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The Patience of the Spider (Montalbano 8)

Author: Andrea Camilleri
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

6 reviews
Sales Rank: 7858

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.3

ISBN: 0330442236
EAN: 9780330442237
ASIN: 0330442236

Publication Date: January 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new. Unwanted gift. Sent 1st class post

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Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Patchy but Satisfying April 24, 2008
I love the Montalbano series and have read most of them. I was really eager to start this one, and it starts well. Montalbano is recovering from an injury sustained in the line of duty which also causes him to worry about his mortality and question his abilities as a cop. He is called in to assist on the sidelines with a complex kidnap case involving a young and beautiful girl and senses that all is not as it should be.

The things that were great about this book were the setting, the sights and sounds of Sicily; The fact that we get to know more about Montalbano's complicated relationship with his girlfriend Livia and of course Montalbano himself. The thing that let it down was the case, which I had guessed the outcome for fairly early on. I'm not saying I'm a mastermind or anything, I just thing that if you're used to the way things play out in the Montalbano novels this one might not be quite up to par for you.

Having said that it's still a great read and well worth having.

3 out of 5 stars

I'm confused March 29, 2008
1st Gripe. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I guessed what was going on about half way through. I'm not sure if that's intentional. But I'm not happy about it. Why such an obvious plot?

2nd Gripe. Not enough about food! I love the local seafood of which most of the books have several helpings. This one hardly had two.

3rd Gripe. Montalbano is getting a little old. And recently he's been going on about it a lot more.

4 out of 5 stars

Andrea Camilleri - The Patience of the Spider March 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

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.

3 out of 5 stars

Not up to scratch February 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I am a recent convert to the Montalbano series, and after reading the previous 7 in the series in fairly quick succession, I must admit that this one was not as good. The humour that characterises the other books is muffled here, replaced more with a morose tone that seems to lie beneath. References to food and cuisine are hard to find (I recall one mention of a meal, perhaps two) and as another reviewer said, Livia is just annoying; her personality and Montalbano's don't quite fit, and whilst this has been made light of previously, here it just grates. The whole book carried with it a depressive air, and the conclusion was poor. One further point, if this book turns out to be the last in the Montalbano series (and the general feel of it at its conclusion is that it may) then it's such a shame that it has gone out not with a bang, but with the softest of whimpers...

5 out of 5 stars

perfect escapism February 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

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