Status
Available
Genres
Description
Montalbano's latest case begins with a mysterious tete a tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead him to an illegal arms cache in a mountain cave. There the inspector finds two young lovers, dead for fifty years and still embracing, watched over by a life-sized terra-cotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family's dark heart amidst the horrors of World War II bombardment. Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic take on Sicilian life. With sly wit and a keen understanding of human nature, Montalbano is a detective whose earthiness, compassion, and imagination make him totally irresistible.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member richardderus
I am truly gruntled and kempt after reading a Montalbano novel. Sleek, in fact; one could go so far as to say consolate.
The mystery, that is the modern-day mystery of arms-dealing and law-breaking, gets short shrift in this delightful book. It gets passed to Montalbano's second-in-command, Augello,
Things Go Badly. In fact, a character I loved very much pays the ultimate price for Augello's jealous fit. But Montalbano, whose head everything ultimately falls on, has already turned his attention to Livia, his quite extraordinary lover from Genoa, and a mystery from WWII.
One guess which of those two gets neglected.
The point of these books is how much a mystery gets hold of one, how deeply set the hook is when it's properly baited for the mysterian. (Other than the name of a one-hit wonder band, I've never actually used that word before, and "I do not think that word means what you think it means." {Princess Bride reference}) Sure, yeah, people are smuggling submachine guns and stuff, mmm-hmmm get back to me if something needs my attention but some a-hole killed two kids in the Act of Luuuv 50+ years ago, then put them in a cave where evidence assures us they were NOT shot, and with some very odd burial goods...a bowl of money, a jug of water, and a terra-cotta statue of a dog...and then sealed them up carefully and invisibly. WTF? as Montalbano most certainly wouldn't have thought, who does that? What kind of story makes that not only okay, but so urgent as to force someone to do it?
Exactly what I was wondering. Montalbano is my kinda guy. There are people to *do* the modern-day, not-very-challenging stuff, and even when they get stuff wrong (as they did, to his almost-fatal detriment when a shoot-out costs him the life of a friend and a month in the hospital) things will turn out, they always do...just learn to live with the consequences...but only he, Montalbano, cares to or can ferret out the seemingly unimportant but emotionally charged secrets of the past.
I was walloped upside my little punkin haid by the ending of this book. I could NOT believe an American publishing house would do this! Of course, they only did it ten years after it became a bestseller in *the rest of the world*, but let's let that slide. They did it, thank you Viking, and they made a lovely object of the book, and they have published all of the series in proper order *smoochsmooch* on their corporate ham-producing-areas to boot!
I won't encourage anyone to read these books because, if you need encouragement, you're not the Right Stuff for them. (*snicker* THAT oughtta cause a stampede!)
The mystery, that is the modern-day mystery of arms-dealing and law-breaking, gets short shrift in this delightful book. It gets passed to Montalbano's second-in-command, Augello,
Show More
at Montalbano's discretion, after Augello pitches a hissy fit and acts like a neglected wife because Montalbano runs a team within a team to do his real work.Things Go Badly. In fact, a character I loved very much pays the ultimate price for Augello's jealous fit. But Montalbano, whose head everything ultimately falls on, has already turned his attention to Livia, his quite extraordinary lover from Genoa, and a mystery from WWII.
One guess which of those two gets neglected.
The point of these books is how much a mystery gets hold of one, how deeply set the hook is when it's properly baited for the mysterian. (Other than the name of a one-hit wonder band, I've never actually used that word before, and "I do not think that word means what you think it means." {Princess Bride reference}) Sure, yeah, people are smuggling submachine guns and stuff, mmm-hmmm get back to me if something needs my attention but some a-hole killed two kids in the Act of Luuuv 50+ years ago, then put them in a cave where evidence assures us they were NOT shot, and with some very odd burial goods...a bowl of money, a jug of water, and a terra-cotta statue of a dog...and then sealed them up carefully and invisibly. WTF? as Montalbano most certainly wouldn't have thought, who does that? What kind of story makes that not only okay, but so urgent as to force someone to do it?
Exactly what I was wondering. Montalbano is my kinda guy. There are people to *do* the modern-day, not-very-challenging stuff, and even when they get stuff wrong (as they did, to his almost-fatal detriment when a shoot-out costs him the life of a friend and a month in the hospital) things will turn out, they always do...just learn to live with the consequences...but only he, Montalbano, cares to or can ferret out the seemingly unimportant but emotionally charged secrets of the past.
I was walloped upside my little punkin haid by the ending of this book. I could NOT believe an American publishing house would do this! Of course, they only did it ten years after it became a bestseller in *the rest of the world*, but let's let that slide. They did it, thank you Viking, and they made a lovely object of the book, and they have published all of the series in proper order *smoochsmooch* on their corporate ham-producing-areas to boot!
I won't encourage anyone to read these books because, if you need encouragement, you're not the Right Stuff for them. (*snicker* THAT oughtta cause a stampede!)
Show Less
LibraryThing member michaelm42071
I spent a couple of weeks traveling in Sicily recently, and so I thought reading a Sicilian mystery there would be appropriate. Andrea Camilleri wrote The Terra-Cotta Dog in 1996, and it was translated by Stephen Sartarelli in 2002. Camilleri’s main character is Salvo Montalbano, a Sicilian
Montalbano is a very literate police inspector, and throughout the book there are references to his reading. He likes the Spanish mystery writer Vazquez Montalbán, whose name is the Spanish version of his own and whose mysteries, like Camilleri’s, also have many references to food and its preparation. But Montalbano also reads Faulkner and quotes Shakespeare as well as other dramatists, perhaps because Camilleri taught for many years at a school of drama.
Montalbano, though he is companionable enough in other respects, likes to eat alone. His housekeeper leaves him dishes in the icebox or in the oven: poached baby octopus, the casserole called pasta ‘ncasciata, anchovies baked in lemon juice, spaghetti with sardines, and other Sicilian treats.
Montalbano and his associates are always worried about moles in their organization—mafia spies—and in fact there is a kind of cold war between the police and the mafiosi. The factual basis of this struggle becomes apparent before one has even deplaned at the airport outside Palermo, which has been renamed Falcone-Borsellino Airport after the two judges murdered in 1992 for their anti-mafia activities. Mostly the violence happens within the mafia, and there is a chilling indifference born of use with which the police regard the killings of one mafioso by another.
The plot is complex and begins with a well-known mafioso giving himself up to Montalbano. He wants the police inspector to stage the surrender as a surprise arrest. The man’s associates are not fooled and they kill him, but before he dies, the mafioso gives Montalbano information about a large gun-smuggling operation. Montalbano finds the cache of weapons, but nearby discovers a young couple, murdered fifty years earlier, just before the Americans entered Italy in 1943. The fifty-year-old crime begins to consume Montalbano’s thoughts; he becomes obsessed with it in the way Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s inspector is obsessed with the murder of a little girl in The Pledge, a book that Montalbano thinks of in connection with his own obsession. Unlike Dürrenmatt’s character though, Montalbano solves this one. I think you might like it, but you might have to go to Sicily to get the full effect.
Show More
police inspector in a town called Vigàta. Vigàta is a wholly fictional town, but after the phenomenal success of Camilleri’s mysteries, his home town in Sicily, Port Empedocles near Agrigento, added Vigàta to its official name. Montalbano is a very literate police inspector, and throughout the book there are references to his reading. He likes the Spanish mystery writer Vazquez Montalbán, whose name is the Spanish version of his own and whose mysteries, like Camilleri’s, also have many references to food and its preparation. But Montalbano also reads Faulkner and quotes Shakespeare as well as other dramatists, perhaps because Camilleri taught for many years at a school of drama.
Montalbano, though he is companionable enough in other respects, likes to eat alone. His housekeeper leaves him dishes in the icebox or in the oven: poached baby octopus, the casserole called pasta ‘ncasciata, anchovies baked in lemon juice, spaghetti with sardines, and other Sicilian treats.
Montalbano and his associates are always worried about moles in their organization—mafia spies—and in fact there is a kind of cold war between the police and the mafiosi. The factual basis of this struggle becomes apparent before one has even deplaned at the airport outside Palermo, which has been renamed Falcone-Borsellino Airport after the two judges murdered in 1992 for their anti-mafia activities. Mostly the violence happens within the mafia, and there is a chilling indifference born of use with which the police regard the killings of one mafioso by another.
The plot is complex and begins with a well-known mafioso giving himself up to Montalbano. He wants the police inspector to stage the surrender as a surprise arrest. The man’s associates are not fooled and they kill him, but before he dies, the mafioso gives Montalbano information about a large gun-smuggling operation. Montalbano finds the cache of weapons, but nearby discovers a young couple, murdered fifty years earlier, just before the Americans entered Italy in 1943. The fifty-year-old crime begins to consume Montalbano’s thoughts; he becomes obsessed with it in the way Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s inspector is obsessed with the murder of a little girl in The Pledge, a book that Montalbano thinks of in connection with his own obsession. Unlike Dürrenmatt’s character though, Montalbano solves this one. I think you might like it, but you might have to go to Sicily to get the full effect.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Joycepa
2nd in the Inspector Montalbano series.
An arranged “capture” of a local Mafioso which leads to a weapons cache in a cave, the bizarre nonrobbery of a store in Vigáta, the death of a stubborn old Fascist, Mafia-style executions, and the subsequent discovery of the bodies—in a sealed-up
That’s the context of the second, excellent installment in the series. Montalbano is unique in the genre—a temperamental Sicilian who drives his subordinates crazy with his mood shifts that depend on the weather. He’s intelligent, compassionate, jealous, intuitive, self-serving—and to top it all off, a gourmand of Sicilian cuisine. Hard to top.
By his own account, Camilleri got the idea for the story from working with two young Egyptian student stage directors on an Arabic play, The people of the Cave. Camilleri has taught at the national Academy of Dramatic arts in Italy for well over 20 years; not only does this show up in the idea for this story, but it affects the way her writes as well. Once you realize this aspect of his professional career, you begin to appreciate the way he sets his scenes in his books. They are all quite precisely laid out with an eye as to how they’ll play. True to the playwright’s ideal, Camilleri sprinkles many of his scenes with humor, both through dialogue and through his characters’ actions.
What I particularly like is Camilleri’s characterizations. Yes, he has a stable of permanent characters, both in the police force in Vigáta and in his private life, but the once-on characters are memorable as well. I think he does a brilliant job with all of them. His handling of Montalbano’s relationship with his long-time lover, Livia, is nothing short of hilarious—and entirely believable.
The books are all relatively short, read quite fast, and are thoroughly enjoyable on all levels.
Highly recommended.
An arranged “capture” of a local Mafioso which leads to a weapons cache in a cave, the bizarre nonrobbery of a store in Vigáta, the death of a stubborn old Fascist, Mafia-style executions, and the subsequent discovery of the bodies—in a sealed-up
Show More
extension of the weapons cache cave—of two young lovers, murdered 50 years ago, laid out in an obviously ritualistic manner cause Inspector Montalbano no end of frustration as he tries to tie seemingly disparate threads together in the Mafia case and piece together what really happened 50 years ago to two unfortunate lovers.That’s the context of the second, excellent installment in the series. Montalbano is unique in the genre—a temperamental Sicilian who drives his subordinates crazy with his mood shifts that depend on the weather. He’s intelligent, compassionate, jealous, intuitive, self-serving—and to top it all off, a gourmand of Sicilian cuisine. Hard to top.
By his own account, Camilleri got the idea for the story from working with two young Egyptian student stage directors on an Arabic play, The people of the Cave. Camilleri has taught at the national Academy of Dramatic arts in Italy for well over 20 years; not only does this show up in the idea for this story, but it affects the way her writes as well. Once you realize this aspect of his professional career, you begin to appreciate the way he sets his scenes in his books. They are all quite precisely laid out with an eye as to how they’ll play. True to the playwright’s ideal, Camilleri sprinkles many of his scenes with humor, both through dialogue and through his characters’ actions.
What I particularly like is Camilleri’s characterizations. Yes, he has a stable of permanent characters, both in the police force in Vigáta and in his private life, but the once-on characters are memorable as well. I think he does a brilliant job with all of them. His handling of Montalbano’s relationship with his long-time lover, Livia, is nothing short of hilarious—and entirely believable.
The books are all relatively short, read quite fast, and are thoroughly enjoyable on all levels.
Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ed.pendragon
It's hard, having only recently come to the Montalbano books after seeing the first few episodes of the TV series, not to people the pages with images of screen actors, but while there are some double-take moments (Salvo with hair, Salvo smoking!) it's refreshing to have confirmed that the films
The Terracotta Dog has many attractive ingredients. Overtly, the plot concerns a mafioso's willing entrapment by Commissario Montalbano. But things don't turn out as expected, putting Montalbano's life in danger. Along with the Mafia thread, we have the discovery of dead bodies concealed in a hidden cave, a mystery which, though dateable to the closing stages of the Second World War, seems to have echoes of a pagan past usually confined to archaeology. We mustn't forget Salvo's long-running relationship with the long-suffering Livia (whom he seems to have great difficulty committing to), and his dealings with his police associates (particularly Catarella, who somehow combines imbecility with an endearing charm).
Camilleri's writing, modulated through Stephen Sartarelli’s comfortable translation (with Sartarelli’s own helpful end-notes to set the scene), comes across as sensitive, humorous and literary, all at the same time. From the point of view of a northern European, the Sicilian setting is both exotic and understated: we get the feel of the place but without the touristy excrescences, and Camilleri’s love of his native soil is evident throughout, even when the less pleasant aspects of the local population make their inevitable presence felt. Above all, you feel he likes people, and with hardly any of the characters appearing as pure plot mechanisms you sense that the Sicilians you meet in the pages are essentially reflections of Camilleri’s acquaintances, and their stories the histories of real-life people.
This, the second of the series, was a joy to read. Not your conventional detective (nor detective novel), Montalbano is a very human crime-solver whom it is easy to empathise with, whether he is dealing with press conferences or superiors, or when interviewing wayward witnesses or fellow travellers along the rocky road to truth. The classic outsider, Montalbano’s maverick approach to the puzzles he is confronted with is compounded of a hint of the lone cowboy of Westerns, a pinch of literary dilettantism and a soupçon of culinary appreciation. It’s wonderful to know that there are so many other titles still to discover and explore.
Show More
have remained true to the letter as well as the spirit of the novels.The Terracotta Dog has many attractive ingredients. Overtly, the plot concerns a mafioso's willing entrapment by Commissario Montalbano. But things don't turn out as expected, putting Montalbano's life in danger. Along with the Mafia thread, we have the discovery of dead bodies concealed in a hidden cave, a mystery which, though dateable to the closing stages of the Second World War, seems to have echoes of a pagan past usually confined to archaeology. We mustn't forget Salvo's long-running relationship with the long-suffering Livia (whom he seems to have great difficulty committing to), and his dealings with his police associates (particularly Catarella, who somehow combines imbecility with an endearing charm).
Camilleri's writing, modulated through Stephen Sartarelli’s comfortable translation (with Sartarelli’s own helpful end-notes to set the scene), comes across as sensitive, humorous and literary, all at the same time. From the point of view of a northern European, the Sicilian setting is both exotic and understated: we get the feel of the place but without the touristy excrescences, and Camilleri’s love of his native soil is evident throughout, even when the less pleasant aspects of the local population make their inevitable presence felt. Above all, you feel he likes people, and with hardly any of the characters appearing as pure plot mechanisms you sense that the Sicilians you meet in the pages are essentially reflections of Camilleri’s acquaintances, and their stories the histories of real-life people.
This, the second of the series, was a joy to read. Not your conventional detective (nor detective novel), Montalbano is a very human crime-solver whom it is easy to empathise with, whether he is dealing with press conferences or superiors, or when interviewing wayward witnesses or fellow travellers along the rocky road to truth. The classic outsider, Montalbano’s maverick approach to the puzzles he is confronted with is compounded of a hint of the lone cowboy of Westerns, a pinch of literary dilettantism and a soupçon of culinary appreciation. It’s wonderful to know that there are so many other titles still to discover and explore.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sjmccreary
Inspector Montalbano returns for a second session of crime solving in this charming book by Andrea Camilleri. I "read" this book via audio and found it much easier going than the first volume which I read in print. The foreign names and unfamiliar references tripped me up when I saw them more than
In this story, Mantalbano solves the mystery of a stolen truck discovered loaded with groceries by discovering a cache of stolen weapons and stumbling onto the remains of a 50-year old murder that no one even knew about. It is this old murder mystery which captures his imagination and compels him to search for both the identies of the 2 bodies and their killer. Discovering the identity of the life-sized terra cotta dog which guarded the remains was the easy part.
Salvo Montalbano reminds me (in some bizarre twist of the mind, I'm sure) of MC Beaton's Hamish Macbeth. Both are humble, avoiding the spotlight, and promotion, whenever possible. Both have an understanding and acceptance of human nature and the ability to see through attempts to confuse and misdirect them. I find Montalbano to be more interesting and complex than Macbeth, and so far, Camilleri's books seem less formulaic than Beaton's - although maybe I just haven't read enough of them yet.
This book was delightful, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Show More
hearing an excellent reader say them for me. Or perhaps, it was just becoming more comfortable with this author and his style and wonderful characters. Either way, I enjoyed this book much more than the first, "The Shape of Water".In this story, Mantalbano solves the mystery of a stolen truck discovered loaded with groceries by discovering a cache of stolen weapons and stumbling onto the remains of a 50-year old murder that no one even knew about. It is this old murder mystery which captures his imagination and compels him to search for both the identies of the 2 bodies and their killer. Discovering the identity of the life-sized terra cotta dog which guarded the remains was the easy part.
Salvo Montalbano reminds me (in some bizarre twist of the mind, I'm sure) of MC Beaton's Hamish Macbeth. Both are humble, avoiding the spotlight, and promotion, whenever possible. Both have an understanding and acceptance of human nature and the ability to see through attempts to confuse and misdirect them. I find Montalbano to be more interesting and complex than Macbeth, and so far, Camilleri's books seem less formulaic than Beaton's - although maybe I just haven't read enough of them yet.
This book was delightful, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tulikangaroo
The Terra-Cotta Dog had the lightness and wit that was missing in the first book in the series, The Shape of Water. Inspector Montalbano is a tough nut to crack, but if you can cook properly he will look at you with the eyes of a puppy brought in from the rain. So charming.
LibraryThing member reading_fox
2nd in the series. Salzu gets a tip-off that a notorious gangster wants a quite retirement, and will allow himself to be daringly arrested. However the mafia don't take this quietly and Salzu is injured in the following revenge attack. The gangsters last words to him are a final bit of malice
As he recuperates with the attentions of his girlfriend, not quite mistress and female best friend, he spends his time interviewing anybody who'd have known the town at the time of the 2nd world war. This obviously is select group of older people with various quirks and personalities.
Not very sure where this was going, little in the way of crime or police work seems to happen, but it did expand a bit on Salzu's personality and set up the various people whom he's going to be interacting with in the next books (until they too get killed off or maybe just move away).
Show More
against his former masters, but reveal an even deeper mystery to Salzu. He's discovered a cave with ancient bodies and a terracotta dog entombed within. Who were they when did they die?and Why? WHat's the significance of the dog?As he recuperates with the attentions of his girlfriend, not quite mistress and female best friend, he spends his time interviewing anybody who'd have known the town at the time of the 2nd world war. This obviously is select group of older people with various quirks and personalities.
Not very sure where this was going, little in the way of crime or police work seems to happen, but it did expand a bit on Salzu's personality and set up the various people whom he's going to be interacting with in the next books (until they too get killed off or maybe just move away).
Show Less
LibraryThing member ashergabbay
Andrea Camilleri is a Sicilian-born writer (and film director), famous for his series of crime novels featuring Inspector Montalbano, a Sicilian detective from the fictitious city of Vigàta. Il Cane di Terracotta is the second book in the series. I picked the first book (La Forma dell’Acqua)
The book starts off with a well known mafia boss who decides to call it a day and turns himself in to Montalbano (who agrees to stage his arrest to make the retirement respectable). The mafia boss has information that helps the police solve a theft case involving a supermarket delivery truck, and leads them to a cave used by the mafia as an arms stash.
So far, a typical mafia crime story. But Montalbano notices the cave has a sealed secret passage that leads to a second, smaller cave. In the inner cave he he finds the bodies of a young couple, together with a statue of a terracotta dog, a bowl of water and some coins dating back to the second world war. The bodies and the objects are arranged in what appears to be a ritualistic burial setting.
This finding intrigues Montalbano, even though it is clear, fifty years since the crime was perpetrated, that whoever killed the young lovers is long dead, or at least very old. He embarks on a journey to discover why they were killed and placed in the cave. This journey is the real heart of this book, and makes the inspector learn about old traditions and buried secrets.
Reading Camilleri is not easy, given that many of the dialogues are in Sicilian dialect. Here is an example of a short exchange between Montalbano and his housemaid Adelina, who is worried about his eating habits and hygiene (p. 362):
“Vossia non mangiò ne aieri a mezzujorno né aieri sira!”
“Non avevo pititto, Adelì”
“Io m’ammazzo di travaglio a fàrricci cose ‘nguliate e vossia le sdegna!”
“Non le sdegno, ma te l’ho detto: mi faglia il pititto”
“E po’ chista casa diventò un purcile! Vossia ‘un voli ca lavo ‘n terra, ‘un voli ca lavo I robbi! Havi cinco jorna ca si teno la stissa cammisa e li stessi mutanni! Vossia feti!”
So aside from the many words I either need to look up, or guess from the context, there is also this continuous guesswork about the Italian equivalent of the Sicilian slang. Some are easy (aieri = ieri; sira = serra), but others are not so self-evident (took me a second to realise mutanni were mutande). And yet, discovering this special dialect through the machinations of Montalbano adds to the pleasure of reading.
Show More
last year, during a visit to Italy, and despite my mediocre reading skills in Italian, I liked it very much. On another visit to Naples earlier this year, I picked up Il Cane.The book starts off with a well known mafia boss who decides to call it a day and turns himself in to Montalbano (who agrees to stage his arrest to make the retirement respectable). The mafia boss has information that helps the police solve a theft case involving a supermarket delivery truck, and leads them to a cave used by the mafia as an arms stash.
So far, a typical mafia crime story. But Montalbano notices the cave has a sealed secret passage that leads to a second, smaller cave. In the inner cave he he finds the bodies of a young couple, together with a statue of a terracotta dog, a bowl of water and some coins dating back to the second world war. The bodies and the objects are arranged in what appears to be a ritualistic burial setting.
This finding intrigues Montalbano, even though it is clear, fifty years since the crime was perpetrated, that whoever killed the young lovers is long dead, or at least very old. He embarks on a journey to discover why they were killed and placed in the cave. This journey is the real heart of this book, and makes the inspector learn about old traditions and buried secrets.
Reading Camilleri is not easy, given that many of the dialogues are in Sicilian dialect. Here is an example of a short exchange between Montalbano and his housemaid Adelina, who is worried about his eating habits and hygiene (p. 362):
“Vossia non mangiò ne aieri a mezzujorno né aieri sira!”
“Non avevo pititto, Adelì”
“Io m’ammazzo di travaglio a fàrricci cose ‘nguliate e vossia le sdegna!”
“Non le sdegno, ma te l’ho detto: mi faglia il pititto”
“E po’ chista casa diventò un purcile! Vossia ‘un voli ca lavo ‘n terra, ‘un voli ca lavo I robbi! Havi cinco jorna ca si teno la stissa cammisa e li stessi mutanni! Vossia feti!”
So aside from the many words I either need to look up, or guess from the context, there is also this continuous guesswork about the Italian equivalent of the Sicilian slang. Some are easy (aieri = ieri; sira = serra), but others are not so self-evident (took me a second to realise mutanni were mutande). And yet, discovering this special dialect through the machinations of Montalbano adds to the pleasure of reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cameling
Another quirky adventure for Inspector Montalbano. He's invited to meet with the infamous and deadly Tano the Greek, a man whose name strikes terror in the hearts of many and who the Anti-Mafia Commission have been dying to get their hands on. His meeting with the deadly crime lord puts in motion a
In the middle of his clandestine plans, Inspector Montalbano finds himself dealing with a supermarket robbery that the supermarket owner takes pains to insist was not a robbery but only a prank. But what prank ends with men being killed after they speak with the Inspector? Is there a bigger act being played out where the risks are higher and men are willing to murder to keep the scheme from being discovered?
And why are there 2 bodies, naked and curled around each other, with a terra-cotta dog guarding over them, a jug and a bowl of old coins next to them, placed in a old cave, hidden behind another cave where our good Inspector discovers weapons?
Seemingly unrelated, it takes a few swims in the ocean, lots of food and our Inspector getting shot and proclaimed a hero, before he is able to piece it all together. All the while fighting desperately not to be promoted. You cannot help but enjoy this Sicilian romp.
Show More
series of activities with surprising and hilarious consequences. In the middle of his clandestine plans, Inspector Montalbano finds himself dealing with a supermarket robbery that the supermarket owner takes pains to insist was not a robbery but only a prank. But what prank ends with men being killed after they speak with the Inspector? Is there a bigger act being played out where the risks are higher and men are willing to murder to keep the scheme from being discovered?
And why are there 2 bodies, naked and curled around each other, with a terra-cotta dog guarding over them, a jug and a bowl of old coins next to them, placed in a old cave, hidden behind another cave where our good Inspector discovers weapons?
Seemingly unrelated, it takes a few swims in the ocean, lots of food and our Inspector getting shot and proclaimed a hero, before he is able to piece it all together. All the while fighting desperately not to be promoted. You cannot help but enjoy this Sicilian romp.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nmele
Camillleri's second Montalbano novel entranced me. I appreciate the social and political commentary woven through these stories but what I really enjoyed in this one was the descriptions of Sicilian cooking. I wanted to put the book down and go cook several times, but the narrative and characters
Show More
carried me along. Still, I think I'm cooking Italian tonight... Show Less
LibraryThing member lkernagh
With this second book in the series now under my belt, I admit I am growing rather fond of Montalbano as a character, even if I cringe at some of the food items he finds so divine to indulge in. I am not quite the seafood connoisseur that he is, although I am starting to wonder when vegetables will room cave idea and the symbolic references that needed to be deciphered..... that is my kind of story! A good puzzle to noodle over between spurts of listening and I really liked the ending to this one. Looks like I will be extending my literary stay on Sicily a little longer as I have now started listening to book three in the series, The Snack Thief.
Show More
start to be mentioned. I find the cases he becomes embroiled with, as well as his relationship with his various underlings and the women in his life make for a nice escape from day-to-day reality for me. With this story, it was the uncovered 50 year old mystery begging to be solved that really captured my attention and made it such an enjoyable read for me. The whole locked Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
This second Inspector Montalbano mystery is pleasantly convoluted -- in addition to Mafia gun-smuggling, the shooting of known fugitive only hours after his arrest, Montalbano is also trying to solve a 50-year-old murder of two young lovers.
I love the way Montalbano loves his food & his walks on
I love the way Montalbano loves his food & his walks on
Show More
the beach, his attempts to focus on his girlfriend Livia when his mind in on a case, his colleagues at the station... Show Less
LibraryThing member TadAD
The Terracotta Dog was a bit of an improvement over the first book in the series. We start to find out a bit more about Montalbano. Though I still wouldn't say there was a lot of depth there, we start to see a bit of roundness in his character beyond just "hardass cop." However, the story line is a
Show More
big improvement...much smoother and more coherent. It passed a couple of hours pleasantly. Had the series ended there, it probably would never occur to me to recommend it to anyone but I enjoyed myself. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
A mafia figure wanted for three murders selects Inspector Montalbano to arrest him. About the same time the staged arrest is taking place, a delivery truck arrives early to a convenience store, but the store is robbed of the shipment overnight. When officials search a cave, Montalbano finds another
Show More
cave behind it with two long dead corpses arranged in what appears to be a ritualistic fashion with a terracotta dog watching over them. I listened to the audio version narrated by Grover Gardner. Although I had trouble staying focused when I was distracted by other things, it was a complex mystery that kept me wanting to know more about the distant mystery. I'm not a huge fan of mafia involvement or espionage in my novels, but this one had enough in the historical mystery to keep my attention. I would prefer for the characters to clean up their language a bit and for there to be less graphic description of some things, but all in all this was an entertaining audio book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Smiler69
In book 2 of the Montalbano series, we find our gourmet inspector involved with a curious incident which uncovers arms trafficking. But in the cave where the arms cache is found, the inspector also discovers the long dead, desiccated bodies of two lovers laying on a carpet and locked in an embrace.
The French version is awkward, as the translator has made an effort to give a feeling of some of the Sicilian vernacular which Camilleri's Italian readers have come to love and expect, but which makes for strange sentence structure and convoluted reading. I will try the English version for the next novel in series to see if it makes for more comfortable reading.
Show More
Arranged close by are a dish of old coins and a terracotta sculpture of a dog who is seemingly watching over the couple. Did the pair let themselves die of hunger? Were they murdered? And why is Montalbano so intent on solving a 50 year-old case that nobody other than him, including his superiors, sees the need to resolve? The French version is awkward, as the translator has made an effort to give a feeling of some of the Sicilian vernacular which Camilleri's Italian readers have come to love and expect, but which makes for strange sentence structure and convoluted reading. I will try the English version for the next novel in series to see if it makes for more comfortable reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ffortsa
A fun romp from start to finish, although bad things do happen, of course. Montalbano is shown to have some personality issues, but manages to unravel a current case as well as an ancient one.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
I had overdosed a bit on cozy/comfort reads, so the sarcastically witty The Terra-Cotta Dog was just what I needed to add some excitement to my reading. While following a lead that might result in the capture of the head of a criminal organization, Inspector Montalbano ends up discovering a
This book revealed a new aspect of Montalbano's character. He's a reader, and the books he's currently reading, other books he's read, bookstores, and libraries all work their way into the story. In that respect, he reminds me of P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh and Louise Penny's Armand Gamache.
Although this series is a little coarser than the types of mysteries I usually read, it's one I'm sure I'll return to periodically when I'm in the mood for something a little outside of my comfort zone.
Show More
50-year-old murder from World War II. Montalbano is much more interested in the historical puzzle than in the more recent crimes on his plate, and this frustrates both his superiors and his subordinates.This book revealed a new aspect of Montalbano's character. He's a reader, and the books he's currently reading, other books he's read, bookstores, and libraries all work their way into the story. In that respect, he reminds me of P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh and Louise Penny's Armand Gamache.
Although this series is a little coarser than the types of mysteries I usually read, it's one I'm sure I'll return to periodically when I'm in the mood for something a little outside of my comfort zone.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sleahey
One mystery is the robbery of a large grocery store followed by the immediate recovery of the goods. The puzzle that captures Montalbano's attention, though, is the 50 year old mystery of two naked young people who were shot and then buried in a cave, seemingly at the beginning of the American
Show More
arrival in Sicily at the end of World War II. In spite of the odds, he sets out to uncover the circumstances of their burial. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennorthcoast
This is the sequel to The Shape of Water, a Sicilian mystery novel featuring the fabulous Inspector Montalbano. While the first novel, even with the exceptional translation by Stephen Sartarelli, was a little difficult for me to “get into,” the wacky characters and Camilleri’s sardonic humor
Show More
were refreshing. Here, Camilleri has me hooked on page one with an incredible, twisted plot and crazy characters. Reading one scene, I laughed so hard I had to set the book aside until I could calm myself down. Every other word, brilliantly translated by Sartarelli, had me in stitches. Yet the novel is also brutally bleak and realistic, mixing humor with pathos in quick, pithy scenes. I will be reading more about Inspector Montalbano, for sure. Show Less
LibraryThing member mysterymax
The second in the series has Montalbano becoming obsessed with finding out what happened to two bodies discovered in a cave. Livia, his girl-friend, is already angry with him due to his paying so much attention to his case, a theme that present in their relationship over a long period of time. The
Show More
people had been killed during the war, fifty years earlier, and it seems unlikely that he'll discover the facts. He does, of course. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri is the second entry in the Inspector Montalbano Mystery series and will awaken your taste buds, tickle your funny bone and provide an interesting puzzle for the Inspector. The terracotta dog mentioned in the title is a life-size statue that is found in a cave,
This second book in the series continues to bring Sicily to life. The atmosphere is created by vivid descriptions of the scenery, the lively population, the politics and strong mafia influence and, above all by the smell and tastes of the food. Montalbano himself reveals a little more of his sardonic and slightly sly personality and all of this combines to make these book such great fun and great reads.
The translation captures the rhythm and cadence of Sicily, the author gives us well drawn, spirited characters and great dialogue. The best part, for me, is that this is only book number two, leaving me a long list of Montalbano mysteries to discover.
Show More
watching over the corpses of two entwined bodies that date back fifty years. The front half of the cave has been in current use by the Mafia as a weapon storehouse, but these corpses intrigue the Inspector and he decides to solve their mystery. This second book in the series continues to bring Sicily to life. The atmosphere is created by vivid descriptions of the scenery, the lively population, the politics and strong mafia influence and, above all by the smell and tastes of the food. Montalbano himself reveals a little more of his sardonic and slightly sly personality and all of this combines to make these book such great fun and great reads.
The translation captures the rhythm and cadence of Sicily, the author gives us well drawn, spirited characters and great dialogue. The best part, for me, is that this is only book number two, leaving me a long list of Montalbano mysteries to discover.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
The second Montalbano novel, in which Salvo allows himself to be distracted from an investigation involving Mafia gun-running to attempt to disentangle the semiotic complexities of a crime apparently committed fifty years ago, at the time of the American landings in Sicily. Plenty of humour, with
Show More
Montalbano having to cope with all three of the women from the first book (long-suffering Livia, obsessed Anna, and gorgeous Ingrid), plus his jealous deputy, Mimi Augello and the magnificently idiotic policeman Cantarella. Plenty of mocking of political an media imbecility too, and of course plenty of good Sicilian food and plenty of excuses to mine the memories of the older generation. Great fun, and I'm obviously going to have to go on and read a few more. Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
An enjoyable excursion through a labyrinthine set of investigations, with murders past and present.
LibraryThing member johnwbeha
I love the Montalbano books, probably even more than I love the TV series, possibly because of the books extra details about his eating habits. Whilst I enjoyed this one, I was a little disappointed, feeling it lost its way a few times in the intricacies of the plot. But it certainly won't put me
Show More
off reading some more. Show Less
LibraryThing member kerns222
Those Venice detective stories, almost homey, set the bar for Italian mystery, with locales more alive than bodies in a canal, of course, but also more alive than most people in its pages.
Terra Cotta Dog is a Sicilian detective story. Attitude and atmosphere predominate, without the specifics of
I am not sure I want to visit Sicily after the book, except for the food--the book creates a running menu that would come in handy.
Montalbano seems human, at first, when on the trail of some Mafioso, but then reveals himself as such an arrogant ass that you want to kick him a time or two, not read him. He is not a compassionate northerner like Brunetti.
The mafia always wins of, course. But Montalbano has his moments. Crime to him is a puzzle for his pleasure to play with. Justice, apparently, does not apply in that part of the world. Maybe nowhere anymore, come to think of it. See what reading this book has done to me. Be careful.
Terra Cotta Dog is a Sicilian detective story. Attitude and atmosphere predominate, without the specifics of
Show More
the each corner and bridge. The atmosphere is hot and dry and polluted with crime. The attitude is one of blood feud pride. Nothing new in these stereotypes.I am not sure I want to visit Sicily after the book, except for the food--the book creates a running menu that would come in handy.
Montalbano seems human, at first, when on the trail of some Mafioso, but then reveals himself as such an arrogant ass that you want to kick him a time or two, not read him. He is not a compassionate northerner like Brunetti.
The mafia always wins of, course. But Montalbano has his moments. Crime to him is a puzzle for his pleasure to play with. Justice, apparently, does not apply in that part of the world. Maybe nowhere anymore, come to think of it. See what reading this book has done to me. Be careful.
Show Less