The Patience of the Spider

The Inspector Montalbano series is well noted for the strong sense of place and ironic outlook on the foibles of mankind. This eighth installment in the series picks up with the protagonist recovering from a wound received in Rounding the Mark. He's immediately faced with a mystifying kidnapping of a beautiful young girl, provincial politics running wild with his superior, and journalists that make Howard Stern seem like a paragon of probity. As with the rest of the series, not everything is as it appears. The sardonic Montalbano eventually figures out the twists and turns and justice is served. Along the way, we learn much about Sicilian food, Italian politics, and how immigration has become the third rail of Italian politics. Readers of Henning Mankell will recognize this theme as well, and the author handles it as well as Mankell did in his excellent debut, Faceless Killers. If you plan to read this book, you'll be well served to start the series in order. Be sure to read the translator's footnotes at the end of the books as you read through it as they will add substantially to your insights into all things Sicilian. Some of the best humor is in the translator's notes. Highly recommended.

"The Patience Of The Spider" by Andrea Camilleri. Translated by Stephen Sartarelli. Penguin Books, 2007. Over the past few years, I have submitted a few reviews on the "Inspector Montalbano Series" by Andrea Camilleri. I have always been impressed by the manner in which the author carries the story along by the use of dialogue, and this book is no exception. The Inspector speaks to the victim and you learn a little about the plot. The Inspector questions a policeman about the scene of the crime, and another puzzle piece is filled in. In this present work, "The Patience Of The Spider", you even have Inspector Montalbano talking to himself as he recovers from a gunshot wound. Marvelous dialogue. But then, think about it. Andrea Camilleri, the author, writes in Italian. His collaborator, Stephen Sartarelli, translates everything into good English. I sense a touch of Brooklyn, or at least, New York City, in the translated English. So, this marvelous dialogue is doubly impressive. As you read, you get the sense of (perhaps) disgust of the Inspector with the bureaucratic inertia in the police, the TV stations, and in the judicial system. The annoyance of the Inspector comes across distinctly in the written words, translated from the Italian into English. Marvelous. Dialogue lets you know that the motor bike of the kidnapped girl, (Susanna), is pointing the wrong way on the road. More conversation is focused on the location of her helmet. Then, you begin to wonder if this is truly the usual kind of kidnapping in Sicily (if there are typical kidnappings anywhere...). As usual, in the Inspector Montalbano mysteries, the reader does not get a hint at the origin of the title until late in the book. This did not happen until page 207 of this book, which is only 244 pages long. You will have to read the book to discover who is the spider sitting in the web, waiting for the prey... with the patience of a spider.

This is a wonderful and delightful mystery. In fact, the whole series is out of the ordinary and a unique sort of reading experience. Highly recommended for the thoughtful reader. Minimal violence but lots of thoughtful suspense.

As always, Andrea Camilelri is a wonderful writer! This series is top notch and i have read every book in it. I can't wait for the next one.

Perhaps not among the top three, but this latest installment (at least for American readers) of Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series is an enjoyable read. Do not expect an upbeat ending, however.