Customer Reviews

Excursion to Tindari

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As someone who only reads a few mystery novels a year, I was overwhelmed to discover both Andrea Camilleri and Donna Leon at about the same time. Camilleri's Inspector Salvo Montalbano stories and Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti novels are so good that I wanted to read them all and was delighted to find that both authors have written at least a dozen books each. Only five or six of Camilleri's have been translated into English from the original Italian so far, but more are on the way. And many of Leon's are out of print in the U.S., but perhaps that will change in the near future.

These are compelling mysteries that draw you right in and keep you hooked right up to the satisfying, if not always happy, conclusions. But that almost goes without saying. What keeps you coming back for more are the characters and the extras, in this case, the backdrops of Sicily and Venice.

Stephen Sartarelli's translations of the Camilleri books are marvelous. It isn't hard to translate a book, but it is difficult to do well. He strikes the perfect balance of translating most things, but turning to explanation when translating would destroy the mood. There are a few pages of explanations at the end of each book, describing pastas and exchange rates and cultural references. For instance, he translates education-impaired cop Catarella's rough speech into something Brooklyn-esque, but he explains Boghonghi the Dwarf, apparently a famous character to most Italians, but not to Americans. (Example of a bad translation -- I remember seeing a dubbed version of the French movie A Man and a Woman that completely destroyed the romantic mood when they replaced the Edith Piaf song playing on the car radio in the original version with a dubbed ragtime tune.)

I can't say which series is better, I tend to think that whichever I am reading at the moment is my favorite.

I love mysteries, but not thrillers, and had moved nearly my entire bookshelf to Britain and its writers, but I thought I had exhausted Amazon's list. On a whim, I tried Inspector Montalbano. He is alternately rude and kind to his squad. He approaches cases indirectly, with intuition more than reasoning (he IS Italian, after all). He is a faithful but unreliable lover. He eats well and has enormous sympathy for villans and their victims. Frankly, I get so wrapped up in his world I lose track of the plot, but it doesn't matter. Another reviewer quibbled about the translation details but that doesn't bother me either. This is an engaging, complex lead character, with some lovely supporting actors-- a great buffoonish cop, a steady and sober right hand man who doesn't deserve the grief Montalbano heaps on and a busy (fictional) small city that lives with priests and mafioso with equal acceptance. Very enjoyable, very readable with mood and sometimes writing like crystal. Unlike Donna Leon's Venician detective (who is wonderful but like reading an Italian "cozy"), Camilleri is harder edged and sharper eyed. A real pleasure.

I came upon Inspector Montalbano when I ran out of Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti mysteries. Recklessly, I ordered two Montalbano books at once, author unfamiliar, and read the first one, The Shape of Water. Frankly, I didn't think much of the story and was put off by the crudeness of the language. If I hadn't also bought the second one, Excursion to Tindari, I would have been deprived of a delightful excursion into Sicilian life and the charming (sometimes) Salvo Montalbano. This book is more expansive, doesn't deal exclusively with sex as did the first book, and leisurely introduces us to Montalbano's characteristics: gourmet/gourmand; bad boy; antiauthoritarian; well-read intellectual; commitment phobic lover;intuitive; wit; humanist. His investigations are always unorthodox and often fun. He incessantly abuses the men in his squad who are all somewhat quirky, but they are extremely loyal to him. As someone in another review said, the resolution of the crime isn't the main point, it's the journey there that's the best part of his novels. I have since read The Terra Cotta Dog, The Snack Thief and am almost through with the last one, The Smell of the Night, which I am savoring. I do appreciate the translator's glossary at the back of the book. It helps retain the original flavor of the language while at the same time enlightening the non-Italian reader. (I wish Donna Leon would do this.) I found a website that lists five more untranslated books. I sure hope Mr. Santarelli is busy working on them.

I wait anxiously for each new translation (Stephen Sartarelli is peerless, but I may have to give up waiting and just learn Italian). Excursion to Tindari has everything I savor in the Inspector Montalbano stories: a cynical but loving view of humanity, startling and unique characters captured with just a few brushstrokes, a great puzzle that unfolds in an honest narration ... fantastic food, and just a tease of both Livia and Ingrid. Poetry, memory and imagination twisted together. I try to make myself read slowly, while dying to know what's on the next page. At least when I read too fast, I can start over again sooner.

This is my fourth Montalbano mystery and it is the best. Perhaps I've just gotten to enjoy his company so much over the years, but Camilleri outdoes himself on Excursion to Tindari. What make Montalbano so enjoyable is that he and his mates at the Vigata police station seem so real and believable. Camilleri is an artist and paints a beautiful rendering of a man at the middle of his life. The portrait of Sicilian life is captivating and memorable.

If I can find fault with the series, it is that the final resolutions are somewhat less than satisfying. But with Camilleri, it is the journey not the destination that makes his works so enjoyable. If you enjoy Camilleri, you may also want to try Leonardo Sciascia as well.

Inspector Montalbano buried his head in his pillow, eyes held tightly shut hoping the sound of the telephone being muffled would eventually stop, he knew he should have pulled the plug last night, at this hour it could only mean one thing; trouble. Montalbano is quickly informed somebody had been killed; the address given was Via Cavour 44. Vigàta, a young man just coming home early hours, puts his keys in the front door then (Zap) a single shot to the face and that's where they left him, sprawling on the pavement.

Davide Griffo had shown up at the police station pretty worked up and looking to speak with Inspector Montalbano, Montalbano agrees to this unscheduled meeting if only to quieten down the noise. Griffo was very worried he had travelled from Messina to look for his parents, he was extremely perplexed his parents were old and had never been outside Vigàta, but out of the blue they decided to go on an Excursion to Tindari and he had not heard from them since. Montalbano would have passed the missing persons case straight on if it wasn't for the fact that Mr. Griffo said that his parents' home address was Via Cavour 44.

Montalbano third unexpected and annoying moment was an early morning call from Orazio Guttadauro the Mafia's favourite Lawyer. Guttadauro informs him that Don Balduccio Sinagra although in his nineties was still head of one of the two biggest families and was still in excellent health and wondered if Montalbano could stop by for a polite discussion with him sometime soon. Great just what Montalbano needed, a nice friendly chat with the opposition and another link for him to be lead up one more twisted path, where was this all leading?

Andrea Camilleri has written a wonderful Montalbano Mystery series, this book is the fifth in the series and again he doesn't disappoint. What I love about this whole series would be the characterisation and language the usage of dialogue in conversation it's all been kept real it's got it sharp wit and ironic comedy moments, the sly comments on Italian life and culture keeps things amusing and interesting. Also for me the passion for great flavoured food, all the dishes in these books are mouthwatering and endless.

Camilleri has done wonders with the character Inspector Salvo Montalbano especially in this one, showing his cynical, realist side, Montalbano does not treat organised crime lightly, in this fictional town of Vigàta the police realise they cannot defeat the Mafiosi but they do try to co-exist with them, they want to minimise the damage that they cause, this might hold them in good stead to confront the more violent and ruthless New Generation Mafia.

All Characters in these books are very funny and well written; the description of the wonderful chaotic police station is hilarious, especially the character Catarella (Cat) his dialogue in this and others just has me in stitches. The whole series has a timeless feel about them and they clearly deserve to be read from the beginning.

This is also where I bring in my special thank you to poet Stephen Sartarelli who has translated each book smoothly and clearly managing to keep its humour through out and for the informative notes given at the back on wording.

I've loved this whole series and this one is another fantastic read.

A.Bowhill

Andrea Camilleri has created a vastly interesting detective series with two lead characters--Inspector Salvo Montalbano and Sicily. These books are always at least half about the cultural and political life and mores of the island. "Excursion to Tindari" is a good example of this dual purpose story, happening to have a particularly good mystery as its chassis. No reason to get into the plot here. Suffice it to say that the storyline moves along swiftly as Montalbano pokes and prods to solve a particularly brutal murder of a couple of senior citizens. With a story set in Sicily, author Camilleri could easily fall back frequently on the Mafia as his villain. He rarely takes this predictable route and his mysteries are always the better for that choice. One other thing worth noting here is that Camilleri's Italian-in-the-original stories are beautiful translated. He's lucky to have such a good collaborator. I would recommend this whole series to anyone who likes good mystery writing and or is interested in Sicily/Italy.

"Excursion To Tindari", by Andrea Camilleri. Subtitled: "An Inspector Montalbano Mystery". Translated by Stephen Sartarelli. Penguin Books, 2005.

When a young man, N. Sanifilippo, is assassinated in front of his apartment building, the murder has all the signs of being a Mafia hit. "They shot him once. Bull's -eye, in the middle of the forehead." (Page 7). But then, an elderly couple, Mr. & Mrs. Griffo, who live in the same apartment building, go missing. Is there a connection? Were the elderly people abducted to hide some aspect of the crime? Inspector Montalbano is on the outside of the murder mystery, and he begins to investigate only the disappearance of the Griffo couple, slowly but surely interrogating the occupants of each apartment on the Via Crucis. "The last station on the Via Crucis was Apartment 19, fourth floor..." (Page 33).

Unlike other Inspector Montalbano novels, the title is explained fairly early in this book, as it appears that the Griffo couple had gone on an excursion to Tindari to view the Black Madonna. Tindari is north of Catania, almost at the Straits of Messina. It seems that the Black Madonna statue had been fished out of the sea, and healing powers had been attributed to the statue. But!, the Griffo couple were in fairly good health. The Inspector tracks down the bus line that runs the excursions, meets a good looking woman who was the attendant, and the end result is that the Griffo couple went to Tindari, but they got off the bus just before returning home. Inspector Montalbano goes to sit under his famous Saracen oak to ponder all this, and the description of the snake-like weaving and interweaving of the oak's branches is fabulous. The murder of Sanifilippo and the murders of the Griffo couple are also intertwined like the oak branches. The forensic evidence shows that the Griffo couple were murdered together, while they were holding hands. Inspector Montalbano brings it all to an end in his usual fashion, which is all I'll tell you...

Excursion to Tindari has some of the best humor based on human elimination since Rabelais. Who else but Andrea Camilleri would indulge his character development in such an imaginative and earthy way?

An ongoing theme in the book is the troubled nature of love between men and women. You will find the exposition to provide much room for chuckles and smiles.

The mysteries are subtle and puzzling . . . with the ultimate causal strings well hidden until near the end. Those who love challenging mysteries will feel well rewarded.

Ultimately, Excursion to Tindari is more character development about Inspector Montalbano than it is a mystery. But the book is much more mystery, if you look only at that dimension, than all but a few mysteries that will come out in any given year. As someone who loves great character development and difficult-to-solve mysteries, I was in heaven while reading this delightful book.

A young man is assassinated, professional-style, on his doorstep. He comes from a poor family and his work doesn't pay much. Where did he get all those expensive belongings?

An unfriendly elderly couple takes an excursion on a bus to Tindari, and don't even get off the bus until just before the trip ends. After that, no one can find them. What's going on?

A Mafia don tells Montalbano to call on him. Even with great caution, can Montalbano avoid being used for the don's purposes?

In the background, Montalbano is very upset to learn that Mimi Augello, his right hand man, has fallen in love with a policewoman in another town and is thinking about moving. Can anything be done?

The book has only three highlights for Montalbano: His favorite tree provides inspiration and answers; he has an unexpectedly pleasant meal with a beautiful and agreeable young woman; and he can always seem to find some wonderful food to distract him from his annoyances and frustrations.

The contrasts between the inner Montalbano and the public one are nicely and humorously drawn. As always, the politics of the police are displayed in Keystone-Kops-like ways. You could laugh about the funny parts of this book for days.

Bravo to both Andrea Camilleri and his brilliant translator, Stephen Sartarelli!

I echoe the praise for this mystery and the entire series, but I have been told by Italians that to really appreciate Camilleri you must read him in the original Sicilian dialect in which the Montalbano series is written! (So the translator has a much tougher job than the other reviewers have credited him with!)

One warning: the language is much cruder/more profane than Donna Leon uses in her Brunetti Venetian mysteries. My wife had a hard time with this at first, but once she got into the first one she couldn't stop reading them.