Rounding the Mark

Rounding the Mark (2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli

Inspector Montalbano is mad. Very mad. Police raids in Genoa have made a spectacle of Italian police, and Montalbano feels as if he has been betrayed by a system that ignores that ideals he holds dear. He says he’s going to resign, but then he goes out for a swim and everything changes.

There are two deaths, and despite what Montalbano things, no one wants to rule either death a homicide. Montalbano and several others, however, see things differently, and so Montalbano once more takes on these cases–these unofficial cases–to see justice done.

But what made me like this book so much is what Montalbano things and feels, and how he justifies his own actions in the light of the police actions in Genoa.

SPOILERS
(rot13)

Sbe zr, gur pehk vf guvf qvnybt.

“Gur dhrfgvba vf guvf,” fnvq Nhtryyb, “jura ner lbh tbvat gb fgbc npgvat yvxr na nffubyr?”

“Va jung frafr?”

“Va rirel frafr sbe Puevffnxr! Jub qb lbh guvax lbh ner, gur avtug niratre? Gur ybar jbys? Lbh’er n shpxvat cbyvpr vafcrpgbe! Unir lbh sbetbggra? Lbh ercebnpu gur cbyvpr sbe abg borlvat gur ehyrf, naq lbh’er gur svefg gb oernx gurz! Lbh tb bhg va n qnatrebhf zvffvba, naq lbh oevat nybat abg bar bs hf, ohg n Fjrqvfu ynql! Vg’f vafnar! Lbh fubhyq unir vasbezrq lbhe fhcrevbef bs nyy gurfr guvatf, be ng yrnfg svyyrq hf va, vafgrnq bs tbvat bhg naq cynlvat gur obhagl uhagre!”

“Fb gung’f jung ohttvat lbh?”

“Jul, vfa’g gung rabhtu?”

“Ab vg’f abg Zvzv. V’ir qbar jbefr.”

Zvzv’f wnj qebccrq va ubeebe.

Naq gurer vg vf. Zbagnyonab noubef vawhfgvpr, ohg nyfb oryvrirf gung ur pna fyvqr bhgfvqr gur ehyrf va frnepu bs gung whfgvpr.

Vg frrzf gb zr gung jung Zbagnyonab ernyyl ungrf vfa’g vawhfgvpr, ohg ynpx bs ubabe. Zbagnyonab xabjf gung jura ur fgrcf bhgfvqr gur ehyrf, ur qbrf fb gb npg jvgu ubabe (jryy, gurer jnf gur vapvqrag jvgu gur ubhfr va gur ynfg obbx…), juvpu vf jul ur vf erfcrpgrq abg whfg ol uvf zra, ohg nyfb ol gur pevzvanyf, nf jr fnj va rneyvre obbxf.

Whfgvpr naq ubabe frrz yvxr gurl fubhyq or gur fnzr guvat, ohg gurl nera’g, ernyyl.
SPOILERS

So as in other books, Montalbano remains a complex character, and that is what makes him so fascinating.

You could read this book without having read previous books in the series, however, I think the impact of the story is greater if you know Montalbano’s past. That knowledge makes the story stronger.
Rating: 9/10

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