15. The Coffee Trader

Book 15: The Coffee Trader by David Liss (C+)

The novel moved so s...l...o...w! The build-up was slow, the story didn't take off until you were halfway through the book, and the climax was short and not worth the wait. The ending was predictable, except one small part that left me with my mouth literally hanging open, and the entire novel was over my head in terms and chattering about business, money, and commerce.

Miguel, a Jew merchant in Amsterdam, has recently struck out on the Exchange when his sugar deal went bad. Now, he's back in action with a tricky business partner in the sale of coffee. The Exchange is full of enemies, and everyone seems to be after either Miguel's nonexistent money or Miguel himself, including his brother.
The book is not reader friendly as it bounces around with a bunch of different trading quips and jargon as well as 1500's Amsterdam culture that is not familiar to readers nor clearly explained. What is explained is beat into the reader's brain page after page! I found the book to be dry, annoying, and boring.
One of the few bright spots in the novel was its hilarious description of coffee and how the fruit, which was just coming into age, affected all the merchants once they tried it.
" "Beer and wine may make a man sleepy, but coffee will make him awake and clearheaded. 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" (15)."
Reading about the merchants trying out coffee and suddenly start shouting out their bids and getting all excited was clever and entertaining. However, it could not account for the rest of this disappointing novel.

Works cited:

Liss, David. The Coffee Trader. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2003. Print