Sun 21 Apr 2013
ANDREA CAMILLERI – The Dance of the Seagull. Originally published in Italian as La danza del gabbiano, 2009. Penguin, US, softcover, 2013.
This, the 15th and most recently recorded case of Inspector Salvo Montalbano (at least here in the US), begins with the agonized gyrations of a seagull the inspector sadly watches die before his eyes. Little does he know that a connection will soon be made between this event and his very next case, which has as yet not had time to develop.
This being my first encounter with the inspector and his various adventures, I did not recognize at first the significance of the mysterious disappearance of Fazio, the latter one of his close-knit staff of subordinates. Montalbano is, as are many fictional police inspectors, Italian or otherwise, somewhat of a lone wolf in his approach to tackling crime, but one man cannot do it alone, and the men who work under him are much like family.
The main thrust of the case, that of drug smuggling (or traffickers), is not particularly interesting, but even without a “Watson†to bounce his ideas off of, Montalbano displays a good sense of the world around him – which is to say that he’s a very good detective. Nor does a good sense of humor on the part of the author hurt in the least. I wouldn’t mind at all if I had the chance to catch up on any of Montalbano’s earlier cases, or his next one, whichever way it works out.
April 21st, 2013 at 6:46 am
I’m glad you tried this one, Steve. I have it ready to be read after reading the 14 previous books. The humor, Savlo’s irascibility and his love of eating all help paint a portrait of one of the more interesting detectives. Have you seen any of the Italian television series? I’ve been buying them from amazon.uk.
April 21st, 2013 at 8:40 am
Andrea Camilleri is also rather popular in Germany.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:26 am
Yup, Italian crime writers in general, down the ages to Sciascia, but Camilleri is much read.
His sometimes complicated private life is far from the perverted, clinical situations of many ‘modern’ detectives ,his team must be read to be believed (unless you know Italy ),and the cases always quite interesting.
Camilleri can be recommended- full stop .
The Doc
April 21st, 2013 at 11:43 am
#1. Jeff. I’ve been generally aware of the TV series, but I decided to hold off getting it on DVD until I’d tried the books.
What was amusing was a section early on SEAGULL in which Montalbano wants to avoid a section of town where the TV crew might be shooting that day. Most of all he doesn’t want to come face to face to the actor who plays him, said actor being a whole lot younger…!
April 22nd, 2013 at 10:59 am
I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s a great series, my favorite of the current European translation crop. Though only a person bilingual in Italian could fully appreciate it, it’s clear that a lot of the verbal humor is probably funnier in Italian and very difficult to translate. The translator Stephen Sartarelli does a great job and always provides some explanatory notes that clear some things up for non-Italian readers.
April 22nd, 2013 at 12:15 pm
One of the inumerable advantages of good crime writing is the way you can get the taste of a different time, a different country, or group of people, by living their everyday life, that is then interrupted by the crime and its solution.
Especially now, with the internet at hand, you can do further research on things of interest that might not be fully explained in the book .
The Doc