Tuesday 4 November 2014

Reading the detectives 1: Inspector Montalbano


I’ve enjoyed reading detective series for a very long time. I was trying to think for how long: I certainly remember ‘discovering’ Agatha Christie, probably in my late twenties after a colleague proudly showed me his collection of ancient Penguin editions. I borrowed one and that was it, I was hooked. Then I went on to Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham etc, and later, I crossed the Atlantic (in spirit) to enter the super-cool world of Raymond Chandler.

But actually I think it started way before then. A lot of the series I borrowed from the children’s library were, in a way, detective stories – the Famous Five and the Malcolm Saville books, for example, both centred round a mystery – and usually a dastardly criminal – who had to be investigated by sleuthing children.

Recently, though, having a Kindle has moved my enjoyment of the genre up to a whole new level. It began when a friend recommended the Montalbano series, by Andrea Camilleri. (Incidentally, Camilleri wrote the first of this massively successful and much-loved series when he was 69. I find that curiously comforting.) I downloaded the first and loved it. For anyone who hasn’t seen or heard of Montalbano, he is an eccentric, short-tempered but very lovable Sicilian detective inspector. He lives in a house right on the edge of a beach, and often goes for an early morning swim to clear his mind. Probably the most important thing in his life is food – and woe betide anyone who interrupts his enjoyment of a good meal, or who serves him up a bad one. Other objects of his affection are his team – lascivious Mimi, loyal Fazio and the utterly bonkers Caterella; his long-distance girlfriend Livia, and his best friend Ingrid, the utterly beautiful six foot Swedish blonde, who helps him out in so many ways.

Catarella, Montalbano (aka Luca Zingaretti), Fazio and Mimi - from the Italian TV series

Like all the best detectives, Salvo Montalbano is very much his own man. He’s left-wing, cynical, and a natural rebel who loves to wind up his superiors and lives in terror of being promoted. He doesn’t toe the party line, and he certainly doesn’t follow procedures. He’s a maverick who inspires loyalty and admiration – even from the criminal fraternity.

So – I read the first one. Then his publishers did a very clever thing. They put the first chapter of the second book at the end of the first one. So, just at the point where you are reluctantly dragging yourself away from the sun-drenched shores of Sicily, you’re offered another chance. What harm can it do? You read the first chapter. You realise that not only are you being offered a brand new adventure – you are also being given the chance to pick up the threads left dangling in the first. And that’s it – you’re hooked. You don’t even have to get out of bed. With a few taps on the screen, it’s done: the second book is there. And so it goes on.

Young Montalbano, played by Michele Riordano

This cunning ploy certainly helps the publishers – but it helps you, the reader, too. You don’t have to waste time till you can get to a bookshop or till you can order the next book from the library – you can read the whole series end-to-end. So there’ll be none of that forgetting what happened earlier on in the series (well, you’d better hope there isn’t, because one thing it isn’t easy to do with a Kindle is to flick back through the pages to check on something). You get a clear sense of the series arc; of how the characters are developing, how they are affected by their experiences. In the case of Montalbano, you also begin to get a sense of the social and political context of the books, and of Camilleri’s own concerns about Italy and how it is governed.


But every good series comes to an end, so what did I read next? Well, for that you’ll have to wait till next time.

But meanwhile, PLEASE tell me about your own favourite detective novels in the comments. I'm on the lookout for my next series.

10 comments:

  1. I realize that just about everybody has already heard of this series, but have you read the Cormoran Strike books? The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm are both very dark and very, very good.

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  2. Yes, I've read them and enjoyed them. Quite a well-known author, I believe!

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  3. Author Ian Hamilton; lives in Burlington ON. Writes about a kick-ass forensic accountant. Series of six books which we were all addicted too. Also liked scandinavian authors Camilla Lackberg and Jo Nesbo. Enjoy!

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  4. There's a post coming up on Jo Nesbo, but I didn't know about Camilla Lackberg or Ian Hamilton. Thanks, Celia - there are so many times when nothing but a good detective novel will do!

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  5. Thanks for your comment and a glimpse of the recumbent way to read crime. I would enjoy a sister post to this on the super cool Chandler who I am never tired of reading - sitting propped up in bed with two pillows as default mode. Another interesting Italian crime writer is actually an American woman whose uxorious Venetian inspector has an academic wife who loves Henry James. Trouble is, I can remember Montalbano, but never the name of his Venetian food-loving counterpart.

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  6. Inspector Brunetti, by Donna Leon! Am just reading one, the first for a while. The food sounds so good! Chandler, yes - a good reason to re-read.

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. I am currently reading the Michael Dibdin Zen books but it does not compare to the world of Montalbano.

    In truth I enjoyed the books but prefer the visual splendour of the tv series - it is a joy to watch as it takes you into the laid-back world he inhabits and allows you to enjoy a taste of Italian humour (and the wonderful seafood vicariously).

    If you have not seen them yet I suggest you give it a chance, below is my blog with an episode guide and links:

    http://inspectormontalbano.blogspot.com

    Enjoy.

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  9. Dear Dozing Lion - your comment arrived in my inbox, but then I found you'd removed it from here! Anyway - just to say I love TV series too. It really helps you to picture the characters and their surroundings.

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  10. I am currently reading the Michael Dibdin Zen books but it does not compare to the world of Montalbano.

    In truth I enjoyed the books but prefer the visual splendour of the tv series - it is a joy to watch as it takes you into the laid-back world he inhabits and allows you to enjoy a taste of Italian humour (and the wonderful seafood vicariously).

    If you have not seen them yet I suggest you give it a chance, below is my blog with an episode guide and links:

    http://inspectormontalbano.blogspot.com

    Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete