- Hardcover: 128 pages
- Publisher: The Harvill Press (14 Aug 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1860469043
- ISBN-13: 978-1860469046
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,344,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"The Advocate is... quite simply a masterpiece. It nurtures a wordless violence and a pastoral simplicity, tragic as the Mediterranean sun beating down upon this stony ground" Frederic Vitoux, Nouvel Observateur; "A brilliant fresco of Sardinian life, with the added element of bloodshed that gives it the dynamism of a first-rate crime novel... Here is a writer who really merits attention" Francesco Mannoni, Messaggero Veneto
Product Description
A story of a backward community living with a guilty conscience, a small-town lawyer with a passion for justice, and a boy in love. The incident happened in a small provincial town, Nuoro, in Sardinia about a hundred years ago. A prosperous farmer was shot dead in his olive grove, and the man's hired hand, a boy called Zenobi, was found guilty in absentia - he had already gone to ground earlier after being accused of stealing from his master's flock. The boy was now a bandit with a price on his head. An open-and-shut case. Only Zenobi's peasant mother was convinced that the lad was being framed, and the lawyer Bustianu was willing to see whether the evidence for conviction on either charge stood up against the facts. Neither the courts, however, nor the police had any wish to reopen the case - the lad had effectively admitted his guilt by absconding. And in view of the conspiracy of silence among the eyewitnesses to the shooting, the lawyer's chances looked negligible; his only recourse was to set a trap of his own. Unlike most novels of crime and detection, In the Heat of Summer, In the Depth of Winter is suffused with a beautiful delicacy of narrative texture that lifts it out of its provincial setting and makes it a tale for all ages.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When a book in translation is shortlisted for a CWA Ellis Peters Dagger Award then its a book that deserves a second look. Fois compresses murder, mystery, family pride and burning injustice into a mere 118 pages. The plot is woven in with wonderful description of Sardinia and a central character who is as solid as the rock on which he likes to sit and think.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To call any community "backward" is offensive. The story is not about "backward" people but rather people who are oppressed by a superior power and have no choice. The story is well written and Fois is able to capture the oral tradition of his people. the orality is more subtle in English, nevertheless the feel is there. It is based on a real person, a lawyer and writer, Sebastiano Satta at the end of the 19th century. More than a crime fiction is a historical document. In colonised societies with an oral tradition, history comes back in archives which cannot be trusted because written from a powerful perspective that is not necessarily objective. The novella has different points of view: the narrator, the father of the narrator, the main character. This gives the reader a fuller picture of the whole historical situation. No character in this piece of work is "backward". They all have an intelligence equal to the colonisers and the English, who feel they can call anything they do not understand "backward". Because of the difference in culture, it is possible that a second reading is necessary. However, the use of language in a review should always be balanced, relating to the times we live in. The book translates well and it is a must for those who are interested in perspectives coming from different cultures with different experiences from our own. It is easy to read but with a good literary standard. The book is about a past that reflects the present. Both, in Sardinia, where the story is based and in Britain, where injustice is around, even if people do not notice it. I would suggest it to those who like reading
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In Sardinia, 1897, six sheep are stolen from a farm. The suspect is Zenobi, a young man who had worked on the farm and is in love with the farm owner's daughter. Zenobi's mother begs Bustianu, the local lawyer to take up the case against her son who she strongly believes is innocent. Zenobi, however, has disappeared. He is soon blamed for a couple of murders. As Bustianu looks into the case, he becomes convinced of his client's innocence. However, the challenge will be to prove it.
One striking feature of this work is its brevity. THE ADVOCATE is not a novel but a novella. As such there is no true sense of character and the plot must be slight and direct. This novel is translated from Italian, yet, there is much poetic prose in the descriptions of Sardinia. The novel is more a poetic lyrical ode than a true mystery novel. Well done, however.
One striking feature of this work is its brevity. THE ADVOCATE is not a novel but a novella. As such there is no true sense of character and the plot must be slight and direct. This novel is translated from Italian, yet, there is much poetic prose in the descriptions of Sardinia. The novel is more a poetic lyrical ode than a true mystery novel. Well done, however.
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