Rounding the Mark (Paperback)

by Andrea Camilleri (Author), Stephen Sartarelli (Translator) "Stinking, treacherous night..." (more)
Key Phrases: little harbor, Inspector Montalbano, Ciccio Albanese, Fonso Spàlato (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Camilleri's gripping seventh Inspector Montalbano mystery (after 2005's The Smell of the Night) successfully integrates serious political themes with a hero reminiscent of Colin Dexter's beloved Inspector Morse. Frustrated by his department's repressive handling of security for the G8 summit in Genoa, Montalbano seriously considers resigning. His attempt to unwind with a casual swim along the Sicilian seashore fails when he discovers a corpse in the water. The inspector's pursuit of the cause of death intersects with another mystery—the inquiry into a hit-and-run that claimed the life of a young boy who may have been victimized by human traffickers. When Montalbano realizes that he may have inadvertently aided the boy's victimizers, his internal turmoil intensifies. Despite Camilleri's hard look at modern-day slavery and child abuse, he maintains Montalbano's gallows humor, making this far from a run-of-the-mill police procedural. (Aug.)
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From Booklist
We noted in our review of The Smell of the Night (2005) that Camilleri's Salvo Montalbano series was becoming considerably darker, with the Sicilian inspector fighting a losing battle against the melancholy that weighs down so many overburdened European cops, from Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander in Sweden to Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen in Italy. Pervasive corruption has much to do with Montalbano's growing sense of powerlessness, but, in his seventh adventure, the shenanigans of his superiors and the politicians behind them are coupled with the evil underside of the opening of Europe's borders: the buying and selling of immigrant children (to be used either as slave labor, toys for pedophiles, or the source of illegal organ transplants). Montalbano unwittingly abets one such trafficker in human flesh and spends the rest of the novel struggling to set matters right. But setting anything right in this absurdly wrong world is something of an exercise in futility, and Montalbano alternates between despair and steely resolve. Unlike other authors who dramatize both the ugly racism and unfathomable evil that too often accompany an immigrant's journey, Camilleri masterfully mixes tragedy and comedy by showing us Montalbano's laughably human foibles and excesses, from his continuing hunger for a good meal and his bumbling efforts to sustain a romantic relationship through his compassionate if often misguided attempts to deal with his subordinates. Ordinary life goes on, even in the face of extraordinary horror. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014303748X
• ISBN-13: 978-0143037484
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 7 in The Inspector Montalbano Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the stronger ones of the series, April 14, 2007

By	Eloi "[e-mail]" (Ely, NV USA) - See all my reviews

I've read all eight of Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano novels currently available in English translation and preordered _Patience of the Spider_, so I guess I'm a fan. Salvo Montalbano is an enviable character--he may be bummed at getting old, but in the meantime he has gorgeous women crawling all over him and eats like a king--yet never gets fat! The carefully described meals are just one example of the many details that make readers feel at home in the wacky imaginary Sicilian city of Vigàta. This is definitely fiction with a strong sense of place, like that by Carl Hiaasen. In using his knowledge of the local ways (and thus passing them on to the reader), Montalbano is a little like the Joe Leaphorn of Hillerman's earlier novels (like _Dance Hall of the Dead_).

_Rounding the Mark_ is maybe a little less integrated than some of the novels--the novel begins with Montalbano's disgust at the corruption of his fellow cops to the point where he is about to resign, and it seems that corruption and the resignation will be a big deal, but they are pretty much forgotten as the plot gets underway. Other reviewers have complained that there's not enough fast-paced action in Camilleri's works, but this one heats up better than most by the end.

Camilleri is a master at characterizing people through their dialects. I wouldn't have thought that could come out in translation, but Sartarelli gets it across. And the endnotes are a godsend, especially in making clear just how much money is involved so as to clarify its motivating power. Then, too, there are lovely local customs like "goat-tying" explained. Sicily is a scary place!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspector Montalbano is my hero! , November 10, 2006

By	J. Emma Lazarus - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read them all....all the Montalbano mysteries by Andrea Camilleri that is, and Inspector Montalbano's penchant for justice, his appetite for homespun Sicilian cuisine, and his argument with the ever present absurdities and corruption of modern Italian/Sicilian life are exquisite. While his subject matter is often brutal I always feel that I'm in the company of a humanitarian champion. Camilleri makes me laugh out loud and I cheer him on with his wildly improbable plots because they take on the issues of the gravest importance. Child abduction and slavery, immigration, and bribery, are only a few of the issues that Camilleri tackles. If you're a mystery fan, Camilleri is not to be missed. I've read several of his books twice for the shear joy of the language. These mysteries are the best and the translations by Stephen Sartarelli are top notch. Go for it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Montalbano still nifty at fifty, February 11, 2007

By	Blue "in Washington" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Andrea Camilleri provides another interesting stemwinder mystery, starring an aging and reflective Commissioner Salvo Montalbano. These tales of crime, corruption and daily life in Sicily are always intelligent and enjoyable, and "Rounding the Mark" is not an exception in this series. Beyond the obligatory murders and ancillary sordid criminal activity (trafficking in third world children) that the intrepid Montalbano sorts through here, the reader also shares the hero's ruminations about the pervasive corruption and cynicism that apparently mark the ebb and flow of Italian political, commercial and social life.

Montalbano has seen it all, but remains shockable and outraged when he comes across the vileness of immigrant smuggling and child trafficking. Montalbano is also struggling with the physical changes that come with middle-age. He's not happy with any of this, but plugs on and steadfastly and cleverly routs the bad guys and more or less stays true to his personal moral code.

A good read. And if you like Camilleri's Montalbano series, you might also enjoy Donna Leon's Inspector Brumetti and Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen. These are also wonderful stories about life and crime in Italy.