Yearning Blue
  • Home
  • Local Poet
  • Local Artist
  • Publications
  • Me and the Family
    • The Family >
      • Family News 1998
      • Family News 1999
      • Family News 2000
      • Family News 2001
      • Family News 2002
      • Family News 2004
      • Family News 2006
      • Family News 2007
      • Family News 2008
      • Family News 2009
      • Family News 2010
      • Family News 2011
      • Family News 2012
      • Family News 2013
      • Family News 2014
      • Family News 2015
      • Family News 2016
      • Family News 2017
  • Poems
    • The View from the Hilltop
    • Winter Sun
    • Thoughts at a wedding
    • Come dance with me.
    • Seasons of Love
    • Last weeks red roses
    • Christmas Surprise
    • The Sound of Christmas
    • A Grace
    • Worship in the Woods
    • Noses
    • Purpose
    • How many bananas?
    • Arthur
  • Short Stories
    • Interviews with a Magician
    • The First Lesson of Magic
    • Mariad's Island
    • Matts Dragon
    • Dry Murder
    • All the Dead of Morne
    • The Fish
    • Shadowskin
    • Up the Mountain
    • A Man to Fear
    • A Scene of Crimes
    • The Weather Says It All.
    • Autumn Girl
    • Out of Hadra
    • The Art of Dying
  • Flash Fiction
    • Androidism
    • Walking Oddbins
    • Homecoming
    • A beach, at dawn
    • Schrodinger's Door
    • The Seagull's Return
  • Novels
    • Can of Worms
    • The Empresses Lover
  • Carbunkle Hall
  • Projects
    • The Tethane
    • A Voyage in Jade
    • The Hidden Libraries
    • Princess
  • My Best Reads
    • Best Reads 2012
    • Best Reads 2013
    • Best Reads 2014
    • Best Reads 2015
    • Best Reads 2016
    • Best Reads 2017
    • Best Reads 2018
  • Photography
  • Links
  • Contact me
  • The Reality Escape Committee

Deeper than I expected!

12/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

If someone mentions Italian Crime Fiction, the chances are your first thought will be ‘Mafia’ - or if not that, then it would be about the Vatican. Perhaps both. At least, that’s what I would have thought before reading this deep and absorbing legal thriller. However, even though Carofiglio knows a thing or two about the Mafia, having been an anti-Mafia prosecutor for many years, he soon shows us that there’s a lot of other crime happening in Italy!


It took me a few pages to get used to the style and flow of the words – perhaps because it’s translated from Italian – but once over that minor hurdle I became deeply immersed in the story of Guido Guerrieri, a lawyer trying to defend an apparently hopeless case whilst also dealing with some deep personal issues.

In fact the personal issues take up the whole of the first section of the book. Because it’s so well written, and because Guerrieri is an engaging character who you want to know more about, this is not a hardship. But I did wonder what the point of this was, and how it fitted in to the rest of the story.

As things move on, and the legal case develops, Guerrieri digs deep into the evidence and into the complexities of the Italian court system to develop his case for the defence. But developments in his personal life are also woven smoothly into the plot.

It wasn’t until the end, though, that I finally realised that this was not just for character development (important though that is). It was what the novel is really about – this crisis of Guerrieri’s life, which runs parallel to the courtroom drama but which started before it and continues afterwards. With that new perspective, the purpose and importance of the opening section became clear. It’s essential groundwork for the story which develops to a powerful and poignant conclusion.

All in all, ‘Involuntary Witness’ is a surprisingly deep, often fascinating and beautifully told story. I got the next in the series as soon as I could!

(My thanks to the International Crime Readers Club at Waterstone's, Bath, for introducing me to this author).
0 Comments
    Picture

    Paul Trembling

    Husband, father, dog owner, Christian, writer, and incurable daydreamer.  In no particular order of importance - they are all me.

    Welcome to my blog, where I will attempt to document my small corner of reality, and my attempts to escape from it.

    Archives

    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Categories

    All
    2012
    2013
    Best Reads
    Bible
    Bristol
    Crime
    Daily Life
    Fathers
    Film
    God
    Kindle
    Memories
    Monologue
    New Book
    Noah
    Poem
    Prayer
    Reality
    Rwanda
    Speculation
    Suffering
    Time
    Traffic
    Trinity
    Writing

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from h.koppdelaney, BitterScripts, psicologiaclinica, x-ray delta one, Erik Daniel Drost, jonny goldstein, guzzphoto, inkknife_2000 (5 million views), Coletivo Mambembe, Doctor_Q, tmib_seattle, Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis, h.koppdelaney, Menage a Moi, Click*64, Su Bee Buzz!, Susan WD, World Around Richa, h.koppdelaney, gavin.lauchlan, garrettc, polandeze, Alan Cleaver