Inspector Montalbano is back. The Sicilian detective, popular with the TV series ‘Young Montalbano‘ is once again the main character of Andrea Camilleri‘s 100th book, L’Altro Capo del Filo’.
Born in 1925 in Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Andrea Camilleri has been living Rome since the late 40s. There he began studying at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, but never got a degree. In the meanwhile he started publishing poems and short stories. He studied at the Accademia di Arte Drammatica Silvio d’Amico and he began working in cinema as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. Actually, he is the first to bring Beckett to an Italian audience.
He published his first novel, Il Corso Delle Cose (The Way Things Go) in 1978, after spending ten years being rejected by publishers. In fact, he gained the literary success only in his old age.
Since then he sold 30 million copies, wrote other books (not only featuring Montalbano) and got nine honorary degrees. In 2009 only he published nine books.
In some interviews he revealed word of mouth got him his fame. In fact, at the award ceremony for the Campiello Prize for his career in 2011, Sellerio, his Palermo-based publisher, revealed they never did any advertising campaigns for his books.
Luca Zingaretti playing Inspector Montalbano
He is the perfect example of the classic writer: he does not use a computer, but he types his novels with a typewriter. Sometimes he writes by hand. His deep and raspy voice is unique. Famous for being a heavy smoker, Camilleri contributed to create a character, Montalbano, that works in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town and is engraved in the mind of Italian people. The TV adaption of Montalbano’s adventures, starring Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri’s popularity and also promoted Sicily and its breathtaking landscapes, above all of Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, where the police station is located.
The main story of L’Altro Capo del Filo is set during the current migration crisis. The village of Vigata is trying to help migrants arriving to the village, when Montalbano must face a new murder.
L’Altro Capo del Filo is for sale at the Italian Bookshop.
