What do you think?
Rate this book
Commissario Montalbano #28
Riccardino
The long-awaited last novel in the transporting and beloved New York Times bestselling Inspector Montalbano series
At eighty, I foresaw Montalbano's departure from the scene, I got the idea and I didn't let it slip away. So I found myself writing this novel which is the final chapter; the last book in the series. And I sent it to my publisher saying to keep it in a drawer and to publish it only when I am gone. -Andrea Camilleri
Montalbano receives an early-morning phone call, but this time it's not Catarella announcing a murder, but a man called Riccardino who's dialed a wrong number and asks him when he'll be arriving at the meeting. Montalbano, in irritation, says: In ten minutes. Shortly after, he gets another call, this one announcing the customary murder. A man has been shot and killed outside a bar in front of his three friends. It turns out to be the same man who called him.
Thus begins an intricate investigation further complicated by phone calls from the Author in tour de force of metafiction and Montalbano's last case.
At eighty, I foresaw Montalbano's departure from the scene, I got the idea and I didn't let it slip away. So I found myself writing this novel which is the final chapter; the last book in the series. And I sent it to my publisher saying to keep it in a drawer and to publish it only when I am gone. -Andrea Camilleri
Montalbano receives an early-morning phone call, but this time it's not Catarella announcing a murder, but a man called Riccardino who's dialed a wrong number and asks him when he'll be arriving at the meeting. Montalbano, in irritation, says: In ten minutes. Shortly after, he gets another call, this one announcing the customary murder. A man has been shot and killed outside a bar in front of his three friends. It turns out to be the same man who called him.
Thus begins an intricate investigation further complicated by phone calls from the Author in tour de force of metafiction and Montalbano's last case.
272 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2020
281 people are currently reading
1135 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Camilleri
436 books2,481 followersAndrea Camilleri was an Italian writer. He is considered one of the greatest Italian writers of both 20th and 21st centuries.
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began studies at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, without concluding them, meanwhile publishing poems and short stories. Around this time he joined the Italian Communist Party.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began studies at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, without concluding them, meanwhile publishing poems and short stories. Around this time he joined the Italian Communist Party.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 528 reviews
September 14, 2021
Andrea Camilleri gives us the last chapter of Inspector Salvo Montalbano series set in Sicily, the final case, a book that the author wrote and had locked away to be published after his death. It all begins with Montalbano receiving a call, a wrong number from a Riccardino, asking him why he has not joined them yet, to which he irately gets his own back by misleadingly saying he is on his way. Later, he gets a call about a murder, a shooting by a killer on a motorbike. It turns out the victim is Riccardo Lopresti, aka Riccardino, his early morning caller, with his 3 closest friends present and all witnesses to the killing. Finding himself surrounded by a crowd cheering at the crime scene, unable to distinguish between the TV Montalbano and his real self, Montalbano whisks the 3 friends to the police station to interview them in peace.
A tired and out of sorts Montalbano is conflicted as to how to conduct the murder inquiry, oddly feeling as if he is competing with the popular TV version of himself. All of which means he is not that bothered when the case is transferred to the Chief of the Flying Squad, Inspector Toti. However, he finds himself once again in charge after a meeting with the influential Bishop Partanna, whose nephew is one of the 3 friends who all work at the local salt mine, applies pressure on the Commissioner. Matters become even more intriguing when mystic and fortune teller, Augustina 'Tina' Maca, informs Montalbano of strange goings on at night with a truck regularly leaving behind packages. Given the number of obstacles in his way, including philosophical questions from the Bishop designed to trap him, is this one case Montalbano is destined to not be able to solve?
Camilleri uses the literary devise of inserting himself as the author into the novel, interacting with his chief character, concerned that Montalbano is no longer up to the job and coming up with ways of solving the case for his novel, telling him that readers are wearying of the constant focus on the Mafia and corrupt politicians. With the author and Montalbano each feeling the other is losing the plot, where will it all end? So here we are, at the closing offbeat episode of what has been a fabulously entertaining series that I have loved. This was a great read, and I must admit I did not expect it to end in the way it did, fans of this wonderfully fun and humorous series I think will enjoy this addition. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
A tired and out of sorts Montalbano is conflicted as to how to conduct the murder inquiry, oddly feeling as if he is competing with the popular TV version of himself. All of which means he is not that bothered when the case is transferred to the Chief of the Flying Squad, Inspector Toti. However, he finds himself once again in charge after a meeting with the influential Bishop Partanna, whose nephew is one of the 3 friends who all work at the local salt mine, applies pressure on the Commissioner. Matters become even more intriguing when mystic and fortune teller, Augustina 'Tina' Maca, informs Montalbano of strange goings on at night with a truck regularly leaving behind packages. Given the number of obstacles in his way, including philosophical questions from the Bishop designed to trap him, is this one case Montalbano is destined to not be able to solve?
Camilleri uses the literary devise of inserting himself as the author into the novel, interacting with his chief character, concerned that Montalbano is no longer up to the job and coming up with ways of solving the case for his novel, telling him that readers are wearying of the constant focus on the Mafia and corrupt politicians. With the author and Montalbano each feeling the other is losing the plot, where will it all end? So here we are, at the closing offbeat episode of what has been a fabulously entertaining series that I have loved. This was a great read, and I must admit I did not expect it to end in the way it did, fans of this wonderfully fun and humorous series I think will enjoy this addition. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
July 28, 2020
La trama non è brillante, il caso da risolvere non è il motivo principale per cui è stato scritto il libro. Il vero motivo è dare un addio affettuoso ad un personaggio cui tutti i lettori sono affezionati. Ed il finale ideato dall’autore è stato, a mio parere, il migliore possibile. Ed anche il più bel regalo che Camilleri poteva offrire a noi lettori. Chapeau, Maestro.
July 23, 2020
Leggere questo libro ha fatto davvero male, perché non c'è niente di più brutto che sapere che sarà l'ultima volta che incontrerai tutti quei personaggi che hai amato per tanti anni.
Di protagonisti "uccisi" dai propri creatori, nella letteratura gialla, ce ne sono un sacco (a cominciare da Sherlock Holmes), ma se l'autore è vivo, puoi ancora sperare che cambi idea (come fece, appunto, Arthur Conan Doyle, anche se praticamente costretto); quando l'ultimo volume viene pubblicato postumo, invece, l'amarezza è ancora più grande, perché sai che è finita davvero.
Sono anni che Camilleri voleva mettere fine alle avventure di Montalbano, ma il personaggio l'ha sempre convinto a non farlo. E, conoscendo la perseveranza del commissario, la cosa non mi stupisce. Per anni - dacché ho saputo dell'esistenza di questo titolo - mi sono chiesta come Camilleri avrebbe posto la parola fine e ho sempre avuto paura che lo uccidesse, come la Christie ha fatto con Poirot.
Se il finale presentato fosse stato di un altro autore, avrei pensato che fosse impazzito; e invece, in questo caso, mi è parso l'unico possibile.
Che per Camilleri Montalbano non sia un personaggio solo su carta, ma una persona quasi reale, lo sappiamo da tempo. L'autore non ha mai fatto mistero di questa cosa, come anche ha sempre ribadito che ama la serie come prodotto a se stante, slegata dai romanzi da cui sono tratti, pur avendo una trama tutto sommato identica. Inoltre, già negli Arancini di Montalbano l'Autore scrisse un racconto intitolato Montalbano si rifiuta in cui il commissario, ad un certo punto della narrazione, gli telefona e gli dice che non ha intenzione di continuare a seguire la storia e, appunto, si ribella.
Trovare in questo romanzo l'Autore come personaggio, quindi, non è stata una sorpresa. Più andavo avanti nella lettura, più mi sono resa conto che, in realtà, questo romanzo è semplicemente quello che avveniva nella testa di Camilleri ogni volta che scriveva di Montalbano: da una parte c'era lui, che aveva delle idee; dall'altra c'era il personaggio, che andava per la sua strada e spesso si scontrava con il piano originale dello scrittore.
La scelta narrativa mi ha divertita tantissimo, in primis perché io amo queste storie in cui autori e personaggi si identificano; in seconda analisi, perché anche io scrivo e quello che ho letto in queste pagine l'ho vissuto centinaia di volte in prima persona. E vi posso assicurare che il personaggio vince sempre. Ed è in fondo quello che avviene anche in questo romanzo: perché Montalbano, alla fine, non ci sta, ed è lui ad avere l'ultimissima parola sulla sua ultima storia.
Sul giallo in sé non ho molto da dire, proprio perché rientra nei tipici gialli di Montalbano; insomma, sarebbe stato un romanzo come tanti altri della serie, se non fosse stato per la presenza dell'Autore. Quello che mi è dispiaciuto un po' è che non ho potuto dire addio proprio a tutti: mancava Mimì, per esempio (non che sia mai stato il mio personaggio preferito, ma va beh) e mi sarebbe tanto piaciuta un'apparizione anche di Inge.
Che altro aggiungere? Vorrei continuare a scrivere all'infinito, pur di non dire veramente addio a un autore, e a dei personaggi, che mi sono entrati nel cuore fin dalla prima volta che aprii la prima pagina del Giro di boa e rimasi completamente spiazzata dalla lingua che vi trovai, ma purtroppo anche le cose belle prima o poi finiscono.
Addio Maestro, e grazie per i bei momenti che ci hai regalato.
Di protagonisti "uccisi" dai propri creatori, nella letteratura gialla, ce ne sono un sacco (a cominciare da Sherlock Holmes), ma se l'autore è vivo, puoi ancora sperare che cambi idea (come fece, appunto, Arthur Conan Doyle, anche se praticamente costretto); quando l'ultimo volume viene pubblicato postumo, invece, l'amarezza è ancora più grande, perché sai che è finita davvero.
Sono anni che Camilleri voleva mettere fine alle avventure di Montalbano, ma il personaggio l'ha sempre convinto a non farlo. E, conoscendo la perseveranza del commissario, la cosa non mi stupisce. Per anni - dacché ho saputo dell'esistenza di questo titolo - mi sono chiesta come Camilleri avrebbe posto la parola fine e ho sempre avuto paura che lo uccidesse, come la Christie ha fatto con Poirot.
Se il finale presentato fosse stato di un altro autore, avrei pensato che fosse impazzito; e invece, in questo caso, mi è parso l'unico possibile.
Che per Camilleri Montalbano non sia un personaggio solo su carta, ma una persona quasi reale, lo sappiamo da tempo. L'autore non ha mai fatto mistero di questa cosa, come anche ha sempre ribadito che ama la serie come prodotto a se stante, slegata dai romanzi da cui sono tratti, pur avendo una trama tutto sommato identica. Inoltre, già negli Arancini di Montalbano l'Autore scrisse un racconto intitolato Montalbano si rifiuta in cui il commissario, ad un certo punto della narrazione, gli telefona e gli dice che non ha intenzione di continuare a seguire la storia e, appunto, si ribella.
Trovare in questo romanzo l'Autore come personaggio, quindi, non è stata una sorpresa. Più andavo avanti nella lettura, più mi sono resa conto che, in realtà, questo romanzo è semplicemente quello che avveniva nella testa di Camilleri ogni volta che scriveva di Montalbano: da una parte c'era lui, che aveva delle idee; dall'altra c'era il personaggio, che andava per la sua strada e spesso si scontrava con il piano originale dello scrittore.
La scelta narrativa mi ha divertita tantissimo, in primis perché io amo queste storie in cui autori e personaggi si identificano; in seconda analisi, perché anche io scrivo e quello che ho letto in queste pagine l'ho vissuto centinaia di volte in prima persona. E vi posso assicurare che il personaggio vince sempre. Ed è in fondo quello che avviene anche in questo romanzo: perché Montalbano, alla fine, non ci sta, ed è lui ad avere l'ultimissima parola sulla sua ultima storia.
Sul giallo in sé non ho molto da dire, proprio perché rientra nei tipici gialli di Montalbano; insomma, sarebbe stato un romanzo come tanti altri della serie, se non fosse stato per la presenza dell'Autore. Quello che mi è dispiaciuto un po' è che non ho potuto dire addio proprio a tutti: mancava Mimì, per esempio (non che sia mai stato il mio personaggio preferito, ma va beh) e mi sarebbe tanto piaciuta un'apparizione anche di Inge.
Che altro aggiungere? Vorrei continuare a scrivere all'infinito, pur di non dire veramente addio a un autore, e a dei personaggi, che mi sono entrati nel cuore fin dalla prima volta che aprii la prima pagina del Giro di boa e rimasi completamente spiazzata dalla lingua che vi trovai, ma purtroppo anche le cose belle prima o poi finiscono.
Addio Maestro, e grazie per i bei momenti che ci hai regalato.
July 27, 2020
Chi critica questo libro non ha capito nulla di Camilleri. Chapeau, Maestro, per il modo in cui hai deciso di congedare te stesso e la tua creatura più amata.
October 3, 2021
I finished this with a bittersweet feeling knowing that this is the very last of the wonderful Montalbano series, and that Camilleri has made it quite clear that there are to be no sequels penned by someone else given *that ending*.
That said, Salvo bows out without becoming any less grumpy, without losing his appetite for food - or for conflict whether with his superiors, the church or Italian politics. It's a shame that Mimi isn't here for this final shout-out, though Fazio and the divine Cat make good showings.
The acute departure in this book is that Camilleri makes himself present as The Author, hassling Montalba about how best to handle his case for the best story and making hilarious asides about how he's not allowed to be too erudite given that he's a 'genre' writer, and how the TV Montalbano, sauve and sophisticated, would do things!
It's a fine meta ending to a marvellous series - Montalbano and his humane, compassionate, sharp and witty author will be missed.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC via NetGalley
That said, Salvo bows out without becoming any less grumpy, without losing his appetite for food - or for conflict whether with his superiors, the church or Italian politics. It's a shame that Mimi isn't here for this final shout-out, though Fazio and the divine Cat make good showings.
The acute departure in this book is that Camilleri makes himself present as The Author, hassling Montalba about how best to handle his case for the best story and making hilarious asides about how he's not allowed to be too erudite given that he's a 'genre' writer, and how the TV Montalbano, sauve and sophisticated, would do things!
It's a fine meta ending to a marvellous series - Montalbano and his humane, compassionate, sharp and witty author will be missed.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC via NetGalley
January 28, 2022
As with #27, The Cook of the Halcyon, I do not count this as really part of the end of the series focused on Inspector Salvo Montalbano. The author, Andrea Camilleri, wrote the book, at 80, intending it to be the ending of the series, (as Agatha Christie wrote her last book about Hercules Poirot), to be published only after he died. At 91, he found himself still alive, and he made some changes to it, but all the previous books in the series work in sequence, and these last two are still out of sync. #26, The Sicilian Method, has his long-distance relationship with Livia (apparently) finally and abruptly end, but then she sort of pops up in the last two books, randomly, as if their relationship had not ended. I think readers of the series (and Livia herself!) deserve more of a resolution, having followed their often amusing struggles for 26 books.
I really like Salvo and his band of colleagues on the Vigata, Sicily, police force, though I became tired of the lack of development of most of the characters over time. And the same old jokes--how hard can you laugh in the several books where Catarella says, time and time again, "poissonally in poisson"? That was kinda funny the first time, but to hear it in every book several times? Eh. I like the love of Sicilian food and countryside in the books, but even those things are largely gone in this last book.
So what does Camilleri, the former theater director, actually do in this last book? He creates a kind of farce, and very much an homage to his favorite Italian playwright, Luigi Pirandello, who wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author. In this book Montalbano enters into playful dialogue with the Author, Camilleri, even as Montalbano is also dealing with the fact that there is (and I mean, in the real world) a popular Sicilian tv series featuring Montalbano as the main character. And the actor that plays Salvo is ten years younger, with more hair! So that has possibilities, mined in some previous books occasionally, briefly, but a whole book's worth of meta-mystery?
Riccardino is really just a side project to the series, a spin-off volume, and it's fun enough in its conception, but it doesn't end the series properly. Or maybe it just doesn't end it in the way I hoped, to be honest, with some resolution about Livia, and some passing of the torch to underlings Mimi and Fazio, and hey, why not one final wonderful meal at Enzo's?! The whole focus in this book gets to be on the author's relationship to the development of his characters. Which could be interesting, but not now, at the very end, it just seems silly as the last statement.
And in an appendix Camilleri admits that there are many more literary references coming from Salvo than ever before, so it doesn't at times even feel real to me. Salvo has always made some small literary references, though we almost never see him reading; he watches tv and movies most of the time when not working (or eating or obsessing about women)! And then this explosion of erudition in places? Nah.
The plot begins promisingly enough with Salvo getting a wrong number phone call from a stranger, Riccardino, who soon after is shot in the face as he arrives at a meeting with his three best friends, whose wives have all been sleeping with him. So the farce becomes a sex farce, which always has possibilities, but all this bawdy sex is reported, from the past, so it fails to connect for me as sex farce. There's some graft/smuggling/corruption involving, as usual, the Sicilian Mafia and the Holy Roman Catholic Church and local politicians, not worth recounting, because it is all just backdrop to the exchanges between Montalba and Camilleri.
I see I am in the minority of Goodreads readers on this ending. Many found it clever and amusing, and I can see that. It just doesn't feel like an appropriate ending to the series, with the changed tone and approach.
But here is a link to one of the fan favorite aspects of the series, the celebration of Sicilian cooking, which probably has increased tourism there. A WSJ article on Montalbano, 2012:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014...
I really like Salvo and his band of colleagues on the Vigata, Sicily, police force, though I became tired of the lack of development of most of the characters over time. And the same old jokes--how hard can you laugh in the several books where Catarella says, time and time again, "poissonally in poisson"? That was kinda funny the first time, but to hear it in every book several times? Eh. I like the love of Sicilian food and countryside in the books, but even those things are largely gone in this last book.
So what does Camilleri, the former theater director, actually do in this last book? He creates a kind of farce, and very much an homage to his favorite Italian playwright, Luigi Pirandello, who wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author. In this book Montalbano enters into playful dialogue with the Author, Camilleri, even as Montalbano is also dealing with the fact that there is (and I mean, in the real world) a popular Sicilian tv series featuring Montalbano as the main character. And the actor that plays Salvo is ten years younger, with more hair! So that has possibilities, mined in some previous books occasionally, briefly, but a whole book's worth of meta-mystery?
Riccardino is really just a side project to the series, a spin-off volume, and it's fun enough in its conception, but it doesn't end the series properly. Or maybe it just doesn't end it in the way I hoped, to be honest, with some resolution about Livia, and some passing of the torch to underlings Mimi and Fazio, and hey, why not one final wonderful meal at Enzo's?! The whole focus in this book gets to be on the author's relationship to the development of his characters. Which could be interesting, but not now, at the very end, it just seems silly as the last statement.
And in an appendix Camilleri admits that there are many more literary references coming from Salvo than ever before, so it doesn't at times even feel real to me. Salvo has always made some small literary references, though we almost never see him reading; he watches tv and movies most of the time when not working (or eating or obsessing about women)! And then this explosion of erudition in places? Nah.
The plot begins promisingly enough with Salvo getting a wrong number phone call from a stranger, Riccardino, who soon after is shot in the face as he arrives at a meeting with his three best friends, whose wives have all been sleeping with him. So the farce becomes a sex farce, which always has possibilities, but all this bawdy sex is reported, from the past, so it fails to connect for me as sex farce. There's some graft/smuggling/corruption involving, as usual, the Sicilian Mafia and the Holy Roman Catholic Church and local politicians, not worth recounting, because it is all just backdrop to the exchanges between Montalba and Camilleri.
I see I am in the minority of Goodreads readers on this ending. Many found it clever and amusing, and I can see that. It just doesn't feel like an appropriate ending to the series, with the changed tone and approach.
But here is a link to one of the fan favorite aspects of the series, the celebration of Sicilian cooking, which probably has increased tourism there. A WSJ article on Montalbano, 2012:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014...
October 12, 2024
I was blessedly free today so I could, and I did spend the morning with Camilleri and his last Montalba. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and although I have a lingering sadness that this was the last one and a goodbye of sorts, I'm still glad that I read and enjoyed.
This was Camilleri's goodbye, and he took the freedom to get some digs in for his critics and examine a bit what is real, what isn't. Is Montalbano real or not? He exists in our mind, in his and in mine for sure. Does that make him real? Deep stuff for a sunny afternoon read, you'd say, but then I'd say sunny afternoons are good for deep thoughts as well. And I'm deeply glad that Camilleri has given Montalbano his agency, and he is out there now, free on his own to exist wherever he finds a good place and good food.
This was Camilleri's goodbye, and he took the freedom to get some digs in for his critics and examine a bit what is real, what isn't. Is Montalbano real or not? He exists in our mind, in his and in mine for sure. Does that make him real? Deep stuff for a sunny afternoon read, you'd say, but then I'd say sunny afternoons are good for deep thoughts as well. And I'm deeply glad that Camilleri has given Montalbano his agency, and he is out there now, free on his own to exist wherever he finds a good place and good food.
July 30, 2020
Sono parecchio triste, perché Salvo Montalbano è stato mio compagno per tantissime estate. Da metà luglio a fine agosto ho capito che devo abbandonare i libri complessi, i personaggi che mi coinvolgono troppo, una lingua tagliente che mi spacca il cuore. Ho bisogno di storie leggere (ho detto leggere, no deficienti), di amici storici, di semplicità e Camilleri è sempre stato perfetto. Brezza marina, birretta ghiacciata e nessuno a scassare i cabasisi.
Non mi interessa la trama, figurati nei gialli, mi perdo sempre, non mi ricordo i particolari ma mi piace tantissimo ritrovarmi a Vigata, ascoltare le telefonate di Salvo e Livia, ridere ogni volta che bussa Catarella e trovare, sempre, in ogni libro, la mia frase preferita 'nuttata persa e figlia femmina', che ripeto spesso incazzandomi sempre.
Mi ha messo malinconia sapere che non troverò più tutto questo, mi ha messo malinconia la fine di Salvo (nessuno spoiler, è semplicemente la fine), mi ha messo malinconia aver perso un amico. Ho letto di lettori incazzati per il finale, per la trama, per come ha scritto. Signori, voi doveste solo ringraziare Salvo, per tutto quello che vi ha dato in questi anni, per averi fatto incazzare, e ridere e pensare, per essere cambiato negli anni, per tutti i bagni fatti la mattina all'alba e per tutti i pranzi, le sarde e gli arancin che vi sono passati sotto gli occhi. Grazie Salvo, mi mancherai tantissimo.
Non mi interessa la trama, figurati nei gialli, mi perdo sempre, non mi ricordo i particolari ma mi piace tantissimo ritrovarmi a Vigata, ascoltare le telefonate di Salvo e Livia, ridere ogni volta che bussa Catarella e trovare, sempre, in ogni libro, la mia frase preferita 'nuttata persa e figlia femmina', che ripeto spesso incazzandomi sempre.
Mi ha messo malinconia sapere che non troverò più tutto questo, mi ha messo malinconia la fine di Salvo (nessuno spoiler, è semplicemente la fine), mi ha messo malinconia aver perso un amico. Ho letto di lettori incazzati per il finale, per la trama, per come ha scritto. Signori, voi doveste solo ringraziare Salvo, per tutto quello che vi ha dato in questi anni, per averi fatto incazzare, e ridere e pensare, per essere cambiato negli anni, per tutti i bagni fatti la mattina all'alba e per tutti i pranzi, le sarde e gli arancin che vi sono passati sotto gli occhi. Grazie Salvo, mi mancherai tantissimo.
July 22, 2020
Ecco finito. È come se mi fosse venuto a mancare un caro amico. Tristezza e nostalgia. Non mi voglio dilungare per timore di dare indicazioni superflue e quindi guastare il piacere della lettura. Un autore di riferimento: Luigi Pirandello.
December 24, 2021
The series featuring Police Inspector Salvo Montalbano ends not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a shrug. Author Andrea Camillieri, who died in 2019, had written this novel (the 28th in the series) in 2005, destined to be the last one, to be published posthumously.
A man is killed in front of his three best, longtime friends. Montalbano knows the three survivors aren’t being completely truthful, and that could have been the core of a first-class Montalbano novel. Instead, Camillieri introduces an alter ego author who pens Montalbano novels and even a television series. (The TV series began 1999, has been translated into several languages, and was still going strong in 2021.) The intrusion into this book, and this book alone, of Camillieri talking directly to Montalbano adds nothing to the plot; neither does the recognition of the existence of the books and TV show, the back and forth between competing police jurisdictions, the alternative story lines and the ridiculous ending.
Ironically, Camillieri had his author alter ego lay out the problem:
It’s the Camillieri intrusion that ended up damaging a novel that ended up vague, contradictory, scatterbrained. And I find myself in a pickle — as a reader, I mean. I’m puzzled by this fizzle of a novel. Camillieri went on to write 18 excellent novels in the ensuing years after penning this one in 2005. What went so wrong here? If you’re a Salvo super-fan, this book is for you. Otherwise, the last really good novel in the series is No. 25, The Safety Net.
A man is killed in front of his three best, longtime friends. Montalbano knows the three survivors aren’t being completely truthful, and that could have been the core of a first-class Montalbano novel. Instead, Camillieri introduces an alter ego author who pens Montalbano novels and even a television series. (The TV series began 1999, has been translated into several languages, and was still going strong in 2021.) The intrusion into this book, and this book alone, of Camillieri talking directly to Montalbano adds nothing to the plot; neither does the recognition of the existence of the books and TV show, the back and forth between competing police jurisdictions, the alternative story lines and the ridiculous ending.
Ironically, Camillieri had his author alter ego lay out the problem:
You’re damaging my story as well. Your investigations are not what they used to be. You’re too often uncertain, vague, contradictory, scatterbrained. You keep invoking the problem of imminent old age, but I know perfectly well that it’s just an excuse for covering your increasing indecision…. I find myself in a pickle — as a writer, I mean. This can’t go on, Salvo!
It’s the Camillieri intrusion that ended up damaging a novel that ended up vague, contradictory, scatterbrained. And I find myself in a pickle — as a reader, I mean. I’m puzzled by this fizzle of a novel. Camillieri went on to write 18 excellent novels in the ensuing years after penning this one in 2005. What went so wrong here? If you’re a Salvo super-fan, this book is for you. Otherwise, the last really good novel in the series is No. 25, The Safety Net.
Read
July 31, 2020Si può stellare? No
Un commiato non é stellabile.
Non si può neanche commentare.
Poi c'é il fatto che Camilleri scrive la fine di Montalbano sapendo che noi lettori la leggeremo quando anche lui sarà da un'altra parte.
Ecco fa un po' effetto.
Arrivederci Camilleri, mi piace pensarti energia dispersa che ritornerà in tante altre forme.
Ah grazie anche per le ore piacevoli passate in compagnia.
Volevo anche farti sapere che i tuoi libri resteranno nella mia biblioteca sino a che anche io sarò da un'altra parte, energia dispersa nell'universo, magari qualche nostra molecola si incoccerà. Chissà.
Ciao eh.
Un commiato non é stellabile.
Non si può neanche commentare.
Poi c'é il fatto che Camilleri scrive la fine di Montalbano sapendo che noi lettori la leggeremo quando anche lui sarà da un'altra parte.
Ecco fa un po' effetto.
Arrivederci Camilleri, mi piace pensarti energia dispersa che ritornerà in tante altre forme.
Ah grazie anche per le ore piacevoli passate in compagnia.
Volevo anche farti sapere che i tuoi libri resteranno nella mia biblioteca sino a che anche io sarò da un'altra parte, energia dispersa nell'universo, magari qualche nostra molecola si incoccerà. Chissà.
Ciao eh.
July 19, 2020
All'ultima pagina, ho provato l'urgenza di entrare nel libro per abbracciare Montalbano e non lasciarlo più andare.
Che finale dolce amaro!
Che finale dolce amaro!
July 19, 2020
Orribile.
Come finire in bruttezza.
L’ego può diventare così grande da cancellare tutto il resto? Sì.
Scompaiono Mimì (in ferie e non c’è più), Fazio (qui antipatico e per la prima - e ultima - volta, sbirro stupido e pedante che non capisce nulla di ciò che accade), Catarella (di cui rimane ormai solo la macchietta), Livia (inutile e in volo verso altri continenti per fare ferie). E poi “scompare” pure Montalbano. Rimane solo l’ego sconfinato di Camilleri. Tristissimo. Molto tristissimo.
Dimenticavo ... di difficilissima lettura! La lingua è qui praticamente solo il "vigatese". Si arriva al limite estremo del percorso. Non penso che leggerò la versione antecedente in italo-vigatese proposta dal volume alternativo di Sellerio, ma ho il sospetto che sarebbe stata più semplice per noi, "poveri" e "miserabili" lettori o amanti dei telefilm, derisi e umiliati in tutto il libro.
Come finire in bruttezza.
L’ego può diventare così grande da cancellare tutto il resto? Sì.
Scompaiono Mimì (in ferie e non c’è più), Fazio (qui antipatico e per la prima - e ultima - volta, sbirro stupido e pedante che non capisce nulla di ciò che accade), Catarella (di cui rimane ormai solo la macchietta), Livia (inutile e in volo verso altri continenti per fare ferie). E poi “scompare” pure Montalbano. Rimane solo l’ego sconfinato di Camilleri. Tristissimo. Molto tristissimo.
Dimenticavo ... di difficilissima lettura! La lingua è qui praticamente solo il "vigatese". Si arriva al limite estremo del percorso. Non penso che leggerò la versione antecedente in italo-vigatese proposta dal volume alternativo di Sellerio, ma ho il sospetto che sarebbe stata più semplice per noi, "poveri" e "miserabili" lettori o amanti dei telefilm, derisi e umiliati in tutto il libro.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2020
Doppo anni e anni di pratica si era fatto capace che non c'era persona cchiù scarsa di ciriveddro di chi pinsava che la soluzioni d'un problema potiva esssiri l'omicidio.
September 23, 2021
A brilliant,clever,stylish and bittersweet farewell to a great series.
November 6, 2021
Without doubt there are better books than this in the Inspector Montalbano series but that really isn’t the point.
After 9 books and in his late 70s the author decided he would retain control of his protagonist and the wonderful characters who infuse these stories with life and charm.
So this is book 10 and yet he went on to write another 18.
In a feeding frenzy where the books spurned a successful and long lasting TV series. These books ceased to be his own, many authors will speak of their loss of control in adaptations for TV and film.
Camilleri therefore wrote this manuscript circa 2003 to exercise a modicum of control and write the end of his fictional creation rather than allowing his story to run dry with the author’s own passing.
Remarkably, he doubled his output in his remaining years, living into his 90s with failing eyesight but always a talent for a good story. So it is with the author’s own permission we get to conclude this delightful crime series set in Sicily.
Where other authors have unsuccessfully prematurely ended their detective before the public appetite was sated we have to respect the life of an author who still wrote on to the pleasure of all who enjoyed these books and loved the television series. In a way he has extended the life-span of his character and there is no need for someone else to write in his style to fill the void the author’s death has produced. I am so grateful that he had longevity in his writing and was able to bring so much to these novels. Having read all in the series in chronological order and followed the English subtitles I have often said that the book and TV drama of it were so closely matched you could which was made first. Thus showing the great talent of the author and literary genius to ensure the success of this dual project.
It is with that in mind that this book should be approached.
As such it brings all followers of this author a deep appreciation and it resonates with the journey we have shared.
It is a love letter to his fans and it blurs the whole concept of fictional locations and visits to where the series was filmed. This is the art of storytelling at its best and the author having created this fictional place; with dead-end streets. Given solid foundations where flimsy film sets have followed. Brought into a 3D imagination of each and every reader despite interpretations by actors to overlay their personalities on those characters.
It is the author’s right to call time and produce a blank page.
This is a perfect vehicle to share one last time a story from a time and a place he simply imagined. Thankfully the page was filled again and again but after all this time it fades away. But we have 28 novels in this series by Andrea Camilleri and a world we can revisit anytime we pick up a Montalbano book.
Thank you Author, thank you Maestro.
After 9 books and in his late 70s the author decided he would retain control of his protagonist and the wonderful characters who infuse these stories with life and charm.
So this is book 10 and yet he went on to write another 18.
In a feeding frenzy where the books spurned a successful and long lasting TV series. These books ceased to be his own, many authors will speak of their loss of control in adaptations for TV and film.
Camilleri therefore wrote this manuscript circa 2003 to exercise a modicum of control and write the end of his fictional creation rather than allowing his story to run dry with the author’s own passing.
Remarkably, he doubled his output in his remaining years, living into his 90s with failing eyesight but always a talent for a good story. So it is with the author’s own permission we get to conclude this delightful crime series set in Sicily.
Where other authors have unsuccessfully prematurely ended their detective before the public appetite was sated we have to respect the life of an author who still wrote on to the pleasure of all who enjoyed these books and loved the television series. In a way he has extended the life-span of his character and there is no need for someone else to write in his style to fill the void the author’s death has produced. I am so grateful that he had longevity in his writing and was able to bring so much to these novels. Having read all in the series in chronological order and followed the English subtitles I have often said that the book and TV drama of it were so closely matched you could which was made first. Thus showing the great talent of the author and literary genius to ensure the success of this dual project.
It is with that in mind that this book should be approached.
As such it brings all followers of this author a deep appreciation and it resonates with the journey we have shared.
It is a love letter to his fans and it blurs the whole concept of fictional locations and visits to where the series was filmed. This is the art of storytelling at its best and the author having created this fictional place; with dead-end streets. Given solid foundations where flimsy film sets have followed. Brought into a 3D imagination of each and every reader despite interpretations by actors to overlay their personalities on those characters.
It is the author’s right to call time and produce a blank page.
This is a perfect vehicle to share one last time a story from a time and a place he simply imagined. Thankfully the page was filled again and again but after all this time it fades away. But we have 28 novels in this series by Andrea Camilleri and a world we can revisit anytime we pick up a Montalbano book.
Thank you Author, thank you Maestro.
December 1, 2022
El último Camilleri no es el último.
Riccardino es el final de la popular saga de Montalbano pero fue escrito y guardado en un cajón. El autor quería tener un final bajo la manga en caso de no poder continuar con su labor de escritor y había orden de publicarlo luego de su fallecimiento.
Sigo a Montalbá desde hace quince años y esta culminación es extraña. La novela es un ejercicio metaliterario en donde Camilleri aparece como personaje de la historia y discute con el querido comisario en um melancólico duelo entre creador y criatura. Ambos dan signos de cansancio, uno de escribir, el otro de resolver casos. Se pelean y recriminan incluyendo guiños constantes al personaje televisivo.
En el fondo hay también una tomada de pelo de Camilleri a sus críticos que lo acusan de comercial, a los magistrados, políticos, religiosos italianos y a los medios de comunicación en general.
Tengo varios libros de la serie para leer, no me voy a poner triste ahora.
Riccardino es el final de la popular saga de Montalbano pero fue escrito y guardado en un cajón. El autor quería tener un final bajo la manga en caso de no poder continuar con su labor de escritor y había orden de publicarlo luego de su fallecimiento.
Sigo a Montalbá desde hace quince años y esta culminación es extraña. La novela es un ejercicio metaliterario en donde Camilleri aparece como personaje de la historia y discute con el querido comisario en um melancólico duelo entre creador y criatura. Ambos dan signos de cansancio, uno de escribir, el otro de resolver casos. Se pelean y recriminan incluyendo guiños constantes al personaje televisivo.
En el fondo hay también una tomada de pelo de Camilleri a sus críticos que lo acusan de comercial, a los magistrados, políticos, religiosos italianos y a los medios de comunicación en general.
Tengo varios libros de la serie para leer, no me voy a poner triste ahora.
August 10, 2020
Ho avuto molti dubbi nel dare un voto a questo libro.
La storia, con le intrusioni surreali dell’Autore, non ha forse quella carica che ho trovato in tanti episodi dell’amato Montalbano.
I confronti con l’Attore della serie televisiva aumentano l’atmosfera surreale che Camilleri alimenta magistralmente come un abile burattinaio che abbia voglia di babbiare .
Rimane in bocca un sapore amaro, l’amarezza di sapere che finisce un ciclo, splendido ed irripetibile secondo me: ad un anno dalla morte del Maestro, puntuale come richiesto, arriva questo epilogo scritto 15 anni fa; e si fa fatica a leggere la parola fine (anche perché non c’è 😉).
La storia, con le intrusioni surreali dell’Autore, non ha forse quella carica che ho trovato in tanti episodi dell’amato Montalbano.
I confronti con l’Attore della serie televisiva aumentano l’atmosfera surreale che Camilleri alimenta magistralmente come un abile burattinaio che abbia voglia di babbiare .
Rimane in bocca un sapore amaro, l’amarezza di sapere che finisce un ciclo, splendido ed irripetibile secondo me: ad un anno dalla morte del Maestro, puntuale come richiesto, arriva questo epilogo scritto 15 anni fa; e si fa fatica a leggere la parola fine (anche perché non c’è 😉).
February 14, 2024
No sé si será la mejor novela de todo el ciclo de Montalbano, pero es una de las mejores, a mi parecer. Aparte del crimen habitual que se da en Vigata, Montalbá se encuentra con personajes que, aunque estaban implícitos en todas las novela, no eran explícitos.
Muy recomendable, pero sólo a quienes hayan leído otras novelas de Montalbano.
Muy recomendable, pero sólo a quienes hayan leído otras novelas de Montalbano.
July 24, 2020
Addio Salvo.
Addio signor Camilleri.
Grazie
Addio signor Camilleri.
Grazie
August 4, 2020
Arrivederci Camilleri. Buon viaggio.
Addio Montalbano.
Addio Montalbano.
January 23, 2025
L'ultimo Montalbano!
Ultimo a causa della morte dell'autore, ma ultimo anche perché Camilleri si era da tempo stufato della sua creatura.
Infatti qui lo vediamo dialogare apertamente col commissario, anzi battibeccare con lo stesso per suggerire risoluzioni che la taglino corta, ma Salvo è zuccone fino alla fine e decide di tirare il sipario a modo suo.
All'inizio questi intermezzi da quarta parete che crolla mi erano antipatici, poi ne sono stata coinvolta. Mi ricordano Pirandello, ovviamente, e i suoi personaggi in cerca d'autore. Qui invece i personaggi e l'autore cercano di lasciarsi...
Ultimo a causa della morte dell'autore, ma ultimo anche perché Camilleri si era da tempo stufato della sua creatura.
Infatti qui lo vediamo dialogare apertamente col commissario, anzi battibeccare con lo stesso per suggerire risoluzioni che la taglino corta, ma Salvo è zuccone fino alla fine e decide di tirare il sipario a modo suo.
All'inizio questi intermezzi da quarta parete che crolla mi erano antipatici, poi ne sono stata coinvolta. Mi ricordano Pirandello, ovviamente, e i suoi personaggi in cerca d'autore. Qui invece i personaggi e l'autore cercano di lasciarsi...
October 4, 2021
As a big fan of the Montalbano series by this author I was saddened to read this final book but found Camilleri's creative end to this beloved series rich in humour, broad and bawdy at times, but always enjoyed. The dialogue between character Montalbano and "author" was great fun.
Library Loan
Library Loan
July 19, 2020
Cancellati così, con una pennellata di bianco e via?
July 21, 2020
Grande commozione. Mancheranno tanto Andrea quanto Salvo e tutta Vigàta.
October 15, 2020
Mi riservo una riflessione più ponderata dopo aver letto la prima versione dello stesso romanzo. Mi hanno promesso di prestarmelo con tutti i rischi annessi e connessi: sono una ladra di libri.
August 25, 2023
Πάρα πολύ έξυπνη γραφή. Αγαπώ τους ανθρώπους που αυτοσαρκαζονται και ο Καμιλλερι φαίνεται να ήταν ένας από αυτούς. Γρήγορο, έξυπνο και πάντα επίκαιρο!
March 12, 2022
★★★★½
Ο Ρικκαρντίνο μού σύστησε τον Αντρέα Καμιλλέρι, και μερικές σκέψεις σχετικά:
i. Τον λάτρεψα τον Σάλβο Μονταλμπάνο. Τον τρόπο που σκεφτόταν, τον τρόπο που μιλούσε, το χιούμορ του, τον τρόπο που διαχειριζόταν τις άβολες καταστάσεις... Φοβερός ο Μονταλμπάνο, φοβερός!
ii. Αγάπησα και την γραφή του Καμιλλέρι. «Ταχείας κατανάλωσης» μεν, ζωντανή, πηγαία, ανεπιτήδευτη δε. Ούτε που κατάλαβα πότε τέλειωσα το βιβλίο, και καίγομαι ήδη να πιάσω όλα τα προηγούμενα.
iii. Φοβερός ήταν και ο αυτοσαρκασμός του συγγραφέα. Αν και δεν μου άρεσε που έσκαγε μύτη και περιέπλεκε τα πράγματα για τον Μονταλμπάνο, ο τρόπος που μιλούσε για το κοινό του και τα βιβλία του, πώς τα χαρακτήριζε και πώς καυτηρίαζε πολλές σχετικές αποφάσεις του, ήταν απολαυστικός.
iv. Δεν τρέφω ιδιαίτερα θερμά συναισθήματα για τις δυο τελευταίες σελίδες.
v. Με πέθαναν ο άγιος άνθρωπος και η χαρτομάντισσα-χαρτορίχτρα, ίσως οι καλύτεροι υποστηρικτικοί χαρακτήρες που έχω διαβάσει ποτέ, σέβομαι.
Ο Ρικκαρντίνο μού σύστησε τον Αντρέα Καμιλλέρι, και μερικές σκέψεις σχετικά:
i. Τον λάτρεψα τον Σάλβο Μονταλμπάνο. Τον τρόπο που σκεφτόταν, τον τρόπο που μιλούσε, το χιούμορ του, τον τρόπο που διαχειριζόταν τις άβολες καταστάσεις... Φοβερός ο Μονταλμπάνο, φοβερός!
ii. Αγάπησα και την γραφή του Καμιλλέρι. «Ταχείας κατανάλωσης» μεν, ζωντανή, πηγαία, ανεπιτήδευτη δε. Ούτε που κατάλαβα πότε τέλειωσα το βιβλίο, και καίγομαι ήδη να πιάσω όλα τα προηγούμενα.
iii. Φοβερός ήταν και ο αυτοσαρκασμός του συγγραφέα. Αν και δεν μου άρεσε που έσκαγε μύτη και περιέπλεκε τα πράγματα για τον Μονταλμπάνο, ο τρόπος που μιλούσε για το κοινό του και τα βιβλία του, πώς τα χαρακτήριζε και πώς καυτηρίαζε πολλές σχετικές αποφάσεις του, ήταν απολαυστικός.
iv. Δεν τρέφω ιδιαίτερα θερμά συναισθήματα για τις δυο τελευταίες σελίδες.
v. Με πέθαναν ο άγιος άνθρωπος και η χαρτομάντισσα-χαρτορίχτρα, ίσως οι καλύτεροι υποστηρικτικοί χαρακτήρες που έχω διαβάσει ποτέ, σέβομαι.
October 19, 2020
ciao, Andrea, grazie per tutto
non scriverò un panegirico, Camilleri non meriterebbe una simile ipocrisia e sinceramente credo di non essere ipocrita nemmeno io. per dirla come sta, non ho letto tutti i libri di Montalbano e di quelli che ho letto non tutti mi sono piaciuti.
ma questo avevo deciso da tempo, prima che uscisse, che lo avrei comprato, per una sorta di omaggio all'autore ed all'editore che non ci sono più, e soprattutto a un ciclo (si dovrebbe dire una saga?) oggi inesorabilmente concluso, che nel suo piccolo ha lasciato un segno, avviando un circolo virtuoso fra un'opera scritta capace di introdurre nuove parole ed espressioni nel linguaggio comune di una intera nazione (ammazzatina, catafottersi, non farsi persuaso....), e di un'opera visuale che ci ha fatto scoprire una delle parti più belle del nostro paese, colpevolmente quasi ignorata fino a venti/venticinque anni fa (da me senza dubbio, ma credo anche da molti altri).
Insomma, grazie a Camilleri ed a Montalbano siamo un po' diversi da come eravamo prima, e conosciamo qualche cosa in più di prima, e credo che non lo si possa dire di moltissimi autori e personaggi.
Questo libro, da sempre concepito per essere l'ultimo, si distacca un po' dagli altri, non tanto per il titolo quanto per il contenuto, per il dialogo fra l'autore ed il personaggio (non è uno spoiler, la cosa è notoria) e per il finale su cui non dico niente, anche se personalmente non credo che i gialli siano necessariamente da apprezzare in base al loro finale.
Mi è piaciuto, credo che sia un bel saluto.
non scriverò un panegirico, Camilleri non meriterebbe una simile ipocrisia e sinceramente credo di non essere ipocrita nemmeno io. per dirla come sta, non ho letto tutti i libri di Montalbano e di quelli che ho letto non tutti mi sono piaciuti.
ma questo avevo deciso da tempo, prima che uscisse, che lo avrei comprato, per una sorta di omaggio all'autore ed all'editore che non ci sono più, e soprattutto a un ciclo (si dovrebbe dire una saga?) oggi inesorabilmente concluso, che nel suo piccolo ha lasciato un segno, avviando un circolo virtuoso fra un'opera scritta capace di introdurre nuove parole ed espressioni nel linguaggio comune di una intera nazione (ammazzatina, catafottersi, non farsi persuaso....), e di un'opera visuale che ci ha fatto scoprire una delle parti più belle del nostro paese, colpevolmente quasi ignorata fino a venti/venticinque anni fa (da me senza dubbio, ma credo anche da molti altri).
Insomma, grazie a Camilleri ed a Montalbano siamo un po' diversi da come eravamo prima, e conosciamo qualche cosa in più di prima, e credo che non lo si possa dire di moltissimi autori e personaggi.
Questo libro, da sempre concepito per essere l'ultimo, si distacca un po' dagli altri, non tanto per il titolo quanto per il contenuto, per il dialogo fra l'autore ed il personaggio (non è uno spoiler, la cosa è notoria) e per il finale su cui non dico niente, anche se personalmente non credo che i gialli siano necessariamente da apprezzare in base al loro finale.
Mi è piaciuto, credo che sia un bel saluto.
July 17, 2020
Una serie rovinata nel finale. La presenza dell'autore troppo pesante nel libro che alla fine fa anche un dispetto al suo personaggio non permettendogli di risolvere il suo ultimo caso ma cercando in continuazione di dirgli come sarebbe dovuta andare l'indagine.
Il personaggio di Montalbano completamente fuori dal personaggio rispetto a quelli dei libri precedenti e infatti ne Fazio ne Livia lo riconoscono.
Infine vi erano migliaia di modi per far finire il commissario Montalbano in modo dignitoso e Camilleri usa l'unico non dignitoso.
Secondo me la stanchezza, la vecchiaia e il fatto di non fare il proprio lavoro al meglio data dall'età di Camilleri, quando lo ha scritto, non dovevano passare ai suoi personaggi come fosse una malattia.
Il personaggio di Montalbano completamente fuori dal personaggio rispetto a quelli dei libri precedenti e infatti ne Fazio ne Livia lo riconoscono.
Infine vi erano migliaia di modi per far finire il commissario Montalbano in modo dignitoso e Camilleri usa l'unico non dignitoso.
Secondo me la stanchezza, la vecchiaia e il fatto di non fare il proprio lavoro al meglio data dall'età di Camilleri, quando lo ha scritto, non dovevano passare ai suoi personaggi come fosse una malattia.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 528 reviews