I just finished reading “The Coffee Trader” while covering the receptionist desk this morning. What a great book! I borrowed it from Mare-Bear a while back and only just now got a chance to read it. I devoured that book. It was very well written and I’ll definitely be checking out other David Liss books.
“Trader” is about Miguel, a Portugese Jew living in Amsterdam in the 17th Century as a stock trader. When we meet him he has taken a bad loss in sugar trading, and living in near-ruin. He is introduced to coffee and comes up with a plan to use the coffee trade to regain his fortune. That brief description seems like it’s a boring book but it wasn’t – it was a read filled with tension, and more than once I muttered, “This can’t end well,” as I turned the page to find out what happens next.
The characters are well-rounded and completely thought out. Never a dull moment, I was sad when the book came to an end because I easily could have kept on reading about these characters.