Donna Leon
I’m tired of Donna, not of Venice, though.
Brunetti is still likeable enough
And Paola’s improved a bit. The slow
Starts to the crime plots make it tough
For readers used to fiction of this kind,
Detective novels. Some might think, “Just when
Will she begin?” Her editors are blind
To self-indulgence. She is now doyenne
Of Venice’s dilemmas. Pollution
And tourists seem to be her pet moans now.
Dame Donna, refrain from diminution
Of comic characters at least. Allow
The Vice Questore and Elettra scope
For laughs—or I won’t be able to cope.