The Day of the Owl - Softcover

Sciascia, Leonardo; Translated By Archibald Colquhoun And Arthur Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1862074186 ISBN 13: 9781862074187

Publisher: Granta Books, 2001

Synopsis

This short novel about the mafia is also a mesmerizing demonstration of how that organization sustains itself. It is both a beautifully written story and a brave act of denunciation. A dark-suited man is shot as he runs for a bus in the piazza of a small town. The investigating officer is a man who believes in the values of a democratic and modern society, and soon finds himself up against a wall of silence and vested interests. The narrative moves on two levels: that of the investigator, who reveals a chain of nasty crimes; and that of the bystanders and watchers, of those complicit with secret power, whose gossipy furtive conversations have only one end: to stop the truth coming out.

About this title

About the Author:

Leonardo Sciascia was born in Sicily in 1912 and died there in 1989. Like Joseph Roth, Sciascia worked with deceptively simple forms - books about crime, historical novels, political thrillers - and was a master of lucid and accessible prose. This polished surface conceals great depths of sophistication and an intense engagement with the moral and historical problems of modern Italy, especially of his native Sicily. His books are rooted in a particular culture; they speak to anyone who has ever wondered how people can endure unbearable injustice.

Review:

A short novel and a brave act of denunciation by the distinguished Sicilian novelist that is a mesmerising demonstration of how that organisation sustains itself. A man is shot running for a bus in the piazza of a small town and the investigating officer finds himself up against a wall of silence. The narrative moves on two levels: that of the investigator who reveals a chain of crime; and that of the bystanders, of those complicit with secret power and who are determined to stop the truth coming out.

About this edition

• Publisher: Granta Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1862074186
• ISBN 13: 9781862074187
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272