{"id":4344,"date":"2014-01-26T10:40:40","date_gmt":"2014-01-26T15:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=4344"},"modified":"2021-06-04T13:14:22","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T17:14:22","slug":"rounding-the-mark-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4344","title":{"rendered":"Rounding the Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rounding the Mark<\/a><\/em> (2003\/2006) Andrea Camilleri<\/a> translated by Stephen Sartarelli<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It finally happened. The corruption of the Italian government and system has finally gotten to Montalbano, and he has decided he no longer wants to work in such a system. But his morning swim changes everything, when he (literally) runs into a corpse.<\/p>\n

The first thing he saw was himself, stark naked, wild-eyed, mouth agae, hands cupped over his pudenda, looking like a chaste Susannah getting on in years, and a whole lot harrier. A caption under the image said:<\/p>\n

“Inspector Montalbano (in the photo) saving a dead man.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the book where we start to see Montalbano really thinking about his age and getting older. The Comissioner, who thinks he’s involved with the Mafioso doesn’t help, but it’s the corruption from the top down that has really gotten to him here.<\/p>\n

Plus, one of the most horrible things to happen since it moved back to Vitaga happened–Trattoria Sa Calogero has closed. <\/p>\n

You shitting me, Calo?”<\/p>\n

“No, Inspector. As you know, I’ve had two bypasses and am seventy-three years old and counting. Doctor don’t want me to work anymore.”<\/p>\n

“And what about me?” Montalbano had blurted out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s truly no reason for Montalbano to go to work.<\/p>\n

This is one of the books where the differences between the US and Italy reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do. <\/p>\n

“Oh, Chief! I almost forgot. They also wrote ‘goddam cuckolds.”<\/p>\n

Imagine ever find any obscene graffiti in Sicily without the world ‘cuckold” in it. The word was a guarantee of authenticity, a classic expression of so-called Sicilitude.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As you see, we still have Catarella, as well as Fazio, “Either youput that piece of paper back in your pocket, or I’m going to start kicking you.” But we finally see why everyone puts up with Catarella:<\/p>\n

“(Y)ou’ve never understood just who Catarella is,” said the inspector.<\/p>\n

“I guess now. Who is he?”<\/p>\n

“Catarella’s a little kid, a child inside a grown man’s body. And so he reasons like someone barely seven years old.”<\/p>\n

“So?”<\/p>\n

“What I mean is that Catarella has the kinds of fantasies, brainstorms, and bright ideas a little kid does. And being a little kid, he says what he’s thinking, he doesn’t hold back. And often he’s right on the mark. Because reality, when seen through our eyes, is one thing, but when seen through a child’s eyes, it’s something else.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One thing I especially like about Montalbano is that despite the fact he can be a complete asshole, he has a complete soft-spot for kids. Unfortunately, in this case, that doesn’t work to his advantage.
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Penguin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rounding the Mark (2003\/2006) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli It finally happened. The corruption of the Italian government and system has finally gotten to Montalbano, and he has decided he no longer wants to work in such a system. But his morning swim changes everything, when he (literally) runs into a corpse. The first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,291,42,38],"tags":[94,95,54,435],"class_list":["post-4344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mystery","category-paper","category-police","category-translated","tag-andrea-camilleri","tag-inspector-montalbano","tag-italy","tag-stephen-sartarelli"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-184","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":899,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/899","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":0},"title":"The Patience of the Spider","author":"Michelle","date":"January 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Patience of the Spider (2004) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The problem with Inspector Montalbano books is that if I pick one up, I tend to read the entire book in an evening. Which isn't so good on a week night. Montalbano is recovering from the events in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Patience-Spider.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5241,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5241","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":1},"title":"The Shape of Water","author":"Michelle","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Shape of Water (1994\/2002) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is the first Inspector Montalbano story, and was supposed to be the only Montalbano story, however, the character got away from the author, and we now have many books to enjoy. \u201cInspector Montalbano? This is Mr. Luparello.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/SHape-of-Water.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":872,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/872","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":2},"title":"Excursion to Tindari","author":"Michelle","date":"December 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Excursion to Tindari (2000) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli A young man is found dead just outside his front door in what seems to be a mafia killing. This event would have passed almost unnoticed, except that a distraught man calls to report that his parents--who live in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Excursion-Tindari.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5248,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5248","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":3},"title":"The Snack Thief","author":"Michelle","date":"May 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Snack Thief (1996\/2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Obviously, Camilleri didn't stop after the second book, so we have the third in the series, which finds Montalbano investigating the stabbing death of an elderly man, while elsewhere, a fisherman is shot to death in a typically international incident\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Snack-Thief.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":929,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/929","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":4},"title":"The Paper Moon","author":"Michelle","date":"January 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Paper Moon (2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli I am sad. I have now read all the Inspector Montalbano books that have been published and translated into English. August Heat comes out later this year, but after that? No more Inspector Montalbano for me--at least until the next\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Paper-Moon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":896,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/896","url_meta":{"origin":4344,"position":5},"title":"Rounding the Mark","author":"Michelle","date":"January 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Rounding-Mark.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}