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Um ninho de cobras (Montalbano Livro 21)
Quando um contador é assassinado dentro de casa na costa da Itália, Montalbano é acionado para a investigação. Mas o que parecia um caso simples se torna um quebra-cabeça da vida de um homem inescrupuloso e hipócrita, que muita gente da cidadezinha italiana gostaria de ver morto.
O dia nasce em Marinella, e um estranho sonho de Salvo Montalbano é interrompido pelo canto de um rouxinol. Ou, pelo menos, é o que pensa o comissário, até descobrir que se trata do assobio de um andarilho que havia se refugiado na varanda de sua casa durante uma tempestade. Um andarilho sui generis, no entanto, porque fala um italiano perfeito – o que deixa claro que já viu dias melhores. Ele confessa que vive numa gruta ali perto, mas não há tempo para se aprofundar no assunto, pois Montalbano tem de correr até a delegacia para investigar o assassinato do contador Cosimo Barletta.
Na casa de praia da vítima, não há sinais de arrombamento nem vestígios de o homem levou um tiro na nuca enquanto estava sentado na cozinha tomando um café. Cosimo Barletta era um sujeito estranho, mas levava uma vida aparentemente respeitá viúvo, rico, dono de uma casa no vilarejo e uma propriedade à beira-mar, dois filhos, Arturo e Giovanna, ambos casados. Mas o depoimento dos filhos revela o retrato de um homem nada virtuoso. Um sujeito implacável, mestre da extorsão e da chantagem, e um pai de família hipócrita e impiedoso.
Quando fotos e cartas escondidas em um fundo falso da mesa da vítima revelam uma paixão doentia, Montalbano não consegue deixar de se perguntar o que mais o sujeito seria capaz de fazer. A necropsia então revela um detalhe perturbador que força uma mudança nos rumos da investigação, principalmente depois de os filhos de Barletta mencionarem um testamento – que ninguém consegue encontrar – que o pai pretendia rever. E, em meio à tortuosa investigação, apesar dos inúmeros casos que enfrentou em sua brilhante carreira, Montalbano percebe, mais uma vez, que o ser humano – com suas paixões, seus desejos e suas fraquezas – ainda é o mistério mais insondável.
“Camilleri escreve com tanta astúcia e charme quanto Montalbano investiga seus casos.” The Washington Post
O dia nasce em Marinella, e um estranho sonho de Salvo Montalbano é interrompido pelo canto de um rouxinol. Ou, pelo menos, é o que pensa o comissário, até descobrir que se trata do assobio de um andarilho que havia se refugiado na varanda de sua casa durante uma tempestade. Um andarilho sui generis, no entanto, porque fala um italiano perfeito – o que deixa claro que já viu dias melhores. Ele confessa que vive numa gruta ali perto, mas não há tempo para se aprofundar no assunto, pois Montalbano tem de correr até a delegacia para investigar o assassinato do contador Cosimo Barletta.
Na casa de praia da vítima, não há sinais de arrombamento nem vestígios de o homem levou um tiro na nuca enquanto estava sentado na cozinha tomando um café. Cosimo Barletta era um sujeito estranho, mas levava uma vida aparentemente respeitá viúvo, rico, dono de uma casa no vilarejo e uma propriedade à beira-mar, dois filhos, Arturo e Giovanna, ambos casados. Mas o depoimento dos filhos revela o retrato de um homem nada virtuoso. Um sujeito implacável, mestre da extorsão e da chantagem, e um pai de família hipócrita e impiedoso.
Quando fotos e cartas escondidas em um fundo falso da mesa da vítima revelam uma paixão doentia, Montalbano não consegue deixar de se perguntar o que mais o sujeito seria capaz de fazer. A necropsia então revela um detalhe perturbador que força uma mudança nos rumos da investigação, principalmente depois de os filhos de Barletta mencionarem um testamento – que ninguém consegue encontrar – que o pai pretendia rever. E, em meio à tortuosa investigação, apesar dos inúmeros casos que enfrentou em sua brilhante carreira, Montalbano percebe, mais uma vez, que o ser humano – com suas paixões, seus desejos e suas fraquezas – ainda é o mistério mais insondável.
“Camilleri escreve com tanta astúcia e charme quanto Montalbano investiga seus casos.” The Washington Post
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About the author
Andrea Camilleri
434 books2,478 followersAndrea Camilleri was an Italian writer. He is considered one of the greatest Italian writers of both 20th and 21st centuries.
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began studies at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, without concluding them, meanwhile publishing poems and short stories. Around this time he joined the Italian Communist Party.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began studies at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, without concluding them, meanwhile publishing poems and short stories. Around this time he joined the Italian Communist Party.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
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