Reviews

The Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia

bookpeet's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kensho's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

glenncolerussell's review

5.0

Dawn in a city square, a man in a dark suit is just about to jump on the running-board of a bus when two earsplitting shots ring out. The man slumps down, shot dead. So begins this masterfully crafted tale of murder and the world of mafia crime in 1950s Sicily by Italian novelist, Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989).

The author was born and raised in Sicily and loved Sicily. After publishing several works on the history and politics of Sicily, Sciascia entered the world of crime – as a writer of crime fiction, that is.

The Day of the Owl features an outsider from the North, one Captain Bellodi, member of the carabinieri, Italy’s national military police responsible for both civilians and military. Perhaps to be expected, our detective-hero Captain has an uphill battle both in solving the case and making the charges stick, since, after all, he is in the homeland of the Sicilian mafia. Anyway, as the entire population appears to live by the code of conduct outlined in Machiavelli’s The Prince, I will cite quotes from this classic text to highlight events in Sciascia's novel.

“For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying.”
Back at the station, in conversation with Giuseppe Colasberna and others Colasberna brothers of the now shot dead Salvatore Colasberna, Captain Bellodi outlines the possibility that if nine out of ten contractors are willing to pay for protection and the inside track on winning the best jobs, doesn’t that make the one contractor unwilling to pay for such protection something of a black sheep, a challenge and a bad example that must be brought into the fold or wiped out? All the Colasberna brothers firmly deny knowing anything about what he is talking about. Thus, the good Captain is given a taste of the mafia’s power in Sicily – even if your very own brother is shot, you will keep your mouth shut.

“Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be—and are ruined.”
The Captain asks the passengers who were on the bus what they saw that morning when a man was shot. They all say the windows were so steamy they looked like frosted glass. The driver tells him all his attention was focused straight ahead as he was driving. The conductor was looking down, taking tickets. The Captain asks the fritter-seller who was no more than ten yards away from the shooting. His reply, “Has there been a shooting?”

“Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves.”
The sly, slick, slippery, ever dangerous, ever threatening ex-convict Calogero Dibella is a collector for the mafia and an informer for the police, a man who must use his wits on the razor's edge to survive day to day. He keeps telling people who owe him money (in a joking way, of course) that he left his jacket at prison and if he has to kill someone he could finally go back to prison and fetch it.

“There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.”
Here is a quote from a high-ranking politician, Honorable Member Livigni, who is continually seen meeting with members of the mafia: "I am accused of being associated with members of the mafia and so with the mafia itself. But I assure you that I have never yet been able to find out what the mafia is or even if it exists. I give you my word with the clear conscious of a good Catholic and a citizen, that I have never met one member of the mafia."

“Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”
Ah, deception! Turnabout is fair play. One of the high points in the novel is when the crafty Calogero Dibella slips and lets drop a name that turns out to be just what our detective-Captain needs. He and two other carabinieri devise a masterful plan to trap the criminals into confessing. I reread this section several times; it's that juicy.

“He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.”
Toward the end of the novel, Captain Bellodi interviews mafia chief Don Mariano. Words are exchanged; mutual respect is acknowledged. Machiavelli’s quote fits each man like a finely made Italian glove. I wouldn’t want to say anything more specific to spoil such a well-crafted detective novel, so I will end by noting how the title, The Day of the Owl is taken from Henry IV, Part 3, as in how an owl is placid by day but a most effective hunter and predator by night. Will night ever come to Sicily for Captain Bellodi, this owl of the day? Again, Machiavelli: “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.”

This New York Review Books (NYRB) Classic is 120 pages and can be read in a day or two. And what a read! Highly recommended.

cam_flower's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

carlaribeiro's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

jtgstrm's review

dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

la_cori's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

mag30's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

big_dreamer's review against another edition

4.0

Romanzo breve, o meglio, racconto lungo in cui, per la prima volta si parla esplicitamente di mafia, in cui il muro di omertà crolla sotto i colpi di un poliziotto venuto dal nord in Sicilia, per cercare di debellare questa piaga terribile.
La vicenda si apre con un omicidio, avvenuto davanti a diverse persone, ma nessuno ha visto nulla, nemmeno il morto cadere a terra. Piano piano, colpo dopo colpo, scoperta dopo scoperta, Bellodi riesce a risolvere un'intricata trama di delitti e favori.

Spoiler

Ma la vera denuncia non è che la mafia esiste. La vera denuncia è che la mafia non esiste, che è tutta un'invenzione. Dopo tutto il lavoro svolto da Bellodi, arriva un colpo di spugna a cancellare tutto. Non è stata la mafia. La mafia non esiste.

emanuele_'s review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5