The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) Paperback – February 3, 2004

Edgar Award-winning author Edward Liss returns with "The Coffee Trader," another elegantly written historical suspense thriller. In 1659 the bustling port town of Amsterdam was filled with refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, as well as schemers and rogues from all over Europe looking to make some gulden (guilder). The Dutch, after defeating the Spanish, turned their small country into a major economic power in Europe. Amsterdam became the most financially dynamic city in the world, thanks to the robust commercial activity of their commodities exchange, the world's first.Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew, escaped the Inquisition on the Iberian peninsula and moved to the much more tolerant Netherlands. He created a home within the city's close-knit Sephardic Jewish community. Sharp-witted, and a bit of a rogue himself, Miguel thrives on the exhilaration of the Dutch bourse, but his trades of late have not gone well. On the brink of financial ruin due to sudden shifts in the sugar market, he enters into a partnership with a seductive, entrepreneurial Dutch widow with an eye for business, Geertruid Damuis. Together they concoct a daring plot to corner the market on a new commodity - coffee. Lienzo's plan has him going up against a powerful enemy, Solomon Parido, who sits on the Ma'amad, the Jewish self-governing body which controls all aspects of community life. Miguel had been betrothed to Parido's daughter, until his unfortunate lack of discretion caused the relationship to end, earning him Parido's lasting enmity. If Lienzo fails, he will not only be ruined but exiled as well...and nothing would please Parido more.Liss meticulously recreates the 17th century Dutch city. He brings Lienzo's world to life in great detail, as well as the workings of the Amsterdam bourse which are strangely similar to modern commodities markets. The complex, labyrinthine storyline, chock full of intrigue, is really compelling, and his characters are three dimensional in scope. Miguel, actually, is a surprisingly nuanced figure.I found myself drinking more coffee than usual while reading this novel. Something about the narrative had me smelling freshly ground coffee beans constantly. Imagine a world without Starbucks! One part of "The Coffee Trader" that I really enjoyed, amongst many, is the Europeans' astonished reaction after their first taste of this bitter, stimulating brew, and their realization that fortunes could be made with the beverage. Lienzo even foresees a day when taverns, serving coffee, will spring up on every corner. Imagine that?JANA

This is a cleverly told, engrossing tale about a Jewish coffee trader in 17th century Amsterdam. Okay, okay, it is perhaps understandable that a story about a coffee trader may not exactly start your heart pounding, but to pass up this novel because of the seemingly weak subject matter would be to do oneself a great disservice. This is a hugely entertaining, well-crafted piece of work.It is the story of the handsome, once-proud, futures trader, Miguel Lienzo, and as it begins we find that he is in big trouble. His unwise foray into the sugar market several months earlier ended in disaster, and now he owes thousands of guilders to practically everyone in town. Desperate, and running out of options, he enters into a dangerous venture scheme with the beautiful Geertruid, who convinces him that coffee will be the next big thing. He develops a complicated plan to exploit this commodity; one which he hopes will make them both rich.But he realizes that getting to this point will be extraordinarily difficult. First, there are many people who must be bribed: shippers, traders, and merchants, all of whom he must depend upon to keep quiet. Second, there is his brother, in whose house he is living, and who dislikes him intensely. Complicating this fact is that his brother is one of those to whom he owes a great deal of money, and who he absolutely can not let know of his new venture. Thirdly, there is his brother's maid, with whom he is having an affair, and who is probably spying on his activities. Fourthly, there is his brother's wife, who seems to like him more than his brother, and who has developed a fondness for this new coffee fruit hidden in the basement. Fifthly, there is the Ma'amad, the Jewish ruling council in Amsterdam which governs him, and which forbids trade with gentiles. It is headed by a fellow commodity trader, and his worst enemy. Lastly, there is the risk he takes every time he steps out in the street that someone will accost him and drag him back to their dwelling to keep him in discomfort for as long as it takes to get him to relinquish some part of the debt he is unable to pay.Whew! Suffice to say the twists and turns in this thing as Miguel flirts with disaster will keep you up late into the night. It doesn't take long to realize that every single person in his life is duplicitous to one degree or the other and that he must consider this whenever he has to make a decision. It also doesn't take long to realize that Miguel himself is not exactly the most honest human being on the earth either. It's a quite fascinating and often humorous study.In fact, at one point, it almost teeters on the brink of farce. Miguel lucks into a commodity trade that nets him a few grand, but he is unable to collect. The broker is clearly protecting his client. The client, it turns out, is his brother, who at the same time is threatening to evict Miguel if he doesn't pay the debt he owes to him! It is here that one must consider whether this is going to swerve into a wicked little satire of our wonderful capitalist system, especially since one of the nobler characters in the book is a moneylender. But no, it does not. The storytelling instead remains earnest, a straightforward historical fiction, but it certainly leaves one with at least a little room for thought.The historical detail is also very thought-provoking. Miguel, you see, is from Lisbon, a place in which Jews were not allowed, a state of affairs enforced by the inquisition. A Jew either became Catholic, or pretended to become Catholic. There was no other choice. It was from this unpleasant atmosphere that Miguel, and many like him, arrived in the more liberal Amsterdam, bringing with them the wiles and cunning they previously nurtured in order to survive. Interestingly, these skills became quite valuable in the roiling futures market.This is an excellent read. The research is solid with plenty of detail, the characters are believable and nuanced, and the plot is utterly gripping. A fine, intelligent fiction.