David Liss’ The Day of Atonement – Audiobook review

David Liss has created a special niche in historical fiction. His books provide a rich portrait of difficult business and social interactions at pivotal points in commercial history. My first exposure to his work was The Coffee Trader which takes place in 1659 in Amsterdam at the beginning of coffee as an international commodity. In each of his novels the main protagonist is Jewish, well-versed in the different business and social customs of the times and often at odds with those governing Jewish communal norms in the city. Liss is expert at describing the look of the city, its clothing and foods, taverns and houses of worship, elite and servant classes.

In The Day of Atonement, Liss brings a young man, Sebastian, back to Lisbon from London in 1755, during the latter days of the Inquisition. Sebastiao Raposa was smuggled out of Lisbon a decade earlier just as his family was taken by Inquisition. While in London he had been mentored by a man with a keen eye for  business and conspiracies as well as great fighting skills. As Sebastian Foxx he returns to Lisbon with the intention of seeking retribution against those that destroyed his family, killed his father and separated him from his first love.

Every aspect of the story is seen through Sebastian’s eyes. Characteristically, the priests of the Inquisition pitted neighbor against neighbor and were ever vigilant to any inkling of Judaization among New Christians, those Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism more than 200 years earlier. Lisbon was at the nexus of international trade and English Protestants were major traders, forming an alliance for their own protection. Both New Christians and Protestants were at peril of being imprisoned by the Inquisition at any time for almost any reason.

To endear him to the most vicious of the Inquisitor priests, Sebastian assumes the visage of an English businessman, purportedly Protestant but hiding his Catholicism. Bit by bit he navigates the various elements of Lisbon society – the merchant class, the New Christians, the criminal gangs, and those broken by and spying for the Inquisition.  In every corner he finds people from his childhood, some trustworthy and others with their own axes to grind. Quick-witted, Sebastian’s business acumen and ability to deceive has him on the fast track and he takes every advantage with the goal of bringing down those who harmed his family and then escaping back to England.

David Liss uses key moments in history to carry the story forward.  This attention to historical details is one of the reasons I find his books so interesting. The extensive research required to set an accurate stage for the story encourages me to delve into related nonfiction.

Listening to the audiobook, narrated by Samuel Roukin, the primacy of Sebastian’s mission was accentuated. In previous novels the descriptions of the cities and business machinations seemed more to the forefront.  This may be more a result of hearing the story through the voice of the narrator.

Over the years I’ve been a part of many discussions on three of Liss’ historical novels. For the most part people have found the characters rather ruthless and rarely likable but the vivid descriptions of London and Amsterdam centuries ago has led to animated conversations. If history brought to life appeals, give The Day of Atonement a try.

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