I Giovedì Della Signora Giulia (1998) - Plot & Excerpts
Author Piero Chiara (1913 – 1986) was a celebrated Italian writer and the winner of many literary awards in his home country, although this is the first of his works translated into English. Although he did badly at school as a boy, he was self taught and cultivated a passion for literature. Critical of fascism, Chiara had intended to emigrate to Bolivia, but was forced to stay in Italy due to the outbreak of WWII. When an arrest warrant was issued by the fascist government, he was forced to flee to Switzerland in 1944 and only returned to Italy after the war. As well as writing, Chiara was a notable actor. Many of his books were filmed and he often appeared in these adaptations – often as an extra, or in a small part. He wrote many short stories, as well as novels, and screenplays, and often had a touch of the biographical in his work.Pushkin Press excel at publishing translations of European works and I was pleased to get a chance to read this author – new to me – and deserving of a bigger audience. This novella length story is set in a small town in northern Lombardy, where the Commissioner for public safety is Corrado Sciancalepre. Sciancalepre is much loved, and respected, by the people of the town and so it is obvious that the lawyer, Esengrini, turns to him for help when his wife disappears.Signora Guilia is much younger than her husband and spends every Thursday visiting her daughter, Emilia, at boarding school. Before long, the small town has become a hotbed of gossip and speculation – Signora Guilia has left her husband for another man, she has run away or been murdered. Eyes turn towards Esengrini and even his daughter, Emilia, looks upon him with suspicion. Sciancalepre becomes slightly obsessed with the case; following up leads and keeping in close contact with Emilia and her new husband as the years pass. It seems as though the case will never be closed, but the answer to the case may be closer to home than Sciancalepre first realised…This is very much a literary mystery and falls more into the category of literary fiction, rather than crime. The writing is slightly dry and distanced and, even when clues are uncovered, you see Sciancalepre’s response but do not necessarily feel any tension. As such, this is a puzzle, rather than a mystery, and concerned with the shadow of a suspected crime and how it falls over those involved – including Esengrini and the inhabitants of the town. The writing is delicate and conjours up the impression of the place and people. I would certainly like to read more by this author and am grateful that Pushkin Press bring so many works into translation for us to enjoy. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
«Nato per il delinquente, come il cacciatore per la selvaggina», eppure amante indefesso degli spaghetti, il sempre attivo commissario della cittadina di M. rinuncia a malincuore alla bontà quotidiana di quella indiscussa pietanza e, dopo una lunga mattinata in pretura, si appresta a incontrare il questore. Quel giovedì per Corrado Sciancalepre non si direbbe sia un giorno diverso dagli altri. Il prestigioso avvocato Esengrini, però, lo sta attendendo e l’eccezionalità della visita preannuncia già una certa curiosità. Nell’alta Lombardia sono soltanto le prime ore del pomeriggio. Giulia sarà prevedibilmente già a Milano. La giovane donna, della quale il signorile Esengrini sembra essere il vecchio zio e non invece il marito, è fuggita dal palazzo Zaccagni-Lamberti e il tran tran dei suoi giovedì appare essersi spezzato. Una querela per abbandono del tetto coniugale è quasi certamente il solo reato contestabile. La vicenda, malgrado ciò, è ancora poco chiara e bisognerà entrare nel pieno degli accertamenti. L’avvio dell’indagine per il rintraccio – Sciancalepre lo sa bene – non chiamerà in causa soltanto la minuziosa arte investigativa tesa alle ricerche ma anche una fine abilità nella comprensione di un ambiente familiare borghese di incerta serenità… Seppure Giulia non si trovi più lì, la versione dei fatti è, con tutto ciò, verosimile? Un interrogativo sotteso ad una vicenda psicologica di indubbio coinvolgimento, costruita abilmente, inscenando le più sottili tecniche del poliziesco e ritraendo i chiaroscuri della provincia italiana degli anni ’50. Non è un mero caso che il romanzo giallo di Piero Chiara abbia ispirato uno sceneggiato televisivo, l’omonimo I giovedì della signora Giulia, andato in onda nel 1970. L’indagine narrata difatti è di per sé realistica - e ancora attuale peraltro - volta a smascherare presunte infedeltà interne alla coppia e, per di più, riferita al tema scottante della violenza sulle donne. I colpi di scena, del resto, non mancano. Le sorti di Giulia getteranno un’ombra sulla rispettabilità del consorte e coinvolgeranno in un secondo momento la figlia Emilia nonché una scia di abietti personaggi mossi da intenti che si riveleranno di cruciale interesse e i cui misfatti lasceranno a lungo arrovellare il lettore. «Dotato di un fiuto particolare», alla fine di questa storia, proprio alla fine, «cioè di quella speciale forma mentale che conferisce ai grandi poliziotti la possibilità di immedesimarsi nel delinquente», il dottor Sciancalepre tuttavia riuscirà a mostrarci la verità e i suoi inaspettati multiformi aspetti. http://www.mangialibri.com/node/10333
What do You think about I Giovedì Della Signora Giulia (1998)?
Hmm, this is probably a 2.5 rounded up to 3. The Disappearance of Signora Giulia is one of six books due to be published in September to launch the Pushkin Vertigo imprint. Piero Chiara was a prolific Italian author of novels, short stories and poetry, but most of his work has never been translated into English, and this is the first English version of I giovedì della signora Giulia, originally published in 1970. Having really enjoyed Vertigo earlier this month, I snapped up this as soon as it became available on Edelweiss (for those interested, this & some other Pushkin books are currently available for instant download, without any need to go through the request system). The story is a fairly simple mystery, with a premise reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier's short story 'No Motive'. A woman, the eponymous Giulia, disappears suddenly, and her husband, a lawyer, employs a private investigator named Sciancalepre to track her down. He digs into her background and, unsurprisingly, finds a few secrets, a possible affair, some mysterious letters. The plot unfolds over a number of years as Giulia stays missing and leads are frustratingly hard to come by - until someone is spotted creeping around the garden of her daughter's palazzo in the middle of the night. While the beginning was very intriguing, and I stayed interested - this is a short book with a brisk narrative - I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all far less captivating and exciting than such a story should be. Then there were the mistakes and the many awkward, unrealistic moments. A glaring example of the former is the fact that Giulia's daughter is 'only just fifteen' when she goes missing, but at least 21 in the latter half of the book - despite it being repeatedly emphasised that three years have passed between Giulia's disappearance and that point in the story. Characters behave strangely and make odd exclamations throughout; generally, they lack depth, and don't feel real.One of the few other reviews for this on Goodreads simply says nothing more than 'there is no ending' - which made me laugh because, while it might be blunt, it's very true. We don't find out whodunnit or if any of the suggested theories are correct. This wasn't the issue for me, though - ambiguous endings can be fantastic - the issue was that when I reached the last page, I didn't care anyway. So yeah... I certainly wouldn't say I hated this, but it wasn't very good. Certainly not up to Vertigo standards, though I'm still interested in discovering further classic and lesser-known European mysteries through this imprint.
—Blair
