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Commissario De Vincenzi #1
The Murdered Banker
A body is discovered in a Milan apartment, and Inspector De Vincenzi investigates. The apartment happens to belong to an old university friend of his, Aurigi. When the body turns out to be that of Aurigi's banker, and a phial of prussic acid is discovered in the bathroom, suspicion falls on the apartment's owner, and De Vincenzi is agonisingly torn between his sense of duty and his loyalty to an old comrade...
This intensely dramatic mystery from the father of the Italian crime novel, Augusto de Angelis, is the first to feature his most famous creation--Inspector De Vincenzi.
This intensely dramatic mystery from the father of the Italian crime novel, Augusto de Angelis, is the first to feature his most famous creation--Inspector De Vincenzi.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
25 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Augusto De Angelis
129books10followersAugusto De Angelis (1888-1944) was an Italian novelist and journalist, most famous for his series of detective novels featuring Commissario Carlo De Vincenzi. His cultured protagonist was enormously popular in Italy, but the Fascist government of the time considered him an enemy, and during the Second World War he was imprisoned by the authorities. Shortly after his release he was beaten up by a Fascist activist and died from his injuries.
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May 15, 2016somewhere around 3.6 or 3.7 stars for me.
Any time a mystery novel opens in the fog, I do a little happy dance since I know that what's coming is going to be hazy, murky, and a bit of a challenge in terms of seeing things clearly. This is definitely the case in The Murdered Banker, where a "bituminous lake of fog" has settled on Milan, making it nearly impossible to see anything. The opening scene captures two men "moving across the piazza," as "ghostlike shadows." As it turns out, one of these men is the main character Inspector Carlo de Vincenzi, who is heading into the station just after midnight. After a while de Vincenzi settles in to read his book, and while inwardly musing about why he's a cop and why he'd become the Commissioner for Public Saftety, he is joined some time later, about 1:30 a.m., by his friend and former classmate Gianetto Aurigi, who has just come in after a night at La Scala seeing Verdi's Aida. Aurigi had watched the opera in the box belonging to Count Marchionni and his family; Marchionni is Aurigi's future father-in-law, as he is engaged to his daughter Maria Giovanna. He claims he's been walking around since and that his wandering had brought him to the station to see the inspector. But soon he opens up with his financial troubles, revealing that he needs "half a million" -- it seems that he owes this sum to someone, and that it is due that very day. He can't tell Marchionni without facing the prospect of losing his bride-to-be. While they are talking, the phone rings, calling de Vincenzi to a crime scene. After he hangs up, the inspector instructs Aurigi to remain at the station and leaves an officer to ensure that Aurigi doesn't leave. The reason is not that the inspector wants to continue the conversation when he returns, but that the crime he's been called out to just happens to have occurred in Aurigi's apartment. As he begins his investigation, it all adds up to Aurigi as chief suspect, but through his "intuition and psychological impressions" the Inspector knows that he's the wrong guy. As other suspects are brought into the case, each with his or her own secrets, de Vincenzi realizes that if he doesn't get to the truth of the matter, the innocent may be caught up in the "machine that will grind them up." His mission -- to save the innocent, and to bring the guilty to justice.
De Vincenzi believes that a crime, when "not a crime of passion," is "a work of art! A work perversely and criminally artistic," and it's obvious to me that De Augusto's writing reflects this idea in many ways. At the same time, it's not so artistic that the whodunit element gets lost -- The Murdered Banker is a solid mystery story that is not only enjoyable, but also very well laid out in terms of buried secrets that could easily serve as motive, creating a group of possible suspects whom de Vincenzi must eliminate one by one to solve the crime. He takes his time getting there, but that also is part of the author's craft -- creating the reluctant witness who doesn't want those secrets to come out at any cost. By the time the actual culprit is discovered, it's a rather eye-opening moment, something I look forward to in any mystery novel. Here it's done right, and done well, although sometimes the writing itself can be a bit overdone, but a) it's the first in a series which is often touchy, and b) the crime and the investigation are both so well plotted that it's forgivable.
It is definitely a fine start to a series that so far I am really enjoying. Recommended for fans of vintage crime or of translated crime fiction/mysteries.
Any time a mystery novel opens in the fog, I do a little happy dance since I know that what's coming is going to be hazy, murky, and a bit of a challenge in terms of seeing things clearly. This is definitely the case in The Murdered Banker, where a "bituminous lake of fog" has settled on Milan, making it nearly impossible to see anything. The opening scene captures two men "moving across the piazza," as "ghostlike shadows." As it turns out, one of these men is the main character Inspector Carlo de Vincenzi, who is heading into the station just after midnight. After a while de Vincenzi settles in to read his book, and while inwardly musing about why he's a cop and why he'd become the Commissioner for Public Saftety, he is joined some time later, about 1:30 a.m., by his friend and former classmate Gianetto Aurigi, who has just come in after a night at La Scala seeing Verdi's Aida. Aurigi had watched the opera in the box belonging to Count Marchionni and his family; Marchionni is Aurigi's future father-in-law, as he is engaged to his daughter Maria Giovanna. He claims he's been walking around since and that his wandering had brought him to the station to see the inspector. But soon he opens up with his financial troubles, revealing that he needs "half a million" -- it seems that he owes this sum to someone, and that it is due that very day. He can't tell Marchionni without facing the prospect of losing his bride-to-be. While they are talking, the phone rings, calling de Vincenzi to a crime scene. After he hangs up, the inspector instructs Aurigi to remain at the station and leaves an officer to ensure that Aurigi doesn't leave. The reason is not that the inspector wants to continue the conversation when he returns, but that the crime he's been called out to just happens to have occurred in Aurigi's apartment. As he begins his investigation, it all adds up to Aurigi as chief suspect, but through his "intuition and psychological impressions" the Inspector knows that he's the wrong guy. As other suspects are brought into the case, each with his or her own secrets, de Vincenzi realizes that if he doesn't get to the truth of the matter, the innocent may be caught up in the "machine that will grind them up." His mission -- to save the innocent, and to bring the guilty to justice.
De Vincenzi believes that a crime, when "not a crime of passion," is "a work of art! A work perversely and criminally artistic," and it's obvious to me that De Augusto's writing reflects this idea in many ways. At the same time, it's not so artistic that the whodunit element gets lost -- The Murdered Banker is a solid mystery story that is not only enjoyable, but also very well laid out in terms of buried secrets that could easily serve as motive, creating a group of possible suspects whom de Vincenzi must eliminate one by one to solve the crime. He takes his time getting there, but that also is part of the author's craft -- creating the reluctant witness who doesn't want those secrets to come out at any cost. By the time the actual culprit is discovered, it's a rather eye-opening moment, something I look forward to in any mystery novel. Here it's done right, and done well, although sometimes the writing itself can be a bit overdone, but a) it's the first in a series which is often touchy, and b) the crime and the investigation are both so well plotted that it's forgivable.
It is definitely a fine start to a series that so far I am really enjoying. Recommended for fans of vintage crime or of translated crime fiction/mysteries.
July 21, 2021
«H πιάτσα Σαν Φεντέλε ήταν μια λίμνη από πηχτό κατράμι που πάνω της έπλεαν σαν νησιά κοκκινωπά φωτοστέφανα από τους γύρω αψιδωτούς φανοστάτες.»
Με το Μιλάνο βουτηγμένο στην ομίχλη, εκεί κάπου στα 1935, συστήνεται ο επιθεωρητής Ντε Βιντσέντζι, ήρωας μιας σειράς δεκαπέντε αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων που γράφτηκαν κατά τις δεκαετίες του ΄30 και του �40. Ο θάνατος του τραπεζίτη είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο.
Ο δημιουργός του, δημοσιογράφος και συγγραφέας Augusto De Angelis, καθιερώθηκε ως ο πατέρας της ιταλικής αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας. Όπως αναφέρει στον πρόλογο του βιβλίου ο Kάρλο Λουκαρέλι, πολύ σημαντικός συγγραφέας αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων (Η τριλογία του φασισμού, Ιταλική ίντριγκα, Μέρα με τη μέρα ) :
«Παρόλο που γράφτηκαν πριν πολλά χρόνια, παρόλο που ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντζι μετακινείται με το τραμ και για να ανάψει το φως σε ένα δωμάτιο στρίβει τον διακόπτη, τα μυθιστορήματά του παραμένουν επίκαιρα. Γιατί η καλή γραφή δεν γερνάει ποτέ. Και το κρυφό μυστήριο της ανθρώπινης ψυχής παραμένει πάντα το ίδιο. »
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Ο Augusto De Angelis ήταν άγνωστος σε εμένα ακόμη και κατ΄όνομα - ίσως και σε άλλους αναγνώστες - κι έτσι το κίνητρο να διαβάσω το πρώτο βιβλίο που κυκλοφορεί στην ελληνική γλώσσα ήταν ισχυρό. Μια καινούργια φωνή, έστω κι αν σίγησε πριν πολλά χρόνια.
Πολλές φορές θέλω να «αποτοξινωθώ» από τη σύγχρονη πραγματικότητα που αντικατοπτρίζεται στη σύγχρονη αστυνομική λογοτεχνία και γυρνώ σε άλλες γραφές αλλοτινές με γοητεία που ίσως ξενίζει για λίγο, με διαφορετικό στήσιμο πλοκής, διαφορετικούς ήρωες!
Ο επιθεωρητής Ντε Βιντσέντζι είναι διαφορετική φιγούρα ήρωα από εκείνες που συνήθως συναντούμε σ΄ αυτό το είδος της μυθιστορίας. Αν έπρεπε οπωσδήποτε να τον φέρω κοντά σε άλλον γνωστό ήρωα, θα επέλεγα ίσως τον Μαιγκρέ.
Στη βάρδια του διαβάζει Ντέιβιντ Χέρμπεντ Λόρενς, στο συρτάρι του έχει το Συμπόσιο του Πλάτωνα και τις Επιστολές του Αποστόλου Παύλου.
Κατά βάση είναι ένας ποιητής. Πώς συμβιβάζεται η ιδιότητα του ποιητή με εκείνη του αστυνομικού; Προφανώς διάλεξε το επάγγελμα για βιοποριστικούς λόγους, αλλά μέσα του προσπαθεί και επιτυγχάνει να του δώσει μία άλλη μορφή.
«Νιώθω την ποίηση του επαγγέλματός μου…Τη� ποίηση αυτού του γκρίζου σκονισμένου δωματίου, αυτού του φθαρμένου τραπεζιού, αυτής της φτωχικής γέρικης σόμπας, που κάθε άρθρωσή της υποφέρει για να με ζεστάνει. Και την ποίηση του τηλεφώνου! Την ποίηση τις νύχτες της αναμονής, με την ομίχλη στην πλατεία να φτάνει μέχρι το προαύλιο αυτού του παλιού μοναστηριού, σημερινή έδρα της Αστυνομικής διεύθυνσης, όπου οι διεφθαρμένοι έχουν πάρει τη θέση των αγίων! »
Περασμένα μεσάνυχτα μιας ομιχλώδους νύχτας του χειμώνα και εμφανίζεται ξαφνικά στο αστυνομικό τμήμα ο Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι, παλιός συμμαθητής του επιθεωρητή. Είναι σε απόγνωση, γιατί βρίσκεται στο χείλος της οικονομικής καταστροφής. Την ίδια στιγμή ο επιθεωρητής δέχεται ένα τηλεφώνημα. Στο σπίτι του Αουρίτζι υπάρχει ένα πτώμα! Το πτώμα ενός τραπεζίτη που κατά σύμπτωση είχε δανείσει ένα μεγάλο ποσό στον ιδιοκτήτη του σπιτιού.
Πού βρισκόταν ο Αουρίτζι την ώρα εκείνη; Γιατί, μετά από χρόνια, θεώρησε αναγκαίο να περάσει από το αστυνομικό τμήμα;
Ο Ντε Βιντσέντζι � παρεμπιπτόντως, δεν αναφέρεται το όνομά του κατά τη διάρκεια του αφηγήματος, μια αξιοπρόσεκτη ιδιαιτερότητα του συγγραφέα - στηριζόμενος στη διαίσθησή του ή σε μια φιλεύσπλαχνη διάθεση απέναντι στον παλιό του φίλο � αποφασίζει να διαλευκάνει το μυστήριο όχι μόνο λόγω της θέσεώς του αλλά και από την ισχυρή θέλησή του να τον βοηθήσει.
Μια ομάδα υπόπτων μπαίνει κάτω από το περισκόπιο του επιθεωρητή. Όλοι έχουν ένα κίνητρο. Κάποιοι από αυτούς αρκετά ισχυρό. Για εκείνον όμως το προφανές δεν είναι αρκετό. Ούτε και σταματά μόνο στην ερμηνεία των ευρημάτων. Παρά με σύμμαχο το δυνατό ένστικτό του, υποβοηθούμενο από την ευαισθησία που τον διέπει, προχωρεί εξαλείφοντας έναν προς έναν τους υπόπτους από τη λίστα του, μέχρι να φτάσει στο επιθυμητό αποτέλεσμα, τη σύλληψη του δολοφόνου.
Το δυνατό του όπλο είναι η χάραξη του ψυχογραφήματος των υπόπτων. Ο Ντε Βιντσέντζι προσπαθεί να εμβαθύνει στην ψυχοσύνθεσή τους, αναρωτιέται, βγάζει τα συμπεράσματά του και πολλές φορές συμπάσχει!
Βαθιά ανθρώπινος, και ευαίσθητος σε ένα σκηνικό σχεδόν στατικό � μία μέρα είναι ο χρόνος της ιστορίας και όλοι οι ήρωες βρίσκονται μαζεμένοι σε ένα σαλόνι - , παρατηρεί, σημειώνει, και διά της εις άτοπον απαγωγής προχωρά. Κάποιες φορές παρακάμπτει τυπικές διαδικασίες και κάποιες φορές ρισκάρει ποντάροντας στον παράγοντα τύχη.
«Συλλογιζόταν και την ίδια στιγμή ήθελε να σταματήσει να σκέφτεται. Θα προτιμούσε να λειτουργεί σαν ραβδοσκόπος. Αναζητούσε τον δολοφόνο και έπρεπε να τον βρει με το μαγικό του ραβδί. Η σιωπή εξακολουθούσε να απλώνεται πάνω από εκείνους τους τέσσερις ασάλευτους άντρες, μόνο που τώρα πια δεν ήταν τεταμένη αλλά μάλλον κατατονική. Μια κολλώδης σιωπή. Πώς θα έσπαγε αυτή τη βαλτωμένη ατμόσφαιρα; Πώς θα έβγαινε και πάλι έξω να εισπνεύσει καθαρό αέρα; Τι κινήσεις θα έπρεπε να κάνει;
Αίφνης, σαν πέτρα που πέφτει στα ατάραχα νερά μιας λίμνης, η τύχη πήρε τον πρώτο λόγο.»
Αυτή η φιγούρα του Ντε Βιντσέντζι που κυριαρχεί σε όλο το βιβλίο, σμιλεμένη και δοσμένη εξαιρετικά από τον δημιουργό της, δεν μπορεί παρά να αγαπηθεί από τον αναγνώστη. Κυριαρχεί με τις σκέψεις του, τη στωικότητά του, την υπομονή του, τη διάθεσή του να φέρει εις πέρας την υπόθεση που αναλαμβάνει, αλλά και την ευαισθησία του.
Εν κατακλείδι, αν αναζητάτε έντονη δράση, πολυδιάστατους ήρωες και πολλές ανατροπές δεν θα μείνετε ικανοποιημένοι.
Αν αναζητάτε εκείνο το άρωμα το παλιομοδίτικο που βγαίνει μέσα από την αφήγηση, το τόσο μακρινό, αλλά και το τόσο φίνο και διακριτικό δοσμένο από μια εξίσου φίνα λογοτεχνική γραφή, θεωρείστε ότι θα το βρείτε στο βιβλίο Ο θάνατος του Τραπεζίτη!
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Ο πρόλογος για την ελληνική μόνο έκδοση είναι γραμμένος από τον συγγραφέα Κάρλο Λουκαρέλι, η μετάφραση είναι εξαιρετική και ανήκει στη Δήμητρα Δότση
Με το Μιλάνο βουτηγμένο στην ομίχλη, εκεί κάπου στα 1935, συστήνεται ο επιθεωρητής Ντε Βιντσέντζι, ήρωας μιας σειράς δεκαπέντε αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων που γράφτηκαν κατά τις δεκαετίες του ΄30 και του �40. Ο θάνατος του τραπεζίτη είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο.
Ο δημιουργός του, δημοσιογράφος και συγγραφέας Augusto De Angelis, καθιερώθηκε ως ο πατέρας της ιταλικής αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας. Όπως αναφέρει στον πρόλογο του βιβλίου ο Kάρλο Λουκαρέλι, πολύ σημαντικός συγγραφέας αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων (Η τριλογία του φασισμού, Ιταλική ίντριγκα, Μέρα με τη μέρα ) :
«Παρόλο που γράφτηκαν πριν πολλά χρόνια, παρόλο που ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντζι μετακινείται με το τραμ και για να ανάψει το φως σε ένα δωμάτιο στρίβει τον διακόπτη, τα μυθιστορήματά του παραμένουν επίκαιρα. Γιατί η καλή γραφή δεν γερνάει ποτέ. Και το κρυφό μυστήριο της ανθρώπινης ψυχής παραμένει πάντα το ίδιο. »
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Ο Augusto De Angelis ήταν άγνωστος σε εμένα ακόμη και κατ΄όνομα - ίσως και σε άλλους αναγνώστες - κι έτσι το κίνητρο να διαβάσω το πρώτο βιβλίο που κυκλοφορεί στην ελληνική γλώσσα ήταν ισχυρό. Μια καινούργια φωνή, έστω κι αν σίγησε πριν πολλά χρόνια.
Πολλές φορές θέλω να «αποτοξινωθώ» από τη σύγχρονη πραγματικότητα που αντικατοπτρίζεται στη σύγχρονη αστυνομική λογοτεχνία και γυρνώ σε άλλες γραφές αλλοτινές με γοητεία που ίσως ξενίζει για λίγο, με διαφορετικό στήσιμο πλοκής, διαφορετικούς ήρωες!
Ο επιθεωρητής Ντε Βιντσέντζι είναι διαφορετική φιγούρα ήρωα από εκείνες που συνήθως συναντούμε σ΄ αυτό το είδος της μυθιστορίας. Αν έπρεπε οπωσδήποτε να τον φέρω κοντά σε άλλον γνωστό ήρωα, θα επέλεγα ίσως τον Μαιγκρέ.
Στη βάρδια του διαβάζει Ντέιβιντ Χέρμπεντ Λόρενς, στο συρτάρι του έχει το Συμπόσιο του Πλάτωνα και τις Επιστολές του Αποστόλου Παύλου.
Κατά βάση είναι ένας ποιητής. Πώς συμβιβάζεται η ιδιότητα του ποιητή με εκείνη του αστυνομικού; Προφανώς διάλεξε το επάγγελμα για βιοποριστικούς λόγους, αλλά μέσα του προσπαθεί και επιτυγχάνει να του δώσει μία άλλη μορφή.
«Νιώθω την ποίηση του επαγγέλματός μου…Τη� ποίηση αυτού του γκρίζου σκονισμένου δωματίου, αυτού του φθαρμένου τραπεζιού, αυτής της φτωχικής γέρικης σόμπας, που κάθε άρθρωσή της υποφέρει για να με ζεστάνει. Και την ποίηση του τηλεφώνου! Την ποίηση τις νύχτες της αναμονής, με την ομίχλη στην πλατεία να φτάνει μέχρι το προαύλιο αυτού του παλιού μοναστηριού, σημερινή έδρα της Αστυνομικής διεύθυνσης, όπου οι διεφθαρμένοι έχουν πάρει τη θέση των αγίων! »
Περασμένα μεσάνυχτα μιας ομιχλώδους νύχτας του χειμώνα και εμφανίζεται ξαφνικά στο αστυνομικό τμήμα ο Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι, παλιός συμμαθητής του επιθεωρητή. Είναι σε απόγνωση, γιατί βρίσκεται στο χείλος της οικονομικής καταστροφής. Την ίδια στιγμή ο επιθεωρητής δέχεται ένα τηλεφώνημα. Στο σπίτι του Αουρίτζι υπάρχει ένα πτώμα! Το πτώμα ενός τραπεζίτη που κατά σύμπτωση είχε δανείσει ένα μεγάλο ποσό στον ιδιοκτήτη του σπιτιού.
Πού βρισκόταν ο Αουρίτζι την ώρα εκείνη; Γιατί, μετά από χρόνια, θεώρησε αναγκαίο να περάσει από το αστυνομικό τμήμα;
Ο Ντε Βιντσέντζι � παρεμπιπτόντως, δεν αναφέρεται το όνομά του κατά τη διάρκεια του αφηγήματος, μια αξιοπρόσεκτη ιδιαιτερότητα του συγγραφέα - στηριζόμενος στη διαίσθησή του ή σε μια φιλεύσπλαχνη διάθεση απέναντι στον παλιό του φίλο � αποφασίζει να διαλευκάνει το μυστήριο όχι μόνο λόγω της θέσεώς του αλλά και από την ισχυρή θέλησή του να τον βοηθήσει.
Μια ομάδα υπόπτων μπαίνει κάτω από το περισκόπιο του επιθεωρητή. Όλοι έχουν ένα κίνητρο. Κάποιοι από αυτούς αρκετά ισχυρό. Για εκείνον όμως το προφανές δεν είναι αρκετό. Ούτε και σταματά μόνο στην ερμηνεία των ευρημάτων. Παρά με σύμμαχο το δυνατό ένστικτό του, υποβοηθούμενο από την ευαισθησία που τον διέπει, προχωρεί εξαλείφοντας έναν προς έναν τους υπόπτους από τη λίστα του, μέχρι να φτάσει στο επιθυμητό αποτέλεσμα, τη σύλληψη του δολοφόνου.
Το δυνατό του όπλο είναι η χάραξη του ψυχογραφήματος των υπόπτων. Ο Ντε Βιντσέντζι προσπαθεί να εμβαθύνει στην ψυχοσύνθεσή τους, αναρωτιέται, βγάζει τα συμπεράσματά του και πολλές φορές συμπάσχει!
Βαθιά ανθρώπινος, και ευαίσθητος σε ένα σκηνικό σχεδόν στατικό � μία μέρα είναι ο χρόνος της ιστορίας και όλοι οι ήρωες βρίσκονται μαζεμένοι σε ένα σαλόνι - , παρατηρεί, σημειώνει, και διά της εις άτοπον απαγωγής προχωρά. Κάποιες φορές παρακάμπτει τυπικές διαδικασίες και κάποιες φορές ρισκάρει ποντάροντας στον παράγοντα τύχη.
«Συλλογιζόταν και την ίδια στιγμή ήθελε να σταματήσει να σκέφτεται. Θα προτιμούσε να λειτουργεί σαν ραβδοσκόπος. Αναζητούσε τον δολοφόνο και έπρεπε να τον βρει με το μαγικό του ραβδί. Η σιωπή εξακολουθούσε να απλώνεται πάνω από εκείνους τους τέσσερις ασάλευτους άντρες, μόνο που τώρα πια δεν ήταν τεταμένη αλλά μάλλον κατατονική. Μια κολλώδης σιωπή. Πώς θα έσπαγε αυτή τη βαλτωμένη ατμόσφαιρα; Πώς θα έβγαινε και πάλι έξω να εισπνεύσει καθαρό αέρα; Τι κινήσεις θα έπρεπε να κάνει;
Αίφνης, σαν πέτρα που πέφτει στα ατάραχα νερά μιας λίμνης, η τύχη πήρε τον πρώτο λόγο.»
Αυτή η φιγούρα του Ντε Βιντσέντζι που κυριαρχεί σε όλο το βιβλίο, σμιλεμένη και δοσμένη εξαιρετικά από τον δημιουργό της, δεν μπορεί παρά να αγαπηθεί από τον αναγνώστη. Κυριαρχεί με τις σκέψεις του, τη στωικότητά του, την υπομονή του, τη διάθεσή του να φέρει εις πέρας την υπόθεση που αναλαμβάνει, αλλά και την ευαισθησία του.
Εν κατακλείδι, αν αναζητάτε έντονη δράση, πολυδιάστατους ήρωες και πολλές ανατροπές δεν θα μείνετε ικανοποιημένοι.
Αν αναζητάτε εκείνο το άρωμα το παλιομοδίτικο που βγαίνει μέσα από την αφήγηση, το τόσο μακρινό, αλλά και το τόσο φίνο και διακριτικό δοσμένο από μια εξίσου φίνα λογοτεχνική γραφή, θεωρείστε ότι θα το βρείτε στο βιβλίο Ο θάνατος του Τραπεζίτη!
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Ο πρόλογος για την ελληνική μόνο έκδοση είναι γραμμένος από τον συγγραφέα Κάρλο Λουκαρέλι, η μετάφραση είναι εξαιρετική και ανήκει στη Δήμητρα Δότση
February 21, 2016
As a staunch devotee of Simenon’s Maigret books, I was delighted to discover this previously unknown to me Italian author, who exhibits a wonderfully similar style and pace to his French counterpart. This is the first of de Augusto’s books to feature Milanese detective de Vincenzi, originally published in 1935, and now re-issued under the mantle of the Pushkin Vertigo series. The detective we encounter here is thoughtful, pragmatic. and like the venerable Maigret possesses a wonderful appreciation of the grey areas of crime detection, and the inevitable pulls on professional honour, and personal loyalty that this presents. In this relatively slim tale, de Vincenzi insinuates a greater level of psychological exploration than in books three times its length, and there is a strong sense of the socio-political feel of Italy in this period too. It’s bijou, but perfectly constructed and I can’t wait to discover the rest of the series�
August 12, 2021
Το πρώτο βιβλίο του Αουγκούστο ντε Άντζελις που μεταφράζεται στα ελληνικά μας παρουσιάζει μέσα από μια κλασική ιστορία whodunnit αστυνομικού τον Κάρλο ντε Βιτζέντζι, έναν καλλιεργημενο και ευαίσθητο επιθεωρητή που αναζητά στωικά τη λύση του εγκλήματος μέσα από προσεκτικές αναλύσεις των χαρακτήρων, έρευνα στοιχείων, αλλά και των κινήτρων των υπόπτων.
Ο ντε Βιτσέντζι είναι ταπεινός, υπομονετικός, ανθρώπινος και ηθικός, με κατανόηση όμως για τα ανθρώπινα πάθη, ένας υπέροχος άνθρωπος. Ο τρόπος του περιλαμβάνει άφθονη ανάκριση των υπόπτων, οδηγώντας τους πολλές φορές σε ομολογία των πράξεων τους.
Η γραφή του ντε Άντζελις είναι παλιακή, με άφθονους φυσικά διαλόγους, αρκετό μελόδραμα, απουσία φυσικής δράσης και σε αυτήν αντανακλάται η κοινωνία της Ιταλίας του 30 και του 40, με τα θέατρα και τα παλάτσο.
Στο βιβλίο όλη η δράση εξελίσσεται εντός 24ωρου και σχεδόν αποκλειστικά επάνω από τη σκηνή του εγκλήματος.
Ανυπομονώ για τα επόμενα βιβλία του στα ελληνικά!
Ο ντε Βιτσέντζι είναι ταπεινός, υπομονετικός, ανθρώπινος και ηθικός, με κατανόηση όμως για τα ανθρώπινα πάθη, ένας υπέροχος άνθρωπος. Ο τρόπος του περιλαμβάνει άφθονη ανάκριση των υπόπτων, οδηγώντας τους πολλές φορές σε ομολογία των πράξεων τους.
Η γραφή του ντε Άντζελις είναι παλιακή, με άφθονους φυσικά διαλόγους, αρκετό μελόδραμα, απουσία φυσικής δράσης και σε αυτήν αντανακλάται η κοινωνία της Ιταλίας του 30 και του 40, με τα θέατρα και τα παλάτσο.
Στο βιβλίο όλη η δράση εξελίσσεται εντός 24ωρου και σχεδόν αποκλειστικά επάνω από τη σκηνή του εγκλήματος.
Ανυπομονώ για τα επόμενα βιβλία του στα ελληνικά!
November 7, 2016
Reading a vintage crime novel such as this is really like opening a time capsule. Written in 1935, it is the first of a series of 20 novels by Augusto De Angelis, hailed as Italy's first crime writer. The story itself is good, but I enjoyed more the atmosphere and character development as well as a first hand experience of Milan between the world wars.
September 8, 2021
Γεννήθηκε στη Ρώμη, είναι από τους πρώτους που έγραψαν μεσογειακό νουάρ και μας συστήνεται για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα, μέσα από τις Εκδόσεις ΟΚΤΑΝΑ. Είναι ο Αουγκούστο Ντε Άντζελις με το βιβλίο του που κυκλοφόρησε το 1935 και φέρει τον τίτλο «Η δολοφονία του τραπεζίτη» (Il banchiere assassinato). Στα θετικά του βιβλίου, η εξαιρετική μετάφραση στα ελληνικά από τη Δήμητρα Δότση, καθώς και ο πρόλογος για την ελληνική έκδοση που έχει γραφεί από τον συγγραφέα Κάρλο Λουκαρέλι.
Πρόκειται για το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα μιας σειράς με τον ίδιο ήρωα, δεκαπέντε τον αριθμό, η πρώτη εμφάνιση του δαιμόνιου επιθεωρητή της Αστυνομικής Διεύθυνσης Μιλάνου, Κάρλο Ντε Βιντσέντσι, ενός ιδιαίτερου χαρακτήρα. Μας θυμίζει ελαφρώς τον Μαιγκρέ του Σιμενόν, όμως έχει χαρακτηριστικά που τον διαφοροποιούν. Σε κάποια σημεία στάθηκα στο καλλιεργημένο του ύφος, που όμως αλλού αναγκαζόταν να το αποτινάξει, προκειμένου να σταθεί επάξια στο ρόλο ενός καλού αστυνόμου και να γίνει πιο αυστηρός και μπρουτάλ, απέναντι σε όσους του αντιστέκονταν στην αναζήτηση της αλήθειας.
Με μια αργή στην αρχή θεώρηση των πραγμάτων, έτσι ώστε να ξετυλιχτεί το κουβάρι της ιστορίας, ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντσι συνομιλεί με τον παιδικό του φίλο, επιχειρηματία Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι. Κάτι φαίνεται ότι υποβόσκει στην ατμόσφαιρα, σαν ένα μυστικό που προσπαθεί να παραμείνει στο ημίφως από τον φίλο του. Αποδεικνύεται τελικά πως υπάρχει μια σχέση μεταξύ αυτού και του δολοφονημένου τραπεζίτη Μάριο Γκαρλίνι που βρέθηκε στο διαμέρισμα του επιχειρηματία, χωρίς όμως όπως ισχυρίζεται ο ίδιος να έχει ιδέα.
Οι υποψίες διαχέονται σε όλες τις σελίδες προς κάθε κατεύθυνση. Ο οποιοσδήποτε ήρθε σε συνάντηση με το θύμα θεωρείται πιθανός ένοχος και ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντσι θα χρησιμοποιήσει όλη την πειθώ του και τη λογική του προκειμένου να ανοίξει όλα τα σκοτεινά σημεία της υπόθεσης. Ποιος είναι ο δολόφονος; Ο επιχειρηματίας, η μνηστή του, ο πεθερός του, ο οικονόμος, ο φοιτητής του πάνω ορόφου, ή ακόμα κάποιος που δεν έχει μπει στο στόχαστρο του αστυνόμου;
Κλασικό whodunit, με όλα τα κλισέ που λατρέψαμε στην παλιά καλή αστυνομική λογοτεχνία, και δεν πρόκειται να τα βαρεθούμε ποτέ, υδροκυάνια και κλειστά δωμάτια, κραυγές και μπάτλερ. Οι ανατροπές ακολουθούν η μία την άλλη και οι σημαντικότερες σκηνές διαδραματίζονται στο χώρο του εγκλήματος, σε ένα κλειστό διαμέρισμα, όπου βρίσκονται όλοι οι ύποπτοι έτοιμοι να υποστούν την εξονυχιστική εξέταση μέσα από την τετράγωνη λογική του Ντε Βιντσέντσι. Ο οποίος βέβαια, εκτός από λογική, διαθέτει κάτι παραπάνω: μια καρδιά που χτυπά στους ρυθμούς των ανθρώπων και μπορεί να τους καταλαβαίνει, για μικρά ή μεγάλα παραπτώματα, αυτό που του προσθέτει στον ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα του και τον κάνει αγαπητό στον αναγνώστη.
Ένα κλείσιμο του ματιού και στις detective stories από τον συγγραφέα, μέσα από τον χαρακτήρα της μοιραίας Μαρία Τζοβάνα, του φτωχού αλλά τίμιου νεαρού στη σοφίτα Ρεμίτζο Αλτιέρι, και του επί πληρωμή Άγγλου ντετέκτιβ Χάριγκτον, αποζημιώνουν τον αναγνώστη σε ένα ολιγοσέλιδο αλλά πλήρες βιβλίο, κλασικό και διαχρονικό.
«Ωραίο πράγμα να έχει κανείς τις θεωρίες του! Εγώ πάλι οφείλω να σας πω ότι δεν έχω καμία απολύτως θεωρία». Ο Χάριγκτον δεν αντιλήφθηκε την ειρωνεία του αστυνόμου. «Ω, το μόνο που χρειάζεται είναι να ενεργοποιήσετε τα γκρίζα κύτταρα του εγκεφάλου σας». «Ασφαλώς!» αποκρίθηκε ο Ντε Βιντσέντσι και έκοψε την κουβέντα με ύφος παγερό: «Ωραία λοιπόν, βάλτε τα να δουλέψουν, Χάρινγκτον. Ήρθε η κατάλληλη στιγμή».
Η υπόθεση φαίνεται άλυτη, παρ� όλο που ο επιθεωρητής έχει κοφτερό μυαλό και εργάζεται ασταμάτητα, στήνοντας ακόμα και ίντριγκες προκειμένου να αναγκαστούν οι ύποπτοι να αποκαλύψουν την αλήθεια. Τις περισσότερες όμως φορές διαπιστώνει πως όλα γίνονται κάτω από τη μύτη του, και δεν χρειάζεται παρά να τα δει υπό άλλο πρίσμα ή οπτική γωνία. Ο βοηθός του αστυνόμου, ο Μάκαρι, φροντίζει να του το υπενθυμίζει.
«Η αξία ενός γεγονότος δεν έγκειται στη σπανιότητά του, αλλά κατά κύριο λόγο στο πόσο συνηθισμένο είναι, και, προτού αξιώσουμε από την οξυδέρκειά μας να μας υποδείξει αυτό που είναι αόρατο στα μάτια μας, είναι προτιμότερο να εκπαιδεύσουμε αυτή την οξυδέρκεια σε ό,τι είναι κάτι παραπάνω κι από ορατό και γι� αυτόν ακριβώς τον λόγο δεν κεντρίζει την προσοχή μας».
Μια προσέγγιση στο έγκλημα από έναν μεγάλο του είδους, τον συγγραφέα Αουγκούστο Ντε Άντζελις (1888-1955) που δυστυχώς δεν κατάφερε να προσθέσει περισσότερα έργα στο ενεργητικό του, αφού δεν του επιτράπηκε από το καθεστώς Μουσολίνι («στη χώρα μας δεν γίνονται τέτοια πράγματα, δεν έχουμε ντετέκτιβ, δεν έχουμε μητροπόλεις και κυρίως δεν έχουμε γκάνγκστερ», «έχουμε και παραέχουμε εγκλήματα» απαντούσε ο Ντε Άντζελις.
«Τις νύχτες εκείνες όπου δεν συμβαίνει τίποτα και συμβαίνουν τα πάντα, γιατί στη μεγάλη κοιμισμένη πόλη, ακόμα και τούτη τη στιγμή που μιλάμε, τα δράματα είναι ατελείωτα κι ας μην είναι όλα τους αιματηρά. Απεναντίας, τα πιο τρομερά είναι ακριβώς αυτά που δεν καταλήγουν σε έναν πυροβολισμό ή μια μαχαιριά».
Πολύ σωστά, υπάρχει εκτενής αναφορά στον πρόλογο του βιβλίου για τον χαρακτήρα του αστυνόμου, που φαίνεται ότι αντιπροσωπεύει και τον ίδιο τον συγγραφέα: «Ο Ντε Βιντσέντσι είναι εξαιρετικά επιδέξιος στο να αντιλαμβάνεται την ατμόσφαιρα ενός εγκλήματος, να διακρίνει εκείνη την υπό διαμόρφωση κοινωνία και κυρίως την ψυχή των πρωταγωνιστών του. Κι αυτό είναι κάτι που τον παθιάζει, μα και που την ίδια στιγμή τον κάνει να υποφέρει».
Ελπίζουμε να έρθουν σύντομα και οι υπόλοιπες ιστορίες του ευφυούς επιθεωρητή. Είναι μια αποτοξίνωση να επιστρέφεις πίσω σε παλιές καλές μυθοπλασίες, όταν ακόμα και το αναμενόμενο γίνεται απρόσμενο, μυστικό συνταγής έμπειρων συγγραφέων.
(αναδημοσίευση της κριτικής μου από το λογοτεχνικό περιοδικό Θεματοφύλακες λόγω Τεχνών)
Πρόκειται για το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα μιας σειράς με τον ίδιο ήρωα, δεκαπέντε τον αριθμό, η πρώτη εμφάνιση του δαιμόνιου επιθεωρητή της Αστυνομικής Διεύθυνσης Μιλάνου, Κάρλο Ντε Βιντσέντσι, ενός ιδιαίτερου χαρακτήρα. Μας θυμίζει ελαφρώς τον Μαιγκρέ του Σιμενόν, όμως έχει χαρακτηριστικά που τον διαφοροποιούν. Σε κάποια σημεία στάθηκα στο καλλιεργημένο του ύφος, που όμως αλλού αναγκαζόταν να το αποτινάξει, προκειμένου να σταθεί επάξια στο ρόλο ενός καλού αστυνόμου και να γίνει πιο αυστηρός και μπρουτάλ, απέναντι σε όσους του αντιστέκονταν στην αναζήτηση της αλήθειας.
Με μια αργή στην αρχή θεώρηση των πραγμάτων, έτσι ώστε να ξετυλιχτεί το κουβάρι της ιστορίας, ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντσι συνομιλεί με τον παιδικό του φίλο, επιχειρηματία Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι. Κάτι φαίνεται ότι υποβόσκει στην ατμόσφαιρα, σαν ένα μυστικό που προσπαθεί να παραμείνει στο ημίφως από τον φίλο του. Αποδεικνύεται τελικά πως υπάρχει μια σχέση μεταξύ αυτού και του δολοφονημένου τραπεζίτη Μάριο Γκαρλίνι που βρέθηκε στο διαμέρισμα του επιχειρηματία, χωρίς όμως όπως ισχυρίζεται ο ίδιος να έχει ιδέα.
Οι υποψίες διαχέονται σε όλες τις σελίδες προς κάθε κατεύθυνση. Ο οποιοσδήποτε ήρθε σε συνάντηση με το θύμα θεωρείται πιθανός ένοχος και ο αστυνόμος Ντε Βιντσέντσι θα χρησιμοποιήσει όλη την πειθώ του και τη λογική του προκειμένου να ανοίξει όλα τα σκοτεινά σημεία της υπόθεσης. Ποιος είναι ο δολόφονος; Ο επιχειρηματίας, η μνηστή του, ο πεθερός του, ο οικονόμος, ο φοιτητής του πάνω ορόφου, ή ακόμα κάποιος που δεν έχει μπει στο στόχαστρο του αστυνόμου;
Κλασικό whodunit, με όλα τα κλισέ που λατρέψαμε στην παλιά καλή αστυνομική λογοτεχνία, και δεν πρόκειται να τα βαρεθούμε ποτέ, υδροκυάνια και κλειστά δωμάτια, κραυγές και μπάτλερ. Οι ανατροπές ακολουθούν η μία την άλλη και οι σημαντικότερες σκηνές διαδραματίζονται στο χώρο του εγκλήματος, σε ένα κλειστό διαμέρισμα, όπου βρίσκονται όλοι οι ύποπτοι έτοιμοι να υποστούν την εξονυχιστική εξέταση μέσα από την τετράγωνη λογική του Ντε Βιντσέντσι. Ο οποίος βέβαια, εκτός από λογική, διαθέτει κάτι παραπάνω: μια καρδιά που χτυπά στους ρυθμούς των ανθρώπων και μπορεί να τους καταλαβαίνει, για μικρά ή μεγάλα παραπτώματα, αυτό που του προσθέτει στον ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα του και τον κάνει αγαπητό στον αναγνώστη.
Ένα κλείσιμο του ματιού και στις detective stories από τον συγγραφέα, μέσα από τον χαρακτήρα της μοιραίας Μαρία Τζοβάνα, του φτωχού αλλά τίμιου νεαρού στη σοφίτα Ρεμίτζο Αλτιέρι, και του επί πληρωμή Άγγλου ντετέκτιβ Χάριγκτον, αποζημιώνουν τον αναγνώστη σε ένα ολιγοσέλιδο αλλά πλήρες βιβλίο, κλασικό και διαχρονικό.
«Ωραίο πράγμα να έχει κανείς τις θεωρίες του! Εγώ πάλι οφείλω να σας πω ότι δεν έχω καμία απολύτως θεωρία». Ο Χάριγκτον δεν αντιλήφθηκε την ειρωνεία του αστυνόμου. «Ω, το μόνο που χρειάζεται είναι να ενεργοποιήσετε τα γκρίζα κύτταρα του εγκεφάλου σας». «Ασφαλώς!» αποκρίθηκε ο Ντε Βιντσέντσι και έκοψε την κουβέντα με ύφος παγερό: «Ωραία λοιπόν, βάλτε τα να δουλέψουν, Χάρινγκτον. Ήρθε η κατάλληλη στιγμή».
Η υπόθεση φαίνεται άλυτη, παρ� όλο που ο επιθεωρητής έχει κοφτερό μυαλό και εργάζεται ασταμάτητα, στήνοντας ακόμα και ίντριγκες προκειμένου να αναγκαστούν οι ύποπτοι να αποκαλύψουν την αλήθεια. Τις περισσότερες όμως φορές διαπιστώνει πως όλα γίνονται κάτω από τη μύτη του, και δεν χρειάζεται παρά να τα δει υπό άλλο πρίσμα ή οπτική γωνία. Ο βοηθός του αστυνόμου, ο Μάκαρι, φροντίζει να του το υπενθυμίζει.
«Η αξία ενός γεγονότος δεν έγκειται στη σπανιότητά του, αλλά κατά κύριο λόγο στο πόσο συνηθισμένο είναι, και, προτού αξιώσουμε από την οξυδέρκειά μας να μας υποδείξει αυτό που είναι αόρατο στα μάτια μας, είναι προτιμότερο να εκπαιδεύσουμε αυτή την οξυδέρκεια σε ό,τι είναι κάτι παραπάνω κι από ορατό και γι� αυτόν ακριβώς τον λόγο δεν κεντρίζει την προσοχή μας».
Μια προσέγγιση στο έγκλημα από έναν μεγάλο του είδους, τον συγγραφέα Αουγκούστο Ντε Άντζελις (1888-1955) που δυστυχώς δεν κατάφερε να προσθέσει περισσότερα έργα στο ενεργητικό του, αφού δεν του επιτράπηκε από το καθεστώς Μουσολίνι («στη χώρα μας δεν γίνονται τέτοια πράγματα, δεν έχουμε ντετέκτιβ, δεν έχουμε μητροπόλεις και κυρίως δεν έχουμε γκάνγκστερ», «έχουμε και παραέχουμε εγκλήματα» απαντούσε ο Ντε Άντζελις.
«Τις νύχτες εκείνες όπου δεν συμβαίνει τίποτα και συμβαίνουν τα πάντα, γιατί στη μεγάλη κοιμισμένη πόλη, ακόμα και τούτη τη στιγμή που μιλάμε, τα δράματα είναι ατελείωτα κι ας μην είναι όλα τους αιματηρά. Απεναντίας, τα πιο τρομερά είναι ακριβώς αυτά που δεν καταλήγουν σε έναν πυροβολισμό ή μια μαχαιριά».
Πολύ σωστά, υπάρχει εκτενής αναφορά στον πρόλογο του βιβλίου για τον χαρακτήρα του αστυνόμου, που φαίνεται ότι αντιπροσωπεύει και τον ίδιο τον συγγραφέα: «Ο Ντε Βιντσέντσι είναι εξαιρετικά επιδέξιος στο να αντιλαμβάνεται την ατμόσφαιρα ενός εγκλήματος, να διακρίνει εκείνη την υπό διαμόρφωση κοινωνία και κυρίως την ψυχή των πρωταγωνιστών του. Κι αυτό είναι κάτι που τον παθιάζει, μα και που την ίδια στιγμή τον κάνει να υποφέρει».
Ελπίζουμε να έρθουν σύντομα και οι υπόλοιπες ιστορίες του ευφυούς επιθεωρητή. Είναι μια αποτοξίνωση να επιστρέφεις πίσω σε παλιές καλές μυθοπλασίες, όταν ακόμα και το αναμενόμενο γίνεται απρόσμενο, μυστικό συνταγής έμπειρων συγγραφέων.
(αναδημοσίευση της κριτικής μου από το λογοτεχνικό περιοδικό Θεματοφύλακες λόγω Τεχνών)
August 20, 2020
Il secondo, a ruota, che leggo di De Angelis
...e in contemporanea con un giallo storico (?) scandinavo, cosa che gioca decisamente a favore del detective milanese facendogli guadagnare almeno una stelletta.
Claustrofobico quanto basta: ciò che interessa a De Angelis è il processo mentale che porta il commissario a risolvere il rebus del delitto piuttosto che le la sua inevitabilità e soprattutto credibilità.
Ma, come ho detto, ce ne è di peggiori...
...e in contemporanea con un giallo storico (?) scandinavo, cosa che gioca decisamente a favore del detective milanese facendogli guadagnare almeno una stelletta.
Claustrofobico quanto basta: ciò che interessa a De Angelis è il processo mentale che porta il commissario a risolvere il rebus del delitto piuttosto che le la sua inevitabilità e soprattutto credibilità.
Ma, come ho detto, ce ne è di peggiori...
November 17, 2024
I bought this book thinking it was from a young author unknown to me and instead I discovered that it is by a writer, Augusto de Angelis, who is considered the creator of one of the cult characters of the Italian noir: Commissioner De Vincenzi, perhaps the first true Italian commissioner, the first of all those who came after him in this type of literature. In fact, this book is from 1934 and the various Bordelli, Ricciardi, Schiavone, Soneri, Zarotti (just to mention the ones I like) are all his grandchildren. The Assassinated Banker is set in Milan in the 1930s, on a foggy evening, like the ones that were there when I was a child and that unfortunately are no longer there. Our commissioner, who is preparing for the night shift with two good books in this winter evening, receives a visit from an old friend, Giannetto Aurigi, at the police station, passing, apparently without reason, after seeing Aida at the Teatro alla Scala. It seems like a trifle, but De Vincenzi becomes suspicious: a little for the friend's ways of doing and a little for the late hour. The chatter with which Giannetto reveals to the Commissioner that he was ruined is interrupted by a phone call: it’s been found a dead man in an apartment. The address is the one where Giannetto lives, and De Vincenzi, at this point, immediately puts Giannetto among the suspected and convinces him, without giving explanations, to wait at the police station instead of returning home. The dead man is right in Aurigi's apartment, and he is the banker with whom Giannetto had a large debt ...
This is the beginning of the first investigation by Commissioner De Vincenzi. A man passionate about books, poetry, Freudian psychoanalysis, kind, cultured. So cultured, sensitive and refined that it is not clear why he is a policeman. But then we remember that those were other times�. Vincenzi is not a man of action, on the contrary, he moves little. But it makes his brain move a lot, he thinks a lot, tends traps to the suspected, forces them to confessions to save or blame each other, twists that confuse a bit everything and make the reader's suspicion now towards one suspected then towards another. It is a classic noir, with a dead man and a few possible culprits, all with a plausible motive, written almost in the style of a news reporter.
A pleasant noir even if a little weighed down by a dated, refined and educated language to which we are no longer accustomed, now addicted to profanity of all kinds and to disembowelments created artfully just to attract the reader's attention. This is a refined noir, for lovers of brain power, not physical power. And every now and then, a book like this, it is a breath of oxygen.
This is the beginning of the first investigation by Commissioner De Vincenzi. A man passionate about books, poetry, Freudian psychoanalysis, kind, cultured. So cultured, sensitive and refined that it is not clear why he is a policeman. But then we remember that those were other times�. Vincenzi is not a man of action, on the contrary, he moves little. But it makes his brain move a lot, he thinks a lot, tends traps to the suspected, forces them to confessions to save or blame each other, twists that confuse a bit everything and make the reader's suspicion now towards one suspected then towards another. It is a classic noir, with a dead man and a few possible culprits, all with a plausible motive, written almost in the style of a news reporter.
A pleasant noir even if a little weighed down by a dated, refined and educated language to which we are no longer accustomed, now addicted to profanity of all kinds and to disembowelments created artfully just to attract the reader's attention. This is a refined noir, for lovers of brain power, not physical power. And every now and then, a book like this, it is a breath of oxygen.
October 24, 2017
Un "whodunnit" italiano degli anni trenta, apparentemente De Angelis e' il padre di tutti i commissari odierni: peccato che ancora del commissario De Vincenzi non sappiamo quasi nulla.
Un giallo abbastanza veloce, leggero, garbato e non troppo profondo, un piacevole intermezzo fra un libro piu' impegnativo e l'altro.
Un giallo abbastanza veloce, leggero, garbato e non troppo profondo, un piacevole intermezzo fra un libro piu' impegnativo e l'altro.
August 1, 2023
Recensione originale:
Probabilmente pochi di voi conoscono il nome di Augusto De Angelis, eppure è stato tra i padri del giallo all'italiana. Il suo commissario De Vincenzi (rigorosamente senza nome di battesimo) è forse il primo fra i tanti ispettori/commissari di polizia che si susseguiranno in anni più recenti.
È una notte di nebbia a Milano e sembra quasi di essere immersi in quell'atmosfera pesante e ovattata, nel freddo della grande città. Il commissario De Vincenzi è in ufficio, intento a leggere uno dei suoi amati libri, quando riceve l'inaspettata visita del suo amico d'infanzia Giannetto Aurigi. Subito dopo al commissario verrà comunicata la scoperta di un uomo assassinato... proprio in casa di Aurigi.
Segue il tentativo di scoprire il colpevole e di scagionare l'amico, verso cui puntano ovviamente tutti gli indizi e i sospetti, ma che De Vincenzi sa dentro di sé essere innocente.
È un poliziesco classico, che oggi ci può sembrare poco incisivo, ma bisogna ricordare che è stato scritto nel 1935. E allora la prospettiva cambia, perché come dicevo De Vincenzi è l'antesignano di tutta la letteratura poliziesca italiana degli anni a seguire.
Bello da leggere quasi come "documento storico", per capire la nascita di un genere.
Al commissario De Vincenzi è stata anche dedicata una andata in onda sulla RAI nel 1974 e 1977.
Probabilmente pochi di voi conoscono il nome di Augusto De Angelis, eppure è stato tra i padri del giallo all'italiana. Il suo commissario De Vincenzi (rigorosamente senza nome di battesimo) è forse il primo fra i tanti ispettori/commissari di polizia che si susseguiranno in anni più recenti.
È una notte di nebbia a Milano e sembra quasi di essere immersi in quell'atmosfera pesante e ovattata, nel freddo della grande città. Il commissario De Vincenzi è in ufficio, intento a leggere uno dei suoi amati libri, quando riceve l'inaspettata visita del suo amico d'infanzia Giannetto Aurigi. Subito dopo al commissario verrà comunicata la scoperta di un uomo assassinato... proprio in casa di Aurigi.
Segue il tentativo di scoprire il colpevole e di scagionare l'amico, verso cui puntano ovviamente tutti gli indizi e i sospetti, ma che De Vincenzi sa dentro di sé essere innocente.
È un poliziesco classico, che oggi ci può sembrare poco incisivo, ma bisogna ricordare che è stato scritto nel 1935. E allora la prospettiva cambia, perché come dicevo De Vincenzi è l'antesignano di tutta la letteratura poliziesca italiana degli anni a seguire.
Bello da leggere quasi come "documento storico", per capire la nascita di un genere.
Al commissario De Vincenzi è stata anche dedicata una andata in onda sulla RAI nel 1974 e 1977.
June 10, 2024
The murder happens in the second chapter of this short book. As from the title, a banker has been murdered and he is found in the home of a man who owed that banker a great deal of money, money which was not to be repaid. Or was it?
Commissario De Vincenzi is a different sort of policeman than usually found in fiction. My experience finds the police in fiction sort of hard-nosed without any sympathy nor feeling for those who could be the perpetrators of the murder being investigated. From three sections of this novel:I'm sorry to learn that most of this series has not been translated as I might be interested in more. Pushkin Vertigo has published two other of Augusto de Angelis' novels and I'll go looking to put them on my already over-burdened wish list. I don't know that this actually deserves a 4th start, but I'm coloring it in anyway.
Edit: I think more have been translated! Yay!
Commissario De Vincenzi is a different sort of policeman than usually found in fiction. My experience finds the police in fiction sort of hard-nosed without any sympathy nor feeling for those who could be the perpetrators of the murder being investigated. From three sections of this novel:
Time was of the essence. This wasn’t the usual sort of investigation, to be conducted with bureaucratic plodding.Of course, the crime is solved, and perhaps before the reveal I did know who did it. I didn't care. I liked this policeman.
Wasn’t he groping around again without having uncovered anything essential or concrete? Running here and there after ephemeral lights appearing in the shadows like the mythical, wind-blown will o� the wisp?
But he understood things well enough to listen from a distance, his soul in his eyes.
Edit: I think more have been translated! Yay!
May 3, 2016
Make way for the soprano...
It's a foggy night in Milan when Inspector De Vincenzi is called out to a murder scene. A banker has been found shot dead in the flat of Gianetto Aurigi, who by coincidence is an old friend of the Inspector. Aurigi has been dabbling unsuccessfully on the stock market and becomes the obvious suspect. But De Vincenzi isn't convinced � partly he feels there's more to the whole thing than meets the eye, and partly his loyalty to his friend makes him determined to investigate every other avenue before condemning him...
Written in 1935, this novella length story is the first appearance of Inspector De Vincenzi in a series that was apparently hugely popular in Italy and gained De Angelis a reputation as father of the Italian mystery novel. De Vincenzi (who apparently has no first name) is a thoughtful detective with the soul of a poet, who is as interested in the motivations of the suspects as in the physical evidence. His style is to get at the truth by a combination of interviewing and of playing weirdly cruel tricks on people, such as sending them into the room where the corpse is lying without warning them. This has the effect of creating a good deal of melodramatic reactions, from screaming fits to people sinking into coma-like states of shock. It's not Miss Marple, that's for sure.
Melodrama is something of a feature throughout. In fact, I kept expecting a heftily bosomed soprano to burst in singing an aria from Tosca. The stiff upper lip approach doesn't seem to have figured heavily in Italian society at this time, if De Angelis' portrayal is authentic. However in other ways the society is very similar to that in British crime fiction of the same period, full of class divisions and with an emphasis on money being, as usual, at the root of at least some of the evil. But we also have love � not reserved, quiet, British love, oh, no! Soaring, dramatic love � the kind where ecstasy is only ever an inch away from suicide! It must all have been quite exhausting...
I'll be honest � I didn't enjoy the writing style much, or perhaps it was the translation. It feels clunky and sometimes sentences need to be read more than once to glean the meaning. (I did have a lot of fun trying to see if I could get my “lips trembling with indignity� though.) Often dialogue isn't clearly attributed to the speaker so that it isn't immediately obvious who is expressing a particular opinion, which really breaks the reading flow. I also found the dialogue unconvincing � again it has a tendency to sound a bit like an opera script. And every time a climax is approaching, De Vincenzi stops the action and sends everyone away for a few hours, so he can think calmly.
Being a murder detective seems a strange choice of profession for someone who can't take a bit of excitement, really.
But overall, it's an enjoyable look at the mystery writing from another country to compare with our own Golden Age writers from the same period. I would be interested in reading more from later in the series to see if De Angelis maintains the high melodramatic style or if this is simply a feature of what is after all a debut novel. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
There is also a short but interesting afterword, setting the book into the context of its time, in an Italy under the control of Mussolini's fascists. De Angelis eventually ran foul of the regime by writing a number of anti-Fascist articles; and, after having been arrested and then released, died as a result of being beaten up by a Fascist thug in 1944. So perhaps melodramatic tragedy was never far from real life in the Italy of that period after all.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Vertigo.
It's a foggy night in Milan when Inspector De Vincenzi is called out to a murder scene. A banker has been found shot dead in the flat of Gianetto Aurigi, who by coincidence is an old friend of the Inspector. Aurigi has been dabbling unsuccessfully on the stock market and becomes the obvious suspect. But De Vincenzi isn't convinced � partly he feels there's more to the whole thing than meets the eye, and partly his loyalty to his friend makes him determined to investigate every other avenue before condemning him...
Written in 1935, this novella length story is the first appearance of Inspector De Vincenzi in a series that was apparently hugely popular in Italy and gained De Angelis a reputation as father of the Italian mystery novel. De Vincenzi (who apparently has no first name) is a thoughtful detective with the soul of a poet, who is as interested in the motivations of the suspects as in the physical evidence. His style is to get at the truth by a combination of interviewing and of playing weirdly cruel tricks on people, such as sending them into the room where the corpse is lying without warning them. This has the effect of creating a good deal of melodramatic reactions, from screaming fits to people sinking into coma-like states of shock. It's not Miss Marple, that's for sure.
“Tell me, commendatore, what's in there? What's happened?�
“There's a dead body. What's happened is that a man's been killed.�
A tremor convulsed the little man. He clutched at Maccari's arm, his terror rendering him pitiful.
“Oh my God! This house is cursed! Do they know that this house is cursed?�
Melodrama is something of a feature throughout. In fact, I kept expecting a heftily bosomed soprano to burst in singing an aria from Tosca. The stiff upper lip approach doesn't seem to have figured heavily in Italian society at this time, if De Angelis' portrayal is authentic. However in other ways the society is very similar to that in British crime fiction of the same period, full of class divisions and with an emphasis on money being, as usual, at the root of at least some of the evil. But we also have love � not reserved, quiet, British love, oh, no! Soaring, dramatic love � the kind where ecstasy is only ever an inch away from suicide! It must all have been quite exhausting...
I'll be honest � I didn't enjoy the writing style much, or perhaps it was the translation. It feels clunky and sometimes sentences need to be read more than once to glean the meaning. (I did have a lot of fun trying to see if I could get my “lips trembling with indignity� though.) Often dialogue isn't clearly attributed to the speaker so that it isn't immediately obvious who is expressing a particular opinion, which really breaks the reading flow. I also found the dialogue unconvincing � again it has a tendency to sound a bit like an opera script. And every time a climax is approaching, De Vincenzi stops the action and sends everyone away for a few hours, so he can think calmly.
“The atmosphere in this room has reached white heat � a bad temperature for keeping one's brain working and a clear head. I myself fear that the very rhythm of your pulses is influencing my judgement. You'll understand, therefore, if I ask you to leave me alone with my thoughts. I must organise them and master them. All right?�
Being a murder detective seems a strange choice of profession for someone who can't take a bit of excitement, really.
But overall, it's an enjoyable look at the mystery writing from another country to compare with our own Golden Age writers from the same period. I would be interested in reading more from later in the series to see if De Angelis maintains the high melodramatic style or if this is simply a feature of what is after all a debut novel. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
There is also a short but interesting afterword, setting the book into the context of its time, in an Italy under the control of Mussolini's fascists. De Angelis eventually ran foul of the regime by writing a number of anti-Fascist articles; and, after having been arrested and then released, died as a result of being beaten up by a Fascist thug in 1944. So perhaps melodramatic tragedy was never far from real life in the Italy of that period after all.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Vertigo.
August 19, 2016
This review previously appeared at where you'll find more reviews, author interviews, and competitions.
Crime is international, and so are the authors that write it. Pushkin Vertigo have reissued the works of Italian crime writer Augusto De Angelis, most notably the mysteries involving the Milanese Inspector De Vincenzi. But how does a crime thriller written 90 years ago sit among the ‘wham bam� of today’s modern crime lit?
Inspector De Vincenzi is called to a case on a cold, foggy night in the centre of Milan, and unfortunately, all clues point to his friend of many years, Aurigi. Absolutely certain he is not responsible for the victim, who also happens to be his friend’s banker, De Vincenzi sets out to prove his innocence, but only if Aurigi cooperates. What is his old friend hiding, and can De Vincenzi save him from almost certain arrest?
Straight away you sense that ‘The Murdered Banker� is going to be something special, and it’s not just due to the era it was written in. Although a contemporary of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Margery Allingham among others, De Angelis style couldn’t be further removed form that ‘Golden Age� of crime fiction. Not only is his language and tone far more literary than ‘cosy� or ‘pulp�, but structurally, ‘The Murdered Banker� approaches the procedural element of crime fiction from a totally different angle. While the focus of the plotting within normal crime novels is designed to keep you guessing (it’s WhoDunnit� after all) there is a small element of ‘hand-holding� within the narrative. De Angelis does away with this in quite a presumptive manner; events are spoken about in the past tense as if already witnessed by the reader, references are made to people and conversations that we’re expected to be knowledgeable about � there’s an overall tone of ‘catch up dear reader� from almost the first page. But, this isn’t a bad thing � in fact it’s a joy. I read a lot of crime, and can often spot the signposted plot points a mile off, making the rest of the novel a chore almost, and that’s a shame. It’s the same with tv crime and movies, so when a novel comes along that throws a curve ball like this, it’s a refreshing change.
De Angelis� tone, sentence structure, and language is a wonder � there’s whole sections where you just sink into the passages:
“Why I became a policeman? You’re the second one to ask that tonight. But it’s for that very reason that I became a policeman: because I am perhaps a poet, as you say. I feel the poetry of this profession of mine, the poetry of this dusty grey room, of this shabby old table, of the poor old stove, whose every joint suffers in order to keep me warm. And the poetry of the telephone! The poetry of the nights of waiting, with the fog in the piazza coming right up into the courtyard of this old convent� now home to the police station, housing criminals in place of saints! Of nights in which nothing and everything happens , because in this huge, sleeping city, even as we speak, there are infinite dramas, even if they’re not all bloody. Actually, the worst ones don’t end in shooting or with a knife.�
But, for all the wonderfully rich language, ‘The Murdered Banker� is still your average crime novel, with all the aspects you expect from the genre: there’s the captivating woman, a rich Count, a rogue detective, bumbling servant, and a mysterious stranger, all involved in a plot that revolves around money, gambling and the lies told to cover up. As crime stories go, it’s a well-worn one (of course, it wasn’t at the time of writing) but it’s effectively pieced together, with a conclusion that’s unpredictable. The atmosphere is strong, mainly on the city streets, and it’s here that De Angelis� is at his best. Characterisation is strong, especially with De Vincenzi, a clever, manipulative, and crafty investigator, who’s more likely to set up his intended target and let them make the mistake, than bombastically wading in and scaring a confession out of the accused.
‘The Murdered Banker� is a novel that demands concentration, and it’s not an easy, quick read despite being only 160 pages. If you’re new to the genre, then I wouldn’t start here, but if, like me, you’re already a die-hard fan, then these translations (by Jill Foulston) are the perfect remedy to modern ‘in your face� crime.
Crime is international, and so are the authors that write it. Pushkin Vertigo have reissued the works of Italian crime writer Augusto De Angelis, most notably the mysteries involving the Milanese Inspector De Vincenzi. But how does a crime thriller written 90 years ago sit among the ‘wham bam� of today’s modern crime lit?
Inspector De Vincenzi is called to a case on a cold, foggy night in the centre of Milan, and unfortunately, all clues point to his friend of many years, Aurigi. Absolutely certain he is not responsible for the victim, who also happens to be his friend’s banker, De Vincenzi sets out to prove his innocence, but only if Aurigi cooperates. What is his old friend hiding, and can De Vincenzi save him from almost certain arrest?
Straight away you sense that ‘The Murdered Banker� is going to be something special, and it’s not just due to the era it was written in. Although a contemporary of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Margery Allingham among others, De Angelis style couldn’t be further removed form that ‘Golden Age� of crime fiction. Not only is his language and tone far more literary than ‘cosy� or ‘pulp�, but structurally, ‘The Murdered Banker� approaches the procedural element of crime fiction from a totally different angle. While the focus of the plotting within normal crime novels is designed to keep you guessing (it’s WhoDunnit� after all) there is a small element of ‘hand-holding� within the narrative. De Angelis does away with this in quite a presumptive manner; events are spoken about in the past tense as if already witnessed by the reader, references are made to people and conversations that we’re expected to be knowledgeable about � there’s an overall tone of ‘catch up dear reader� from almost the first page. But, this isn’t a bad thing � in fact it’s a joy. I read a lot of crime, and can often spot the signposted plot points a mile off, making the rest of the novel a chore almost, and that’s a shame. It’s the same with tv crime and movies, so when a novel comes along that throws a curve ball like this, it’s a refreshing change.
De Angelis� tone, sentence structure, and language is a wonder � there’s whole sections where you just sink into the passages:
“Why I became a policeman? You’re the second one to ask that tonight. But it’s for that very reason that I became a policeman: because I am perhaps a poet, as you say. I feel the poetry of this profession of mine, the poetry of this dusty grey room, of this shabby old table, of the poor old stove, whose every joint suffers in order to keep me warm. And the poetry of the telephone! The poetry of the nights of waiting, with the fog in the piazza coming right up into the courtyard of this old convent� now home to the police station, housing criminals in place of saints! Of nights in which nothing and everything happens , because in this huge, sleeping city, even as we speak, there are infinite dramas, even if they’re not all bloody. Actually, the worst ones don’t end in shooting or with a knife.�
But, for all the wonderfully rich language, ‘The Murdered Banker� is still your average crime novel, with all the aspects you expect from the genre: there’s the captivating woman, a rich Count, a rogue detective, bumbling servant, and a mysterious stranger, all involved in a plot that revolves around money, gambling and the lies told to cover up. As crime stories go, it’s a well-worn one (of course, it wasn’t at the time of writing) but it’s effectively pieced together, with a conclusion that’s unpredictable. The atmosphere is strong, mainly on the city streets, and it’s here that De Angelis� is at his best. Characterisation is strong, especially with De Vincenzi, a clever, manipulative, and crafty investigator, who’s more likely to set up his intended target and let them make the mistake, than bombastically wading in and scaring a confession out of the accused.
‘The Murdered Banker� is a novel that demands concentration, and it’s not an easy, quick read despite being only 160 pages. If you’re new to the genre, then I wouldn’t start here, but if, like me, you’re already a die-hard fan, then these translations (by Jill Foulston) are the perfect remedy to modern ‘in your face� crime.
April 8, 2018
Carlo Lucarelli in uno dei suoi "Misteri italiani" scrive: "C'era il protagonista di una serie di romanzi gialli di Augusto De Angelis che si chiamava De Vincenzi, il commissario De Vincenzi. Un giorno, in uno di quei romanzi, il commissario De Vincenzi dice che tutto sommato quello che lo porta a fare il suo mestiere, a impegnarsi con passione in indagini difficili, complicate e a volte anche pericolose, non è la curiosità di sapere chi è stato, ma un mistero molto più grande, che da sempre ci appassiona. «Il mistero del cuore umano», dice il commissario. "
Augusto De Angelis mira proprio a questo nei suoi romanzi, capire non chi è stato l'assassino ma il perché del suo gesto e sin dal romanzo d'esordio della serie De Vincenzi mostra sintonia con il metodo investigativo del grande Maigret, capace di una grande empatia nei confronti sia delle vittime che dei colpevoli.
Ne "Il banchiere assassinato" per esempio, De Angelis scrive: "E De Vincenzi era rimasto a fissarlo lungamente, dicendosi che quella immobilità certamente non poteva significare nulla di buono. Immobilità, che produce smarrimento, quando arriva al culmine delle possibilità umane. Perché anche il cervello ha limiti precisi ai quali può giungere e quando le idee sorpassano quei limiti, entrano in una atmosfera nebbiosa, quasi lutulenta. Che è l'atmosfera della pazzia."
In questo romanzo De Angelis rifiuta la soluzione più logica del caso perché non crede colpevole il suo amico Giannetto Aurigi malgrado tutte gli indizi lo accusino.
Ambientato in una Milano nebbiosa a metà degli anni Trenta, il romanzo risente di una certa tendenza al melodramma ma fa intuire i pregi che faranno di De Angelis uno dei migliori esponenti del giallo italiano tra le due guerre mondiali.
Pur ostacolato da numerosi divieti imposti dal regime fascista il romano De Angelis ha firmato alcuni gialli di non comune livello come "Il candeliere a sette fiamme", "L'albergo delle tre rose" e "Il mistero delle tre orchidee".
Augusto De Angelis mira proprio a questo nei suoi romanzi, capire non chi è stato l'assassino ma il perché del suo gesto e sin dal romanzo d'esordio della serie De Vincenzi mostra sintonia con il metodo investigativo del grande Maigret, capace di una grande empatia nei confronti sia delle vittime che dei colpevoli.
Ne "Il banchiere assassinato" per esempio, De Angelis scrive: "E De Vincenzi era rimasto a fissarlo lungamente, dicendosi che quella immobilità certamente non poteva significare nulla di buono. Immobilità, che produce smarrimento, quando arriva al culmine delle possibilità umane. Perché anche il cervello ha limiti precisi ai quali può giungere e quando le idee sorpassano quei limiti, entrano in una atmosfera nebbiosa, quasi lutulenta. Che è l'atmosfera della pazzia."
In questo romanzo De Angelis rifiuta la soluzione più logica del caso perché non crede colpevole il suo amico Giannetto Aurigi malgrado tutte gli indizi lo accusino.
Ambientato in una Milano nebbiosa a metà degli anni Trenta, il romanzo risente di una certa tendenza al melodramma ma fa intuire i pregi che faranno di De Angelis uno dei migliori esponenti del giallo italiano tra le due guerre mondiali.
Pur ostacolato da numerosi divieti imposti dal regime fascista il romano De Angelis ha firmato alcuni gialli di non comune livello come "Il candeliere a sette fiamme", "L'albergo delle tre rose" e "Il mistero delle tre orchidee".
May 16, 2016
Una Milano nebbiosa, negli anni �30, e una manciata di passioni che potrebbero essere, tutte quante, motivo per giungere all’assassinio. Un’indagine quieta, che si chiude in modo un po� scontato, ma che è tutto sommato abbastanza gradevole nel suo svolgersi.
March 31, 2024
Έχω πάρα πολλούς συγγραφείς που δεν τους γνωρίζω και δεν έχω διαβάσει τίποτα δικό τους και έχω μια τάση όπου βλέπω άγνωστο συγγραφέα να παίρνω βιβλίο του ,έτσι ώστε να έχω μια ιδέα για τον τρόπο γραφής του και να αντιλαμβάνομαι αν μου ταιριάζει, όπως καταλάβατε,ψάχνω μονίμως λογοτεχνικούς θησαυρούς .Κάπως έτσι τυχαία έπεσα πάνω στον Augusto De Angelis. Ο Αουγκούστο ντε Άντζελις (1888-1944) ήταν ιταλός δημοσιογράφος και συγγραφέας ,εχθρός της φασιστικής κυβέρνησης του Μουσολίνι και αυτό είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του που μεταφράστηκε στα ελληνικά το 2021 από την νεοϊδρυθείσα θεσσαλονικιώτικη εκδοτική εταιρία Οκτάνα. Στην αρχή του βιβλίου υπάρχει πρόλογος του Carlo Lucarelli στον οποίο φαίνεται το κλίμα που επικρατεί στην Ιταλία του 42,οπου το φασιστικό κόμμα επιχειρεί να τα παρουσιάζει όλα ρόδινα και ότι δεν υπάρχουν προβλήματα ,από τον πρόλογο αυτό είναι το παρακάτω κείμενο : «Στη χώρα μας δεν γίνονται τέτοια πράγματα, δεν έχουμε ντετέκτιβ, δεν έχουμε μητροπόλεις και κυρίως δεν έχουμε γκάνγκστερ». «Πολύ πιθανόν», απαντούσε ο Ντε Άντζελις, «εμένα όμως μου φαίνεται πως έχουμε και παραέχουμε εγκλήματα». «Αυτά τα πράγματα βλάπτουν τη νεολαία», υποστήριζε το φασιστικό Υπουργείο Λαϊκού Πολιτισμού, «και την ωθούν να διαπράττει εγκλήματα από καθαρή μίμηση και μόνο». «Όχι», έλεγε ο Ντε Άντζελις, «αυτό που βλάπτει είναι η κακή λογοτεχνία». Ο Κάρλο Λουκαρέλι, στον πρόλογο σημειώνει επίσης πολύ εύστοχα: “Θ� ήταν αρκετό να αλλάξει είδος, να γράφει για αγάπες και λουλούδια, για τον πόλεμο, για άλλα πράγματα που άρεσαν περισσότερο στο καθεστώς. Εκείνος όμως ήταν ανένδοτος: έγραφε αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα που διαδραματίζονταν στην Ιταλία, στο Μιλάνο, την πιο ζωντανή και μοντέρνα πόλη που είχαμε τότε, γιατί θεωρούσε πως μόνο το αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα ήταν σε θέση να αποτυπώσει με ρεαλιστικό τρόπο την κοινωνία με τους μετασχηματισμούς της, τους μηχανισμούς της, τα μυστικά της�. Πρόκειται για το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα μιας σειράς με τον ίδιο ήρωα, δεκαπέντε τον αριθμό, η πρώτη εμφάνιση του δαιμόνιου επιθεωρητή της Αστυνομικής Διεύθυνσης Μιλάνου, Κάρλο Ντε Βιντσέντσι τον οποίο τον βλέπουμε να περιμένει στο αστυνομικό μέγαρο να χτυπήσει το τηλέφωνο που θα του αναγγείλει ένα πιθανό έγκλημα διαβάζοντας Ντέιβιντ Λόρενς , και έχοντας κρυμμένα κάτω από στοίβες χαρτιά το Συμπόσιο του Πλάτωνα και τις Επιστολές του Αποστόλου Παύλου. Εκεί στο τμήμα εμφανίζεται ξαφνικά ένα βράδυ ένας παλιός συμμαθητής του ο Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι, του μιλάει για τα παλιά και αναρωτιέται πως ένας ποιητής σαν τον Ντε Βιντσέντσι έγινε επιθεωρητής . «Νιώθω την ποίηση του επαγγέλματός μου…Τη� ποίηση αυτού του γκρίζου σκονισμένου δωματίου, αυτού του φθαρμένου τραπεζιού, αυτής της φτωχικής γέρικης σόμπας, που κάθε άρθρωσή της υποφέρει για να με ζεστάνει. Και την ποίηση του τηλεφώνου! Την ποίηση τις νύχτες της αναμονής, με την ομίχλη στην πλατεία να φτάνει μέχρι το προαύλιο αυτού του παλιού μοναστηριού, σημερινή έδρα της Αστυνομικής διεύθυνσης, όπου οι διεφθαρμένοι έχουν πάρει τη θέση των αγίων! » Ο Τζανέτο Αουρίτζι είναι σε απόγνωση, γιατί βρίσκεται στο χείλος της οικονομικής καταστροφής. Την ίδια στιγμή ο επιθεωρητής δέχεται ένα τηλεφώνημα. Στο σπίτι του Αουρίτζι υπάρχει ένα πτώμα! Το πτώμα ενός τραπεζίτη που κατά σύμπτωση του είχε δανείσει ένα μεγάλο ποσό .
Πού βρισκόταν ο Αουρίτζι την ώρα του εγκλήματος; Γιατί, μετά από χρόνια, πέρασε από το αστυνομικό τμήμα; Πολύ ωραία λογοτεχνική γραφή που ρέει εύκολα χωρίς να κουράζει ,κτίζει ένα πολύ ατμοσφαιρικό κλίμα μυστήριου και πολύ δυνατούς και ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες .Υπάρχουν πολλοί διάλογοι και ο ένοχος θα βρεθεί μέσα από συνεχείς ανακρίσεις ,οι υποψίες πέφτουν σε όσους ήρθαν σε επαφή με το θύμα . Περιέχει όλα τα κλασικά κλισέ ,οικονόμοι ,κλειστά δωμάτια ,υδροκυάνια μυρωδιά μπαρουτιού ,κραυγές κτλ .ο επιθεωρητής προσπαθεί να εξετάσει το έγκλημα από μια άλλη οπτική μπας και βρει την λύση που του διαφεύγει. «Η αξία ενός γεγονότος δεν έγκειται στη σπανιότητά του, αλλά κατά κύριο λόγο στο πόσο συνηθισμένο είναι, και, προτού αξιώσουμε από την οξυδέρκειά μας να μας υποδείξει αυτό που είναι αόρατο στα μάτια μας, είναι προτιμότερο να εκπαιδεύσουμε αυτή την οξυδέρκεια σε ό,τι είναι κάτι παραπάνω κι από ορατό και γι� αυτόν ακριβώς τον λόγο δεν κεντρίζει την προσοχή μας». Ποιητικό ,ατμοσφαιρικό, απλό και σε πολλά σημεία προβλέψιμο αλλά πολύ ευχάριστο ,διαβάστε το !
Πού βρισκόταν ο Αουρίτζι την ώρα του εγκλήματος; Γιατί, μετά από χρόνια, πέρασε από το αστυνομικό τμήμα; Πολύ ωραία λογοτεχνική γραφή που ρέει εύκολα χωρίς να κουράζει ,κτίζει ένα πολύ ατμοσφαιρικό κλίμα μυστήριου και πολύ δυνατούς και ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες .Υπάρχουν πολλοί διάλογοι και ο ένοχος θα βρεθεί μέσα από συνεχείς ανακρίσεις ,οι υποψίες πέφτουν σε όσους ήρθαν σε επαφή με το θύμα . Περιέχει όλα τα κλασικά κλισέ ,οικονόμοι ,κλειστά δωμάτια ,υδροκυάνια μυρωδιά μπαρουτιού ,κραυγές κτλ .ο επιθεωρητής προσπαθεί να εξετάσει το έγκλημα από μια άλλη οπτική μπας και βρει την λύση που του διαφεύγει. «Η αξία ενός γεγονότος δεν έγκειται στη σπανιότητά του, αλλά κατά κύριο λόγο στο πόσο συνηθισμένο είναι, και, προτού αξιώσουμε από την οξυδέρκειά μας να μας υποδείξει αυτό που είναι αόρατο στα μάτια μας, είναι προτιμότερο να εκπαιδεύσουμε αυτή την οξυδέρκεια σε ό,τι είναι κάτι παραπάνω κι από ορατό και γι� αυτόν ακριβώς τον λόγο δεν κεντρίζει την προσοχή μας». Ποιητικό ,ατμοσφαιρικό, απλό και σε πολλά σημεία προβλέψιμο αλλά πολύ ευχάριστο ,διαβάστε το !
June 8, 2022
Ratingku antara 3 - 4, ada plus minusnya cerita detektif ini. Plus-nya novel ini ditulis oleh pengarang Italia yang agak jarang ditranslasikan ke bahasa indonesia. Jadi sekalian mencicipi karya crime fic klasik daratan eropa yang eranya hampir sama dengan sherlock holmes. Minusnya, agak aneh membaca karya klasik tapi penterjemahannya memakai bahasa kontemporer, misal "tajir melintir" atau istilah "Kapolda", apalagi kalau sudah terbiasa membaca terjemahan karya- karya Agatha Christie dari gpu misalnya, yang lebih memakai gaya bahasa lama dengan kosa kata yang agak kuno juga.
Untuk ceritanya sendiri, yah seperti biasa crimefic, whodunnit, agak-agak aristrokratik, dan mengolok-olok detektif partikelir (macam holmes). Tokoh detektifnya seorang inspektur polisi yang cerdas dan teliti. Setting ceritanya di kota Milan dan seluruh cerita berlangsung dalam dua hari saja, detektif De Vincenzi dapat memecahkan misteri pembunuhan seorang bankir yang terjadi di rumah kawan baiknya. Tokoh tersangkanya ada beberapa, lumayan belit membelit, dan *tentu saja* pelakunya bukan mereka 🙄
Detektif De Vincenzi ini ternyata ada beberapa buku dalam serinya. Semoga Laksana berminat menerbitkan buku-buku lainnya, karena jika hanya satu buku kok kayaknya karakterisasinya belum terbentuk dan sulit untuk membandingkan kalibernya dengan holmes atau poirot atau kaga.
Untuk ceritanya sendiri, yah seperti biasa crimefic, whodunnit, agak-agak aristrokratik, dan mengolok-olok detektif partikelir (macam holmes). Tokoh detektifnya seorang inspektur polisi yang cerdas dan teliti. Setting ceritanya di kota Milan dan seluruh cerita berlangsung dalam dua hari saja, detektif De Vincenzi dapat memecahkan misteri pembunuhan seorang bankir yang terjadi di rumah kawan baiknya. Tokoh tersangkanya ada beberapa, lumayan belit membelit, dan *tentu saja* pelakunya bukan mereka 🙄
Detektif De Vincenzi ini ternyata ada beberapa buku dalam serinya. Semoga Laksana berminat menerbitkan buku-buku lainnya, karena jika hanya satu buku kok kayaknya karakterisasinya belum terbentuk dan sulit untuk membandingkan kalibernya dengan holmes atau poirot atau kaga.
July 13, 2023
Malam berkabut di Milan saat Inspektur De Vincenzi dipanggil ke lokasi pembunuhan karena seorang bankir ditemukan tewas tertembak di apartemen milik Gianetto Aurigi, yang kebetulan adalah teman lama De Vincenzi. Semua bukti mengarah ke Aurigi bahwa ia adalah pembunuhnya, tapi De Vincenzi tidak yakin bahwa temannya adalah sang pelaku. Ia bertekad untuk membersihkan nama Aurigi. Tapi apakah benar bukan Aurigi pelakunya?
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Novel ini ditulis pada tahun 1935, sebuah seri klasik Carlo De Vincenzo yang pertama, yang populer di Italia & membuat penulisnya, De Angelis mendapatkan reputasi yang baik.
De Vincenzi digambarkan sebagai seorang detektif yang bijaksana dan penuh empati, mampu menganalisis karakter dengan cermat, tak jarang juga ia sering memakai 'trik licik' untuk mendapatkan kebenaran, seperti mengirim mereka ketempat mayat berada tanpa memberi tau mereka supaya De Vincenzi bisa melihat reaksi-reaksi mereka yang sebenarnya & mendapatkan pengakuan dari mereka.
Sosok De Vincenzi mendominasi seluruh buku ini, ditulis dengan indah & aku gak bisa untuk gak suka sama karakter detektif ini🥰 sosoknya tuh rendah hati, sabar, peka dengan sekitar, penuh empati dan pandai mencari celah & 'kebenaran' dari kasusnya.
Aku enjoy banget selama baca buku ini & gak sabar buat baca seri kedua dari buku ini�
Kalau kalian sedang mencari buku misteri yang 'santai' dan tidak banyak aksinya, serta ada percikan melodrama, kemungkinan besar kalian bakal suka dengan buku ini! 🫶
----------
Novel ini ditulis pada tahun 1935, sebuah seri klasik Carlo De Vincenzo yang pertama, yang populer di Italia & membuat penulisnya, De Angelis mendapatkan reputasi yang baik.
De Vincenzi digambarkan sebagai seorang detektif yang bijaksana dan penuh empati, mampu menganalisis karakter dengan cermat, tak jarang juga ia sering memakai 'trik licik' untuk mendapatkan kebenaran, seperti mengirim mereka ketempat mayat berada tanpa memberi tau mereka supaya De Vincenzi bisa melihat reaksi-reaksi mereka yang sebenarnya & mendapatkan pengakuan dari mereka.
Sosok De Vincenzi mendominasi seluruh buku ini, ditulis dengan indah & aku gak bisa untuk gak suka sama karakter detektif ini🥰 sosoknya tuh rendah hati, sabar, peka dengan sekitar, penuh empati dan pandai mencari celah & 'kebenaran' dari kasusnya.
Aku enjoy banget selama baca buku ini & gak sabar buat baca seri kedua dari buku ini�
Kalau kalian sedang mencari buku misteri yang 'santai' dan tidak banyak aksinya, serta ada percikan melodrama, kemungkinan besar kalian bakal suka dengan buku ini! 🫶
November 19, 2024
Appena finite Le verità spezzate mi sono incuriosita in merito ad Augusto De Angelis (come è profonda la mia ignoranza e quanto è piacevole diminuirla di un pochino :P). Piaciuto, si sente una Milano antica, lontana dalla città moderna. Interessante la psicologia dei personaggi e il modo di vivere/pensare, una sorta di archeologia del giallo all'italiana.
January 24, 2018
Un giallo classico senza tante pretese. Dal finale scontato ma di piacevole lettura.
February 1, 2022
Ο πατέρας των σημερινών Ιταλών και γενικώς νοτίων συγγραφέων noir. Μια αληθινή κοινωνική περιγραφή ανθρώπων με αδιέξοδα , μιας περιόδου που το καθεστώς προτιμούσε να προωθείται ένα ιδανικά ευτυχισμένο ιταλικό πρότυπο.
July 2, 2023
I'm always looking for new mystery writers, especially Italian authors. While looking for books set in Milan, I found a list of mysteries, classic and contemporary. At the top of the list were two books by Augusto De Angelis (1880-1944), considered by many to be the father of Italian mystery writing. Although he wrote more than 20 mystery novels in his lifetime, there are very few of his books available in English. The Murdered Banker is one of only four that I have found. It's the first book in De Angelis's most famous series, featuring Police Inspector Carlo De Vincenzi. Set in 1920s Milan and first published in 1935, this book is not the best of the three De Angelis novels that I have now read, but it's a great introduction to the series. I love reading about Milan of the 1920s and the world of the the ever-fascinating De Vincenzi. From the beginning he is revealed to be a kind and compassionate police detective, but also highly analytical and methodical. He is also a romantic, a little sad and lonely, often missing his rural hometown and thinking about his mom.
This first book centers on the murder of a banker (surprise!), Mario Garlini, who has been found, shot in the head, in the apartment of one of his clients, Giannetto Aurigi. Aurigi is a former classmate of De Vincenzi, who quickly concludes that although he is the prime suspect, Aurigi is innocent. But what happened? The case is confusing and a little complicated. Let's say there are many secrets in addition to the mystery. In classic mystery style, we learn the identity of the murderer and De Vincenzi neatly ties up all loose ends. But I found the book's characters and De Angelis's writing style more interesting than the resolution of the mystery. Despite De Angelis's considerable skill as a mystery writer, this series rightly hinges on Inspector De Vincenzi. Early in the book De Vincenzi's old school friend Aurigi remembers him as a poet and starts to ask... "I was wondering...why I became a policeman. It's for this very reason that I became a policeman: because I am perhaps a poet, as you say. I feel the poetry of this profession of mine..." (p.13). I think I have a little crush on De Vincenzi and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series, Death in a Bookstore.
This first book centers on the murder of a banker (surprise!), Mario Garlini, who has been found, shot in the head, in the apartment of one of his clients, Giannetto Aurigi. Aurigi is a former classmate of De Vincenzi, who quickly concludes that although he is the prime suspect, Aurigi is innocent. But what happened? The case is confusing and a little complicated. Let's say there are many secrets in addition to the mystery. In classic mystery style, we learn the identity of the murderer and De Vincenzi neatly ties up all loose ends. But I found the book's characters and De Angelis's writing style more interesting than the resolution of the mystery. Despite De Angelis's considerable skill as a mystery writer, this series rightly hinges on Inspector De Vincenzi. Early in the book De Vincenzi's old school friend Aurigi remembers him as a poet and starts to ask... "I was wondering...why I became a policeman. It's for this very reason that I became a policeman: because I am perhaps a poet, as you say. I feel the poetry of this profession of mine..." (p.13). I think I have a little crush on De Vincenzi and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series, Death in a Bookstore.
March 27, 2016
Rating 3.5/5*
Yet again I'm learning about another police organisation and investigation method. In my last read I was in modern day Japan. This time, I'm in early 20th Century Italy so no mobile phones and no portable radios; just the basic telephone but this still wasn't as common as it was in the latter part of the century.
The story is a classic whodunnit. A banker shot dead in another man's apartment who at the time of the murder, was in the police station.
There are nods to Agatha Christie's writing and particularly Poirot with the phrase "little grey cells". For me, it wasn't as cleverly written as Christie's mysteries but it had an air about it, similar to the Poirot adaptations on the small screen. Having read the "Did You Know" section that follows the story, it was written at a similar time to Christie, making the author her Italian contemporary which could explain the likeness.
The translation from Italian is good. At the start there were a couple of words I had to look up like Prussic Acid aka cyanide but this could be down to the evolution of language in the past 80 years. The author did switch between using characters' surnames and forenames in the narrative which was a little confusing to begin with.
The story wasn't outstanding but it's done enough to peak my interest - a few red herrings through the story to keep me guessing. I do want to read both more from the author and more Italian crime from the era and possibly more modern examples.
Thank you to Mollie at Pushkin Vertigo and Crimebookjunkie Book Blog for this ebook in return for my unbiased review.
Yet again I'm learning about another police organisation and investigation method. In my last read I was in modern day Japan. This time, I'm in early 20th Century Italy so no mobile phones and no portable radios; just the basic telephone but this still wasn't as common as it was in the latter part of the century.
The story is a classic whodunnit. A banker shot dead in another man's apartment who at the time of the murder, was in the police station.
There are nods to Agatha Christie's writing and particularly Poirot with the phrase "little grey cells". For me, it wasn't as cleverly written as Christie's mysteries but it had an air about it, similar to the Poirot adaptations on the small screen. Having read the "Did You Know" section that follows the story, it was written at a similar time to Christie, making the author her Italian contemporary which could explain the likeness.
The translation from Italian is good. At the start there were a couple of words I had to look up like Prussic Acid aka cyanide but this could be down to the evolution of language in the past 80 years. The author did switch between using characters' surnames and forenames in the narrative which was a little confusing to begin with.
The story wasn't outstanding but it's done enough to peak my interest - a few red herrings through the story to keep me guessing. I do want to read both more from the author and more Italian crime from the era and possibly more modern examples.
Thank you to Mollie at Pushkin Vertigo and Crimebookjunkie Book Blog for this ebook in return for my unbiased review.
December 7, 2015
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Pushkin Vertigo!
Augusto De Angelis and the Italian classic whodunits were a big black void in my crime reading list. Written in 1935, it is the first of Inspector De Vincenzi novels. Set in Milan, De Vincenzi has to solve the murder of a banker, while everything points at his childhood friend being the culprit. There are not a lot of suspects and the personal information that we glean from the Inspector is not plentiful (other than he likes to read - which makes me like him!). It's the ambiance and descriptions that make this such a thrilling read. The resolution was also unexpected. De Angelis was murdered himself when Mussolini's fascist followers gave him a beating. Too sad. But there are more volumes in this series and I will be adding them all to my TBR list. I highly recommend this for fans of the classic whodunit.
Augusto De Angelis and the Italian classic whodunits were a big black void in my crime reading list. Written in 1935, it is the first of Inspector De Vincenzi novels. Set in Milan, De Vincenzi has to solve the murder of a banker, while everything points at his childhood friend being the culprit. There are not a lot of suspects and the personal information that we glean from the Inspector is not plentiful (other than he likes to read - which makes me like him!). It's the ambiance and descriptions that make this such a thrilling read. The resolution was also unexpected. De Angelis was murdered himself when Mussolini's fascist followers gave him a beating. Too sad. But there are more volumes in this series and I will be adding them all to my TBR list. I highly recommend this for fans of the classic whodunit.
September 12, 2016
What fun that Pushkin Vertigo is republishing foreign classics new to the US market! I got a big kick out of this one.
Inspector De Vincenzi is surprised one night when a slightly incoherent school friend called Aurigi shows up at the station in opera clothes. While the two are chatting casually, De Vincenzi receives a call to the effect that there has been a murder in his friend's apartment. He hurries to the scene, telling Aurigi to wait.
Although all signs point to Aurigi having means and motivation to kill the man (a banker to whom Aurigi owes a lot of money), De Vincenzi smells a fiendish setup. How he unravels the mystery in spite of numerous other equally motivated suspects showing up has a lot to do with Aurigi's parlor clock having been set an hour ahead.
The author was writing in the 1930s and is said to have established the style for the Italian crime novel. He ran afoul of Mussolini and died from injuries inflicted by a Fascist thug.
Inspector De Vincenzi is surprised one night when a slightly incoherent school friend called Aurigi shows up at the station in opera clothes. While the two are chatting casually, De Vincenzi receives a call to the effect that there has been a murder in his friend's apartment. He hurries to the scene, telling Aurigi to wait.
Although all signs point to Aurigi having means and motivation to kill the man (a banker to whom Aurigi owes a lot of money), De Vincenzi smells a fiendish setup. How he unravels the mystery in spite of numerous other equally motivated suspects showing up has a lot to do with Aurigi's parlor clock having been set an hour ahead.
The author was writing in the 1930s and is said to have established the style for the Italian crime novel. He ran afoul of Mussolini and died from injuries inflicted by a Fascist thug.
January 5, 2016
This was a difficult book to review, as I found it had a good story but the writing was very dated, and maybe the translation didn't help, either. This books reads like a play, very formal.
When a murdered man is discovered in the apartment of the man who owed him a great deal of money, Inspector de Vincenzi sets out to find the killer and clear the name of his friend, who is the principal suspect in this case.
It seemed to me only the characters in the book know what's going on. There's a lot of whispering between them, but the reader just doesn't know what is going on.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When a murdered man is discovered in the apartment of the man who owed him a great deal of money, Inspector de Vincenzi sets out to find the killer and clear the name of his friend, who is the principal suspect in this case.
It seemed to me only the characters in the book know what's going on. There's a lot of whispering between them, but the reader just doesn't know what is going on.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 24, 2016
"Tutti i drammi umani, per terribili che siano, si chiudono sempre con un segno di vita rinnovata."
Fare qualche passo indietro e non solo da un punto di vista letterario, per il linguaggio usato, molto signorile peraltro, ma materialmente; ricordi di adolescente, quanto in TV passavano le puntate del Commissario De Vincenzi interpretato dal grande Paolo Stoppa.
Giallo all'italiana, un classico quindi, con il misfatto (in questo caso un delitto), l'indagine, tanto lavoro di cervello e fantasia, il colpo di scena, il lampo finale con la scoperta del colpevole...
In fondo è leggero, semplice, essenziale, ma proprio per questo l'ho apprezzato.
Fare qualche passo indietro e non solo da un punto di vista letterario, per il linguaggio usato, molto signorile peraltro, ma materialmente; ricordi di adolescente, quanto in TV passavano le puntate del Commissario De Vincenzi interpretato dal grande Paolo Stoppa.
Giallo all'italiana, un classico quindi, con il misfatto (in questo caso un delitto), l'indagine, tanto lavoro di cervello e fantasia, il colpo di scena, il lampo finale con la scoperta del colpevole...
In fondo è leggero, semplice, essenziale, ma proprio per questo l'ho apprezzato.
August 22, 2017
Diciamo che il giallo lascia il tempo che trova.
E' più un dramma da camera.
Il tono generale è parecchio cupo, i poliziotti sembrano protagonisti di un dramma di Ibsen, i discorsi sempre sopra le righe.
Conservavo un buon ricordo della versione televisiva con Paolo Stoppa nei panni del commissario, chissà a rivederla ora.
E' più un dramma da camera.
Il tono generale è parecchio cupo, i poliziotti sembrano protagonisti di un dramma di Ibsen, i discorsi sempre sopra le righe.
Conservavo un buon ricordo della versione televisiva con Paolo Stoppa nei panni del commissario, chissà a rivederla ora.
March 6, 2025
I had never heard of the author before coming across this book, so I was fascinated to learn in the publisher’s “Did you know?� afterword that he was the late1930s and early 1940s Italian equivalent of our own Agatha Christie. And he wasn’t someone who sat in an ivory tower only writing puzzle novels. He penned anti-Fascist articles during WW2, got himself arrested by the authorities, and died in 1944 after being beaten up by a Fascist thug.
So, with hindsight, I am slightly surprised that there is so little overt politics in this novel, because whilst it was originally published well before WW2 (in 1935), this was still more than ten years after Mussolini came to power. However, although it is set firmly in Milan (with references in the opening two paragraphs to the real Piazza San Fedele and the Manzoni Theatre), it is definitely more of a Golden Age-style whodunit than an attempt to portray the realities of 1930s life in Italy. You certainly have to read and assess it, therefore, by the standards and motifs of (mostly) English detective stories of that period. So the murder takes place off camera; forensics barely seem to exist (the doctor called to the scene of death pops a phial of prussic acid that he finds lying around into his pocket); the chief of police authorises a private investigator (by the name of Harrington!) to work alongside Inspector De Vincenzi right from the start; much depends on a clock in the victim’s apartment that has been deliberately set to run one hour fast; and the cornered murderer, as well as looking around “like a captive beast, � eyes flaming,� smilingly asks the Inspector how he is going to prove their guilt.
However, there are also some nice acknowledgements by the author of the influence of his more famous English peers. For example, Harrington the private investigator has his own “theory� right from the start, aided by the use of his “little grey cells� (I wonder who that is a reference to!), and the doctor draws a chalk outline around the body because “everyone does it these days, in Germany, in America …�. If I am honest, much of the book reads like a play, with long sections of dialogue interspersed with passages of scene-setting and of the Inspector’s introspection, and all the action (apart from the epilogue) is condensed into 24 hours. There is also much more “telling� than “showing� � such as when, to give one random example, “It was obvious that XXX could barely restrain himself from running up to his daughter and shutting her mouth with his own hand …�.
But this is all typical of what can often be found in 1930s Golden Age fiction, and judged on that basis this novel is a light, interesting, and enjoyable read.
So, with hindsight, I am slightly surprised that there is so little overt politics in this novel, because whilst it was originally published well before WW2 (in 1935), this was still more than ten years after Mussolini came to power. However, although it is set firmly in Milan (with references in the opening two paragraphs to the real Piazza San Fedele and the Manzoni Theatre), it is definitely more of a Golden Age-style whodunit than an attempt to portray the realities of 1930s life in Italy. You certainly have to read and assess it, therefore, by the standards and motifs of (mostly) English detective stories of that period. So the murder takes place off camera; forensics barely seem to exist (the doctor called to the scene of death pops a phial of prussic acid that he finds lying around into his pocket); the chief of police authorises a private investigator (by the name of Harrington!) to work alongside Inspector De Vincenzi right from the start; much depends on a clock in the victim’s apartment that has been deliberately set to run one hour fast; and the cornered murderer, as well as looking around “like a captive beast, � eyes flaming,� smilingly asks the Inspector how he is going to prove their guilt.
However, there are also some nice acknowledgements by the author of the influence of his more famous English peers. For example, Harrington the private investigator has his own “theory� right from the start, aided by the use of his “little grey cells� (I wonder who that is a reference to!), and the doctor draws a chalk outline around the body because “everyone does it these days, in Germany, in America …�. If I am honest, much of the book reads like a play, with long sections of dialogue interspersed with passages of scene-setting and of the Inspector’s introspection, and all the action (apart from the epilogue) is condensed into 24 hours. There is also much more “telling� than “showing� � such as when, to give one random example, “It was obvious that XXX could barely restrain himself from running up to his daughter and shutting her mouth with his own hand …�.
But this is all typical of what can often be found in 1930s Golden Age fiction, and judged on that basis this novel is a light, interesting, and enjoyable read.
January 11, 2023
Il primo romanzo della serie con protagonista Carlo De Vincenzi, poliziotto atipico, fuori dagli schemi, poeta più che uomo d’azione.
In una fredda e nebbiosa notte milanese, De Vincenzi riceve in Questura la visita del suo ex compagno di collegio Giannetto Aurigi. Proprio in quel momento, De Vincenzi viene chiamato sulla scena di un omicidio: il banchiere Garlini è stato trovato assassinato con un colpo di pistola proprio nell'appartamento dell'Aurigi. Il quale, guarda caso, doveva all'uomo una grossa somma di denaro.Tutto congiura contro il suo vecchio amico, ma De Vincenzi sa scrutare come pochi la scena del delitto e l’animo umano...
De Angelis è il vero creatore, negli anni ‘trenta, del giallo all’italiana: inaugurò la via italiana al poliziesco, portando avanti allo stesso tempo una sottile ma ferma resistenza al regime fascista. Fu lui il primo a scrivere gialli di «clima» italiano: la città - Milano - gli interni, i personaggi …ma soprattutto i poliziotti all’italiana. Su tutti il perfetto protagonista, il commissario De Vincenzi: un funzionario dello stato che cerca di fare bene il proprio lavoro, né poliziotto spaccone né freddo detective, ma attento indagatore dell’animo umano; il suo metodo investigativo è basato sull’intuizione psicologica e sull’osservazione dell’involontario da cui emerge l’indizio segreto. Colto, intelligente, sensibile e nello stesso tempo deciso e pronto, se necessario, a saltare qualche regola che intralcia. De Vincenzi è dotato di una cultura raffinata, il suo vero interesse è la poesia, legge Freud, Lawrence, Platone,le epistoledi San Paolo. Scettico soprattutto su se stesso, continuamente si domanda: «ma perché ho fatto il poliziotto?»ma poi è capace delle migliori performance, grazie proprio al suo essere diverso dai colleghi.
Il giallo che è strutturato come un opera teatrale, si svolge quasi tutto in un solo luogo e ricorda molto lo stile di Agatha Christie; è una lettura piacevole e un po� “vintage�, molto diversa dalle trame rapide ed incalzanti a cui siamo abituati, leggermente appesantita da un linguaggio datato, ma comunque interessante.
In una fredda e nebbiosa notte milanese, De Vincenzi riceve in Questura la visita del suo ex compagno di collegio Giannetto Aurigi. Proprio in quel momento, De Vincenzi viene chiamato sulla scena di un omicidio: il banchiere Garlini è stato trovato assassinato con un colpo di pistola proprio nell'appartamento dell'Aurigi. Il quale, guarda caso, doveva all'uomo una grossa somma di denaro.Tutto congiura contro il suo vecchio amico, ma De Vincenzi sa scrutare come pochi la scena del delitto e l’animo umano...
De Angelis è il vero creatore, negli anni ‘trenta, del giallo all’italiana: inaugurò la via italiana al poliziesco, portando avanti allo stesso tempo una sottile ma ferma resistenza al regime fascista. Fu lui il primo a scrivere gialli di «clima» italiano: la città - Milano - gli interni, i personaggi …ma soprattutto i poliziotti all’italiana. Su tutti il perfetto protagonista, il commissario De Vincenzi: un funzionario dello stato che cerca di fare bene il proprio lavoro, né poliziotto spaccone né freddo detective, ma attento indagatore dell’animo umano; il suo metodo investigativo è basato sull’intuizione psicologica e sull’osservazione dell’involontario da cui emerge l’indizio segreto. Colto, intelligente, sensibile e nello stesso tempo deciso e pronto, se necessario, a saltare qualche regola che intralcia. De Vincenzi è dotato di una cultura raffinata, il suo vero interesse è la poesia, legge Freud, Lawrence, Platone,le epistoledi San Paolo. Scettico soprattutto su se stesso, continuamente si domanda: «ma perché ho fatto il poliziotto?»ma poi è capace delle migliori performance, grazie proprio al suo essere diverso dai colleghi.
Il giallo che è strutturato come un opera teatrale, si svolge quasi tutto in un solo luogo e ricorda molto lo stile di Agatha Christie; è una lettura piacevole e un po� “vintage�, molto diversa dalle trame rapide ed incalzanti a cui siamo abituati, leggermente appesantita da un linguaggio datato, ma comunque interessante.
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