In the Name of Ishmael [Paperback]

Giuseppe Genna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2004

Milan, 1962. Detective David Montorsi is obsessed with the murder of a young child found buried under a WWII monument. His lone investigation leads him to an elusive figure named Ishmael. Milan, 2001. Detective Guido Lopez investigates the random killing of a stranger on the street. He becomes ensnared in a plot-orchestrated by Ishmael-which will ultimately threaten the security of the West. In their parallel quests to uncover the identity of the killer, both men are led ever closer to the seemingly omnipotent yet invisible Ishmael-who may not only direct the deaths of innocents but determine the fates of nations. In the Name of Ishmael features two interlocking stories that weave a gripping conspiracy plot with a serial killer narrative-culminating in a climax that delivers an astonishing surprise.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A terrorist gang headed by the mysterious Ishmael of the title is the target of two police investigations, one in 1962 and the other in 2001, in this intricate novel of suspense and intrigue set in Milan. As Genna spins his linked stories of murder and organized crime, he weaves a web of mind games, trickery and looming threat. In 1962, the body of a 10-month-old baby boy is found on a rugby field, a "homicide with a sexual component." Inspector David Montorsi, charged with the investigation, is particularly troubled by the case because his wife, Maura, is pregnant with their first child. As he draws closer to the ring of terrorists who seem the likely perpetrators, he and his wife are entangled in their deadly schemes. In 2001, a simple murder leads Inspector Guido Lopez to an underworld of sadomasochism associated with the still-unidentified Ishmael. Meanwhile, the international participants in an economic conference-including Henry Kissinger, who is revealed to play a sinister role in Genna's tale-converge on Milan. The double plot is clever, but often unnecessarily tangled and burdened with lengthy philosophical musings. By the time the two investigations finally converge and the criminal, political and spiritual aims of Ishmael are revealed, many readers will feel stifled by the dense web of conspiracy and counter-conspiracy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

This baroque thriller, set in a Milan where mist seems to continually pour from the ground, opens with two apparently unconnected events: the discovery of a murdered child, buried under a war memorial, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962; and, almost four decades later, the shooting of a man in the street on the eve of an international political conference. Chapters shift between the two detectives pursuing the investigations. The tortuous plot—involving sadomasochistic clubs, fringe sects, and assassins—hinges on the historical figure of Enrico Mattei, an Italian industrialist who died in a plane crash in 1962 under suspicious circumstances. The author, a poet and journalist, writes with jittery, propulsive energy, and he can stop the reader cold with a single image, as when he describes, at the crash site of Mattei's plane, the unbroken, blood-stained trees.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (July 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786888865
• ISBN-13: 978-0786888863
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,881,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complex and Interesting Translation, June 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Name of Ishmael (Audio Cassette)

I thought this was one of the best fiction books I have read (actually I listened to it). I get the feeling that the reviewers who didn't like it, just didn't like the anti-US-ishness of the author's point of view and then took it out on the book. I write to add that the translation of the book is excellant!!! The descriptions are interesting and are not lost in the translation. I do think this book is probably better listened to, rather than read -- and the reader is one of the best.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, hard to put down, January 6, 2004

By 

Anne Powell (Robert Lee, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Name of Ishmael (Hardcover)

I had no idea who this author was, but the book sounded intriguing. I was unable to put it down to eat or sleep.....I want more books like this from this author. I enjoy the European view of the U.S..... Americans need to know how we are viewed by the rest of the world. I did not find the book hard to follow after getting into it about 1/4 of the way. Unusual and exceptional writing. Wish I had written it....it is one I will re-read. Too many books written today are formulaic and easy to figure out early in the book. Never a dull moment with this book. One of the two best books I read last year, the other being The DaVinci Code.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting BUT, June 30, 2005

By 

AMOVIEBUFF "AMOVIEBUFF" (NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Name of Ishmael (Hardcover)

I just finished this novel a few days ago. Like Robert Wilson's A Small Death in Lisbon I can not recommend it. That is not to say that the unraveling of the mystery's solution is not without merit nor are the main detective characters totally without elements of empathy. A prospective reader should be forwarned that certain plot elements are sordid in nature and especially in the Genna book either unclear as to the detail as to why or even if they are necessary for the plot development.And I consider myself pretty openminded-generally enjoying European literature. If it had not been in my nature to complete what I have started and my sense of fairness which compelled me to complete the novel I might have thrown it in the trash bin after the first 100 pages-that and the really Genna's interesting weaving of the police investigation. As I usually pass on my books to others,I have a problem doing that with this particular novel. Hopefully the second novel will be a bit more palatable than this one was.