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I duellanti
Cecè Caruana era un trentino che di 'nvernu faciva il muratori e di 'stati vinniva gilati paìsi paìsi e pilaja pilaja.
45 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2020
About the author
Andrea Camilleri
462 books2,550 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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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 31, 2020
Con questo ultimo breve racconto si conclude il ciclo de “Le storie di Vigata” che mi ha accompagnato durante tutto il mese di agosto. C’è ben poco da dire, Camilleri ha il potente dono di riuscire a far entrare il lettore nelle vicende e nei luoghi da lui narrati, complice anche la scrittura in dialetto che rende ancora meglio l’atmosfera siciliana del tempo.
Anche quest’ultima uscita, “I duellanti”, mi è piaciuta tantissimo; ho apprezzato non solo la storia, ma anche la brevità del racconto, cosa che ha contraddistinto questa collana di libri offerta dal quotidiano “La Repubblica”: infatti grazie anche all’avvincente scrittura, si riesce a leggere in poco tempo questi brevi racconti avendo solo una quarantina di pagine.
Nient’altro da aggiungere se non che Camilleri, a mio avviso, può essere benissimo considerato uno dei colossi della moderna letteratura italiana!
Anche quest’ultima uscita, “I duellanti”, mi è piaciuta tantissimo; ho apprezzato non solo la storia, ma anche la brevità del racconto, cosa che ha contraddistinto questa collana di libri offerta dal quotidiano “La Repubblica”: infatti grazie anche all’avvincente scrittura, si riesce a leggere in poco tempo questi brevi racconti avendo solo una quarantina di pagine.
Nient’altro da aggiungere se non che Camilleri, a mio avviso, può essere benissimo considerato uno dei colossi della moderna letteratura italiana!
October 13, 2020
Questo è uno dei racconti più belli di questa collana. Camilleri sa farci entrare nello spirito del tempo: sullo sfondo della vicenda dei due gelatai, si coglie la sua ironica rappresentazione della società. A tratti fa ridere, spesso sorridere ma anche riflettere.
January 29, 2021
Beddu, mi piacì
August 4, 2026
Un simpatico scorcio in una Sicilia colorata, chiassosa e grossolana, che macari insegna le basi di microeconomia.
August 29, 2020
Un altro delizioso racconto breve del maestro Camilleri. La sfida annosa è tra due gelatai ambulanti..
April 4, 2025
Ho trovato questo libricino sulle mensole della libreria condivisa di un ostello a Carrapateira, in Portogallo, nel quale ho sostato mentre percorrevo il Cammino dei Pescatori, e si è rivelato proprio ciò di cui avevo bisogno: una lettura leggera e da poter terminare prima della mia partenza.
Non avevo mai letto nulla di Camilleri in precedenza, e sono rimasta un po’ sorpresa quando ho cominciato il libro: facevo un po’ di fatica a capire alcuni termini, ma ciò non è durato a lungo. Infatti, pagina dopo pagina mi sono appassionata alla lettura e l’ho trovata molto scorrevole. La narrazione è spontanea e il tono familiare ed amichevole, la storia simpatica e graziosissima.
Non avevo mai letto nulla di Camilleri in precedenza, e sono rimasta un po’ sorpresa quando ho cominciato il libro: facevo un po’ di fatica a capire alcuni termini, ma ciò non è durato a lungo. Infatti, pagina dopo pagina mi sono appassionata alla lettura e l’ho trovata molto scorrevole. La narrazione è spontanea e il tono familiare ed amichevole, la storia simpatica e graziosissima.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews







