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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Andrea Camilleri - The Patience of the Spider, 3 Mar 2008
The Patience of the Spider opens as Inspector Salvo Montalbano is recovering from injuries sustained in his previous adventure, the brilliant Rounding the Mark. Indeed, this novel opens a matter of hours afterwards as Salvo, recuperates under the ministrations of his partner Livia and undergoes flashbacks to time in hospital. That is all cut abruptly short, though, when a local girl is kidnapped and Salvo is called on to the case, though only on the sidelines, not as the investigator in charge. The kidnapping is a real puzzle: it's well-known that the girl's family cannot possibly pay the ransom, and the behaviour of the kidnappers makes little sense to Montalbano. However, with a bit of dogged investigation and after a few revealing discoveries, he eventually gets to the truth...
The Patience of the Spider is not the best Montalbano by quite a long shot. However, that is saying little, as it's still a hugely entertaining, amusing read. Montalbano himself is on fine crotchety, manipulative, intuitively brilliant form. The writing is as funny and lightly sarcastic as ever also. However, the plot here has a lot less meat on its bones than previous outings. Indeed, there's little more to the book than then simple synopsis presented above. It's direct and focused, but it feels thin and underdeveloped. And not only that, but it's quite obvious what's going on from about halfway through the book, and the reader is rather surprised that Montalbano doesn't cotton on to what's going on immediately. It's enjoyable, yes, but would be served well by bring a bit more complex.
That said, however, it says a lot about the qualities of Camilleri's hugely enjoyable writing style (it's full of sly fun and reads immensely quickly - possibly thanks to the simplicity of the plot!) that the book is still 100% worth reading. Even with the mystery so easy to puzzle out (and Camilleri himself seems to subconsciously agree on this point, giving as he does only two pages to solve it in), the book is still a fun treat to read. I recommend it, as I do all his books, but it's not the most well-rounded of the series, and certainly is a pale sister compared to the brilliance of last year's Rounding the Mark.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tiny Puzzles Bother Montalbano as He Recuperates, 23 Aug 2007
Inspector Montalbano was wounded in Rounding the Mark, and The Patience of the Spider begins with Montalbano being on leave to recuperate. Livia has even returned to his side to take care of his, banishing the ministrations of his housekeeper and marvelous cook, Adelina Cirrincio. Montalbano is concerned that the doctors will find out that he has a heart condition, but that doesn't happen. Except for occasional love-making (which Livia isn't anxious for), Montalbano is leading a circumscribed life . . . even eating healthy, low-calorie foods. Bah!
Naturally, it is a relief when Montalbano is called temporarily back to duty as a kidnapping overwhelms the local force. But the case is not to be his; a colleague comes from a place where kidnappings are common events.
The kidnapped woman, Susanna Mistretta, is a pretty young university student . . . and her family doesn't have any money. Everyone fears the worst, that this is a sexual crime rather than extortion. And initially, there's no news from the kidnappers.
That set of circumstances seems strange to Montalbano. As he investigates, more little things bother him. Why is her motorbike facing in the wrong direction? Where is her helmet? As time passes, the little things seem to suggest of shadow of something else. What could it be?
But it's annoying to work on the case, because Livia alternately berates him for not doing enough . . . and for not telling her about every little development.
Will the young woman be saved? Will she get back in time to say good-bye to her dying mother? Your heart will be wrung as you consider those elements.
The story lacks the usual Montalbano zest for several reasons. He isn't able to indulge his gourmet and gourmand tendencies so the food side of the story is thin. The kidnapping's complications also reveal themselves in a very transparent fashion. I think you'll figure out the puzzle pretty early in the book. Montalbano also has fewer humorous interludes with the other members of the police. The energy, humor, and suspense are just at a low ebb. It's a pleasant mystery, but it's one that won't kick yourself if you don't read it.
The indirect development of the character of the kidnapped woman is quite well done. That was obviously the writing challenge that appealed to Mr. Camilleri as he wrote this book.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect escapism, 4 Feb 2008
Another fantastic book from Andrea Camellieri. If you have never read an Inspector Montalbano book before you are really mising something. They are not fast paced thrillers, but are humourous portraits of a slightly disorganised and very confusing legal/police system in sicily with added food. Like the previous reviewer i have a couple of gripes. I felt 'The Patience of the Spider' came to an end a bit abruptly, and Livia just annoys me. But really worth reading
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