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The Terra-Cotta Dog: An Inspector
Montalbano Mystery by Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli
(Translator)
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- Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages ;
Dimensions (in inches): 0.99 x 7.06 x 4.20
- Publisher: Penguin USA (Mm); (March
25, 2003)
- ISBN: 0142002631
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A Quiet,
Provincial Tone, December 6, 2003
As I read further into this series by Camilleri, I am getting
an inkling as to why it is popular in Italy. Like earlier books, it
depicts Sicily as riddled with official corruption and organised
crime, all under a dazzling Mediterranean sun. The fictional town of
this book is far smaller than the teeming cities of the mainland, or
indeed those of the US or Britain.
The events of the book do not have the neon, the glitz, of
mystery novels set in Los Angeles or London. There is a decided
provincial feel to it. The humour is often dry, understated. Some
witticisms shine through a well done translation, though I wonder if
in the original Italian they are even stronger.
The plot is more cerebral than a typical Raymond Chandler or
Mickey Spillane novel, which tend towards more action. I can't quite
put my thumb on it, but to me Camilleri's style is more akin to
Agatha Christie, albeit with the book's inclusion of vulgarity and
sex and drugs go far beyond her genteel drawing rooms and manor
houses. -Wes Boudville from US
Absolutely superb, November 19, 2002
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Reviewer:
A reader from Bala Cynwyd, PA USA |
I very much enjoyed The Shape of Water, the first in this series,
so was delighted to find that The Terra-Cotta Dog had been
published. It is even better than its predecessor.
The Terra-Cotta Dog is beautifully written. Andrea Camilleri has
one of the smoothest writing styles I have come across. I sat there
completely absorbed in the book, and the next time I looked up it
was substantially later in the day and I had read 100 pages. The
writing--the plot, the characterizations, the language--flowed so
well that I did not notice turning pages or the passage of time.
If I had to come up with two adjectives for this book, they would
be "elegant" and "evocative." These cover the characterizations, the
writing, and the plot. I will not go into the plot here; it is
complex and, as good as it is, it is almost secondary to the
seductive nature of this book. Andrea Camilleri puts the reader into
the brain of his detective, and one can almost smell the smells his
detective confronts.
You must read it for yourself.
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