A good read but not his best (The Snack Thief - Andrea Camilleri)

Member Name: mouche202

Product:	The Snack Thief - Andrea Camilleri
Date:	29/07/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A complicated plot, more insight into Montalbano's personal life

Disadvantages: Hard to say but it was missing something

I discovered Andrea Camilleri and his Inspector Montalbano at a reading group last year and I have been trying to read all his novels in sequence. I was getting through them (and enjoying them thoroughly) until the middle of 'The Snack Thief' when I abruptly hit a wall and couldn't finish it. I tried twice after that but I always got stuck at the same point. I generally read three books simultaneously - one is kept in the loo, one at my bedside and one in my work bag to read on my commute to and from work. This one was my bedside read and I seemed to fall asleep everytime I thought about picking it up! Two days ago I put it in my work bag and hey presto - I devoured it in two days and for the life of me I don't know why I couldn't read it through the first few times.

Inspector Montalbano is an idiosyncratic police inspector of the fictional town of Vigata in Sicily. His main passions in life are solving the puzzles his work throws up and enjoying traditional Sicilian cuisine - and the latter wins by a long shot! He is generally rude, short tempered and often his brain works too fast for his tongue (or his poor staff) to keep up with. In this book, I have to admit, I couldn't keep up with him either and had to go back and reread bits when he gave his explanation of various events. This book begins with a Tunisian fisherman on a Sicilian boat being shot dead by a Tunisian patrol boat. Montalbano offloads this case to his deputy and focuses on the murder of a respected businessman in the lift of his apartment building. It turns out the businessman had a Tunisian mistress called Karima who has disappeared mysteriously, leaving behind her young son Francois. Francois is the snack thief of the title since he is surviving on his own by stealing food from the lunchboxes of local children. Montalbano rescues Francois and leaves him in the care of Livia, his girlfriend. Livia lives in Milan (I think) but is in town on a holiday - she takes Francois to heart leading to serious questions being raised regarding her and Montalbano's relationship. The inspector is brilliant in his work but has a hard time with facing hard decisions in his personal life. The situation is not made any easier by the news that his father is dying. Out of this complicated mess of events and emotions, Andrea Camilleri weaves an intriguing story of betrayal, greed and corruption.

I enjoyed the book though I think Terracotta Dog and Voice of the Violin were better. The mystery was puzzling and it was interesting seeing more of Montalbano as a person. I thought it missed a bit of zing though and the plot didn't tie up quite as neatly as I would have liked.

All the novels are translated from what I believe is Sicilian and this gives the prose a slightly disjointed feel. I have a suspicion this is actually a reflection of the original because the style fits in well with the Inspector's quicksilver moods and personality. There is a glossary of certain references at the back which clarify character's conversations but isn't really crucial to understand the story.

On the whole I enjoyed the book but not quite as much as I've enjoyed the previous novels. Perhaps I'm growing out of Andrea Camilleri. I would suggest that any new readers start with the first novel rather than this one.

Summary: Intriguing plot, interesting characters, enjoyable style - but no zing!