This paper examines the Inspector Montalbano series written by Andrea Camilleri. I argue that two aspects of this detective series distinguish Camilleri’s narratives and can account for the positive reception of his work in Italy and abroad.
The first aspect concerns Camilleri’s strong and humanistic focus on character. The reader encounters Montalbano as a fully formed person whose private and professional life shape the narrative. Other secondary and minor characters are not created for the sake of the plot, but seem propelled by their own individual conditions in life. Camilleri’s concern with his characters imbues the novels with a deeply empathetic understanding of others.
The second aspect here examined is the political-social dimension of the novels. In Camilleri’s work, the protagonist, Montalbano, experiences a passionate rage against political corruption on the national and local levels. For Montalbano, it is not only the corrupt relationship between the political class, businessmen and mafia, but also the police and judicial bureaucracy that fill him with outrage against this interlocking system.
The top-level of the local police bureaucracy is not corrupt in the traditional sense. But the highest-ranking police officials demand a public show of police effectiveness. This can result in a rush to judgment, to the point of pinning tough cases on the wrong person and sometimes on the mafia. Montalbano views the mafia with moral revulsion, but does not want them or anyone else accused of crimes they did not commit.
Character and moral outrage work together in Camilleri’s fiction. These qualities introduce a vision of humanism and justice not often found in detective fiction.
About the presenterAnne Parrella
Anne Parrella earned the B.A. degree from Indiana State University.She attended the University of Virginia’s graduate school and completed the Ph.D. in European history.Her disertation examined criminal homicide in France in connection with industrialization during the nineteenth century. She taught at Wake Forest University, Hampton University and currently teaches at Tidewater Community College. Dr Parrella has published on crime in social history and has presented papers at conferences.