Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia
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.
A short novel and a brave act of denunciation by the distinguished Sicilian novelist that is a mesmerising demonstration of how that organisation sustains itselfA 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.
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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781862074187 |
| ISBN 10 | 1862074186 |
| Title | Day of the Owl |
| Author | Leonardo Sciascia |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2001-04-26 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |