Title: The shape of water
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Published: 1994 (English Translation: 2002)
Genre: Fiction
The shape of water is one in a
series of Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano Mystery books. This was a
book club read that I would not have ordinarily chosen. It's a quick, simple
read that is humorous throughout - some parts of which I attribute to a loss in
translation of initial intended meanings. I also found some parts of the writing
somewhat stilted. I most definitely did not enjoy any of the jokes, which I
found quite juvenile, even in what is the realm of detective stories - which in
their own right are meant to be entertaining.
Inspector Salvo Montalbano is a
no-nonsense, efficient (in both speech and action) police inspector who is all
business when it comes to dealings both professional and personal. Faced with a
probe into the death of a prominent figure in Vigata - which he updates from
accidental to homicide, The Shape of Water has a somewhat convoluted plot around
the detective's attempt at solving the mystery - which in true detective-style
mystery genre concludes with a neat ending.
A light caper, curiously
entertaining but I do not seeing myself reading any more of the books from the
series. One which comes highly recommended is the Terra-Cotta dog. The
Shape of Water did make me curious about some of the artists mentioned - Renato Guttuso (1911
- 1987); Roberto Melli (1885
- 1958); Antonio Donghi (1897
- 1963); Fausto Pirandello (1889
- 1975); Ugo Attardi (1923
- 2006).
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