The Fourth Secret

The Fourth Secret (2002/2014) Andrea Camilleri translated by Gianluca Rizzo and Dominic Siracusa

These are not the usual translators for this series, and they were nowhere near as good as his usual translators. First, there were multiple errors (in this short novella), and second, Catarella’s voice is very different here than in the books, which made it confusing. Montalbano is find, but Catarella has a very distinctive voice, and plays a large part in this book, so the change in voice was very noticeable.

“Catarè, why don’t you have a doctor look at your leg?”
“Because he left.”
“Go to another then.”
“No, sir, I trust only him. He’s a cousin of mine on my dad’s side, and he’s a very good veterinarian.”
Montalbano paused for a second. “You prefer a veterinarian?”
“Why, sir, what’s the difference? We’re all animals.”

It’s definitely something Catarella would say, but it doesn’t feel quite like how he normally says it. Plus, that’s not Montalbano’s normal diminutive for him, which was also slightly confusing.

Another important thing to note is that this story was written in 2002 and only recently translated. Between Montalbano’s fixation with aging in the more recent books, and the technology bits that were out of place for a newly published book, it threw initially until I recognized this was an older story.

Aside from that, it was an enjoyable short story/novella. I always enough spending time with Montalbano.
Rating: 7/10

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