Mark's review
The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by David Liss (Goodreads author!)
Mark's review
The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by David Liss (Goodreads author!)
Mark's review
rating:
bookshelves:
historical-fiction
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 was so interesting to think about the way in which coffee was described as a "miracle drug" of its day, able to make people think more sharply and clearly and best their rivals in business.
