Il Mistero del London Eye

by Siobhan Dowd, Sante Bandirali (Translator)

Ted, giovane autistico sul cui cervello gira un sistema operativo diverso da quello delle altre persone, conduce un'inchiesta appassionante e ricca d’ironia. Il mistero della scomparsa di Salim diventa lo sfondo su cui si intrecciano temi come l'emarginazione, la società multiculturale, la separazione dei genitori, l'amicizia. E Ted, con le specifiche qualità dovute alla sua condizione, ce ne offre una sua particolare e affascinante sintesi.

256 pages, Paperback

Published May 28, 2024

About the author

Siobhan Dowd was born to Irish parents and brought up in London. She spent much of her youth visiting the family cottage in Aglish, County Waterford and later the family home in Wicklow Town.

She attended a Catholic grammar school in south London and then gained a degree in Classics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. After a short stint in publishing, she joined the writer's organization PEN, initially as a researcher for its Writers in Prison Committee.

She went on to be Program Director of PEN American Center's Freedom-to-Write Committee in New York City. Her work here included founding and leading the Rushdie Defense Committee USA and traveling to Indonesia and Guatemala to investigate local human rights conditions for writers. During her seven-year spell in New York, Siobhan was named one of the "top 100 Irish-Americans" by Irish-America Magazine and AerLingus, for her global anti-censorship work.

On her return to the UK, Siobhan co-founded English PEN's readers and writers programme, which takes authors into schools in socially deprived areas, as well as prisons, young offender's institutions and community projects.

During 2004, Siobhan served as Deputy Commissioner for Children's Rights in Oxfordshire, working with local government to ensure that statutory services affecting children's lives conform with UN protocols.
Siobhan has an MA with Distinction in Gender and Ethnic Studies at Greenwich University, has authored short stories, columns and articles, and edited two anthologies.

In May 2007, Siobhan was named one of "25 authors of the future" by Waterstones Books as part of the latter's 25th anniversary celebrations.

Siobhan died on 21st August 2007 aged 47. She had been receiving treatment for advanced breast cancer for 3 years, and did not go gentle into that good night.

Reviews

[Sveva Becciolini · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Il mistero del London Eye" è un giallo in cui il protagonista, Ted, un ragazzino con la sindrome di Asperger, indaga sulla scomparsa del cugino Salim durante un giro sulla ruota panoramica di Londra; aiutato dalla sorella Kat, Ted usa la sua logica eccezionale, la sua ossessione per i dettagli e la sua profonda conoscenza del meteo per formulare ipotesi e risolvere il mistero, scopre che Salim è fuggito volontariamente. Il cugino Salim, arriva a Londra con la madre, l'esuberante zia Gloria, per una visita. Così la famiglia decide, soprattutto per accontentare Salim, di andare sulla ruota panoramica. Un uomo misterioso regala a Salim un biglietto, facendolo salire da solo. Alla fine del giro però, il ragazzo non si trova più nella capsula, scomparendo nel nulla, nonostante tutti i controlli. Mentre la polizia non trova indizi, Ted e sua sorella Kat iniziano una loro indagine parallela, con Ted che elabora 8 ipotesi diverse, dalle più stravaganti alle più razionali, grazie al suo "sistema operativo" cerebrale differente. È un giallo avvincente che racconta una storia anche sull'amicizia, la famiglia e la comprensione degli altri.
La scoperta finale è che Salim non è stato rapito, ma è fuggito volontariamente, aiutato da un complice incontrato in coda. Le indagini di Ted lo portano a capire le motivazioni di Salim.
***
"The Mystery of the London Eye" is a mystery in which the protagonist, Ted, a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, investigates the disappearance of his cousin Salim during a ride on the London Ferris wheel; aided by his sister Kat, Ted uses his exceptional logic, his obsession with detail, and his deep knowledge of the weather to formulate hypotheses and solve the mystery, he discovers that Salim fled voluntarily. Cousin Salim arrives in London with his mother, the exuberant Aunt Gloria, for a visit. So the family decides, especially to please Salim, to go on the Ferris wheel. A mysterious man gives Salim a ticket, making him go up on his own. At the end of the tour, however, the boy is no longer in the capsule, disappearing into thin air, despite all the checks. While the police find no clues, Ted and his sister Kat begin their own parallel investigation, with Ted developing eight different hypotheses, from the most outlandish to the most rational, thanks to his different brain "operating system." It's a gripping mystery that also tells a story about friendship, family, and understanding others.
The final discovery is that Salim was not kidnapped, but fled voluntarily, aided by an accomplice he met in line. Ted's investigation leads him to understand Salim's motives.

[Alice Farneti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto bello anche se non mi piacciono i gialli.