The Patience of the Spider (Wheeler Softcover) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Andrea Camilleri (Author), Stephen Sartarelli (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Wheeler Softcover | Publication Date: November 2007

On a misty London afternoon in 1886, piano tuner Edgar Drake receives a strange request from the War Office: he must leave his wife, and his quiet life in London, to travel to the jungles of Burma to tune a rare Erhard grand piano. The piano belongs to Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll, an enigmatic British officer, whose success at making peace in the war-torn Shan States is legendary, but whose unorthodox methods have begun to attract suspicion. So begins the journey of the soft-spoken Edgar across Europe, the Red Sea, India, Burma, and at last into the remote highlands of the Shan States. En route he is entranced by the Doctor's letters and by the shifting cast of tale-spinners, soldiers and thieves who cross his path. As his captivation grows, however, so do his questions: about the Doctor's true motives, about an enchanting and elusive woman who travels with him into the jungle, about why he came. And, ultimately, whether he will ever be able to return home unchanged to the woman who awaits him there . . . Sensuous and lyrical, rich with passion and adventure, THE PIANO TUNER is an unforgettable and haunting novel.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Camilleri's agreeable eighth contemporary police procedural featuring the crotchety but insightful Inspector Montalbano finds the Italian detective at home in Marinella enjoying the ministrations of his wife, Livia, after he was shot by a child trafficker in 2006's Rounding the Mark. But his recuperation is hampered by the demands of a new case: the abduction of Susanna Mistretta, an attractive university student and daughter of a geologist. Unable to trust his colleagues to handle the case properly, Montalbano focuses on subtle anomalies—such as the direction the missing girl's motorbike was pointed—that suggest the kidnapping is more than the simple extortion attempt it appears to be. The witty writing and acerbic protagonist should appeal to fans of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Booklist

On the mend from the gunshot wound he sustained at the conclusion of Rounding the Mark (2006), police inspector Salvo Montalbano is called back to work when the kidnapping of a young woman rocks the insular Sicilian community of Vigata. As Montalbano becomes intrigued with the case, he gradually feels himself start to reengage with the rest of humanity, though the almost metaphysical lethargy that has been weighing on his soul will not dislodge easily. Camilleri seems more interested here in Montalbano's inner turmoil--including the inspector's reactions to his strained relationship with his lover, Livia--than he is with the kidnapping story. That's just as well, really, because the main plot this time is not nearly as meaty as in past episodes. But the focus of this consistently entertaining series has always been more on character than mystery, and although this installment is, at best, a transitional episode, it still delivers what fans have come to expect: a perfectly blended mix of comedy and melancholy, and a hero whose joie de vivre is perpetually under siege from an absurd world. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 327 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (November 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597226122
• ISBN-13: 978-1597226127
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,448,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrea Camilleri is the author of the spectacularly successful Montalbano mystery series and many other novels set in nineteenth-century Sicily. His Montalbano novels have been made into an Italian TV series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Eighth Inspector Montalbano Mystery by Andrea Camilleri - La pazienza del ragno - The Patience of the Spider, August 20, 2007

By 

Andrea Bowhill (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Patience of the Spider (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

What Montalbano should have been doing was resting, keeping the love nest warm with Livia tucked up against him, his official reason for withdrawing from society had something to do with the gun shot wound he received from his pervious job, but there was no doubt about it, this morning he could hear the telephone ringing. There were two options; the first, if he ignored the ringing he could carry on with his natural blissful way of life with Livia! Or secondly if he picked up, work, it only meant trouble, Montalbano reached for the phone.

One hour later he was standing at the scene of the crime, a kidnapping they said. A very pretty girl Susanna Mistretta, who lived with her father and mother in a country villa three miles outside of Vigata town. Susanna had gone to study at friends during the day but had not returned home as usual that evening. Her father of course was worried, time became late and he went searching for his daughter, but it was Susanna's boyfriend Francesco Lipari who finally spotted her abandoned moped about two hundred yards from her parents house. Montalbano was quite certain something had happened to the girl, as he made a closer inspection of the scene, it was the front wheel of the moped that clinched it, why was it facing towards Vigata? Backwards! It looked like it cared it was going the wrong way! As far as Montalbano was concerned this was his case, he'd just seen foul play.

This would be the Eighth book in the series and Camilleri has made a few slight changes with this one, which is charming and crafty. His given to us direct clues of which suspect could have done this crime and his done so quite blatantly, his thrown predictable right at us, but what Camilleri does not give away and therefore keeps us guessing till the last is the Psychology behind the crime, his showing how Montalbano forms his ideas quietly and goes about gathering evidence to support his facts and only then will he let us have the final verdict.

Some may also be disappointed that this time around Camilleri has left out some of that mouthwatering great-flavored foods but instead has spent more time on another intriguing passionate ingredients, Livia and Montalbano's relationship. Livia's presence and character begins to form nicely throughout this storyline remaining Montalbano's rock. Always happy to adjust her life to take care of her man, they argue but in a healthy way of dealing with one another, she takes the no nonsense approach in his darker moods but does understand what his trying to achieve in his world. Their relationship has the up's and down's of a long distance love, Nec tecum nec sine te - Neither with or without you.

Inspector Montalbano character is just fantastic to read, for his questionable brainstorms and unorthodox subversive opinions. Montalbano, a man approaching the end of his career, the rebel, the thinker, not afraid to explore all areas even into obsession. Sorting through a web of lies to find logic, searching for truth.

Andrea Camilleri has written a wonderful Montalbano mystery series. Having read all in the translation series, I love the characterization and language the usage of dialogue that has been kept real with sharp wit and ironic comedy moments, the sly comments on Italian life and culture keep things for me interesting and amusing.

A special mention to poet Stephen Sartarelli, I'm thoroughly enjoying his clear translation of each book and for the informative notes given at the back on wording. Thank you.

A Wonderful Read.

Andrea Bowhill

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sicily in the new millennium, May 19, 2007

By 

Old Dog "Expatiation" (The Hill Country, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Patience of the Spider (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This brings Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano detective series into a Sicily of the new millennium. As with his distinguished literary predecessor Leonardo Sciascia, Camilleri's main interest lies in studying the social, psychological, and political protocols of this tight little island, as if they yet remain a curiosity--a terra incognita at once sullen yet grand. Fairly interesting in depicting a fairly cunning intrigue; but, as has been noted, fairly obvious. Especially interesting in displaying a contemporary Sicily more generally prosperous than a Verga or a Sciascia could have imagined--autostradas, motorcycles galore, grand homes, beachfront apartments, airplane trips back and forth to the north: a good life with decent vacation time and good restaurants. The focus here is on greed and moral malaise. (An acquaintance of mine, returning from a visit to the old sod, remarked that they don't know how good they have it.) Alas, so far I have been unable to secure videos of Italian television's productions of the Montalbano novels. As usual, Stephen Sartarelli's translation preserves the author's smooth, swift, elegant narrative style (a major feature of Italian narrative style for over six centuries), and offers useful notes. Oh yes, in this sequel there is not enough explicit eating--that is, no X-rated gourmandizing. Is Camilleri going puritan on us? Has political correctness conquered this last stronghold of sensual decency?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good.....but not as good, July 5, 2007

By 

Traveling Lady (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Patience of the Spider (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I always enjoy the Inspector Montalbano mysteries and will read them and enjoy them regardless of the reviews they get. I have to admit that I did not think this was one of Camillier's better efforts. The plot was not as interesting as most and there was not enough about the food!