novels, A Conspiracy of Paper and A Spectacle of Corruption, both set in early 18th-century London, are excellent. This is a prequel of sorts; it is set in late 17th-century Amsterdam, and the main character, Portuguese Jew Miguel Lienzo, is the uncle of Benjamin Weaver, the protagonist of the other two novels. The Coffee Trader begins with Miguel having lost everything in the volatile futures market, living in his brother’s ...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Anita by:
Nadjeebrecommends it for: Anyone who wants to figure out a story up until the last minute of it
From what I gather this is a 17th century mystery written by award winning writer David Liss (The Paper Conspiracy) that within the first ten pages has haunted me with a quote that is as follows: "Fellow"-Hedrick tried again-You are the hard turd in the ass of my journey. Don't make me apply a purgative to flush you out." What I wouldn't give to be in the 17th century and to be able to say this with dignity....A woman can only dream I suppose...
Actually this book was amazin...more
Actually this book was amazin...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book is twisty (for lack of a better word) for I was twisted in all sorts of directions while trying to figure out who was in cahoots with who. A Historical Amsterdam Merchantile/Buisness novel with suspensefull/intriguing undertones. I don't know how much of it is acurate as far as the interaction between those of jewish status and non-jewish, but it makes for a good read anyway.
The only qualms I have with this book is the clariety of how the exchange-pseudo-stock market worked during...more
The only qualms I have with this book is the clariety of how the exchange-pseudo-stock market worked during...more
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Read in June, 2007
Here's my review from Amazon.ca:
When I first started listening to The Coffee Trader, I didn't think I was going to like it. Perhaps it's just me, but Graeme Malcolm's reading grated on my nerves. I decided that reading the book myself might make it better. It did.
Though it got off to a slow start it brewed into a nice deep aroma. While the characters and story were good, I especially enjoyed the history of the Amsterdam commodities exchange. One of the world's first commodities exchange...more
When I first started listening to The Coffee Trader, I didn't think I was going to like it. Perhaps it's just me, but Graeme Malcolm's reading grated on my nerves. I decided that reading the book myself might make it better. It did.
Though it got off to a slow start it brewed into a nice deep aroma. While the characters and story were good, I especially enjoyed the history of the Amsterdam commodities exchange. One of the world's first commodities exchange...more
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Read in August, 2004
David Liss' first two books, this one and "A Conspiracy of Paper," are really excellent combinations of early European history, mysteries and the position of Jews in 17th and 18th century Europe. This also provides a fascinating slice of the history of the growth of the coffee trade in Europe. I especially liked the way the one woman character in the book became addicted to chewing the coffee beans that the main character had secreted in her basement, without knowing what they were. It...more
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Read in July, 2007
I started reading this book and only made it about halfway through the book before I just quit reading it. I have a rule with any book that I will at least read the first 100 pages. I read the first 100 pages and just got lost with all of the subplots within subplots of what was going on.
I don't think that it helped that I was constantly putting the book down and picking it up, but I was still frustrated with the writing style.
That being said, my husband read the book after I gave up a...more
I don't think that it helped that I was constantly putting the book down and picking it up, but I was still frustrated with the writing style.
That being said, my husband read the book after I gave up a...more
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I remembered this book very clearly when writing a review of Mistress of the Art of Death, but apparently never added it. Luckily googling "Coffee, Amsterdam, mystery" worked. Oddly I had considered comparing Mistress of the Art of Death to A Conspiracy of Paper, but didn't. I didn't realize that and Coffee Trader were by the same author. I thought I owned this book, but can't see it, although Conspiracy of Paper was one of the books that fell off the shelf in this morning's earthqu...more
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Read in January, 2006
Liss' Coffee Trader was fantastic! So the marathon reading would suggest. A 18th century Inquisition refuge and Portuguese Jew attempts to make his fortune with a new product on the market in Amsterdam while simultaneously trying to ruin his enemies. It starts out slow and expository, like most suspense books. I learned a lot about the beginnings of the stock exchange and about the Inquisition from this book. The characters were all interesting even if you could see from a mile away what role th...more
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Read in April, 2005
There were many good things about this book—the historical details, the well-drawn characters, the fascinating glimpses into other cultures... But I came into this book with an expectation of a mystery novel, albeit a literary one, but a novel of suspense. And it just didn't really fit the bill. It definitely had intrigue, and really captured an interesting subject, but I wouldn't call it suspenseful. My preconceptions got the better of me in this case. Not fair, but it's the truth.
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Several years ago I read a glowing review of this book in the New York Times. I made a mental note to check him out and then, the following week chanced upon this book in a free book pile at Loyola University Chicago. I snapped it up and have since become addicted to this writer-- I absolutely love his work! His novels are incredibly well written and well researched and interweave actual events and with fascinating fictional characters. Can't recommend him enough.
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Read in May, 2007
A well written historical fiction piece about a Portuguese Jew who is a trader in the emerging futures market in 17th-century Amsterdam. The reader acquires some knowledge of the history of trading, European Jewish communities, and of Jew-Gentile relations in that time and place while following the exploits of the protagonist as he seeks to become an early "player" in trade of a new commodity: coffee. (It's difficult to imagine a world without it, yes?)
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Read in May, 2007
Miguel Lienzo, a shrewd trader who is down on his luck, seeks his fortune in the brutal world of Amsterdam in 1659. He takes a chance at cornering coffee, a new addiction that is sweeping Europe. In his way are deadly enemies, his brother's distrust, and his brother's wife, who sweeps Lienzo off his feet. For those unaware of the burgeoning commodities markets of the Old World, this book serves as an excellent guide and a fine mystery.
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Read in March, 2008
An interesting book set in 16th or 17th century Amsterdam when it was at the height of its economic power. While it is mostly an economic intrigue book dealing with the speculation of goods (where it all started) and the scheming and backstabbing related to the trading of actual goods, it is also an interesting story of how Jewish people in this time adapted to different areas of europe with vastly different tolerances to diversity...
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Read in January, 2006
This is the story of the birth of the Western trade in coffee. It is set in 17th? C Amersterdam where a down and out trader introduces coffee and then manipulates the market for it in order to regain his losses. The subtext is the Dutch invention of commodities trading and how this activity was carried on the sly from the Dutch authorities. I learned a lot from the book even though the characters and plot was sometimes lackluster.
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I LOVED this book; another historical fiction, but I learned a lot about the origins of commodities trading in Amsterdam in the 1600's. Who knew? I also guess I never realized until this exotic tonic was brought to Europe, everyone drank beer or wine even for breakfast (you know the water was probably not very safe!) They must've been in 1/2 a fog all the time; coffee would be a great conterpoint!
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