The Coffee Trader: A Novel

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.

Nice story but slow Reality that we didn’t know about tolerance but not integration done by Dutch’s to Jews.

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

Enjoyable and Educational. A Good Read.I rather enjoyed this window into the Golden Age where Dutch commercialism became a speciality.Whilst coffee is a focus, this is more about the devious nature of trading through novel financial instruments developed at the time, and still, today a vital part of those markets.There is also another insight into how the various religions interlaced and got on within a commercial world, and the nature of Jewish involvement in a foreign land’s business and cultural life.I felt the story slowed a bit in the middle and whilst a good read indeed, not quite up to the likes of The Miniaturist, which fills a similar space. The ending came right at the end with all the strands neatly tied up.Nonetheless, definitely worth the time and I will look out other works of David Liss.

David Liss deserves to be far better know. He has a great facility for balancing intricate and hypnotic plots with a wealth of historical detail, without losing the reader's interest. His debut A Conspiracy of Paper offered an intriguing insight into the early history of the London Stock Exchange, the development of the banking system and the Jewish community in London in the early eighteenth century while simultaneously delivering a compelling murder mystery investigated by the enigmatic Benjamin Weaver, a Jewish former boxing champion turned thief-taker. One of the key characteristics of A Conspiracy of Paper was the dexterity with which Liss managed his multi-facetted plot while drip-feeding an entertaining series of history lessons about the run up to the ominous bursting of the South Sea Bubble.In The Coffee Trader Liss excels himself, moving the action fifty or sixty years earlier and siting his story in Amsterdam. The principal protagonist is Miguel Lienzo (who turns out to be Benjamin Weaver's uncle, though that is not significant to the plot), a Jewish merchant originally from Lisbon who has relocated to the more liberal society of late seventeenth century Amsterdam. Well, more liberal than the persecution that pertained in Lisbon where the Inquisition operated at will, but still straitened by modern standards. The Jewish community is self-regulating, and Lienzo has managed to alienate most of its senior members, and as the novel opens he finds himself contemplating virtual financial ruin.He is summoned to meet Gertruid, a Dutch widow with whom he has had some dealings in the past, and she introduces him to coffee. Initially suspicious of this bitter-smelling, dark and unappealing liquid he soon finds himself a veritable coffee junkie, revelling in the clear-headed feeling this glorious beverage imbues. Lienzo and Gertruid begin to formulate a plan to import coffee from the Orient where the East India Company has established plantations. However, even as they develop their plans, Lienzo's enemies within the Jewish community move to thwart him.Liss builds his plot up with great attention to detail, and paints very sympathetic characters in Lienzo and Gerturid, to such an extent that the readers is infuriated on their behalf. The prose is very clear, and Liss lends an air of light humour which renders all of the historical content even more accessible.I had a nice, strong espresso to celebrate finishing this excellent book.

I managed to get through only about a third of this book as I got bored. If you are not particularly into ancient Jewish customs, habits and traditions, it can be tiresome (I expected it to be more about the 17th century Dutch Republic) . The book also has some historical inaccuracies, e.g. there are references to the pogroms and horrible murders of Jews in Poland in the 17th century, which leaves the reader believing that the Poles were their perpetrators, while these mascaras were committed by Ukrainian Kozaks in Ukraine during their rebellion and the Jews, as well as the Poles, were their victims. The Polish army defended the Jews, sometimes effectively, sometimes less so but many of them found refuge in Poland proper. These events have been described by Nathan Neta Hanover and are well known, however the book fails to mention them.

This man has carved out a wonderful niche, writing very well-researched historical financial crime (yes, some niche!). This one is particularly good. He manages to make you interested in characters that are far from sympathetic - everyone appears to be a double-dealing backstabber - whilst the story rattles along at a cracking pace and reaches a very satisfying conclusion. I felt all the detail was authentic, and he explained some quite complex trading strategies clearly and simply. One step up from holiday reading.

As with all David Liss historical novels this book educates whilst still entertaining.It's a very good read with many twists before the actual truth is revealed