Open Doors and Three Novellas

Some may hail him as a master of 20th century literature, but I found these four long stories pretty tough going and not always interesting. There is very little description of people, places, or the times when the action takes place. Many characters don't even have names; known only by police rank. Without much knowledge of the author, whom I had not encountered before, I would say that he wrote more for himself than many other writers do. He writes in an always-intellectual style on political, moral, and legal topics that interested him, whether readers share these concerns or not. The phrase "investigative essay" has been used to describe Sciascia's writings and I think it's a fair term. The third piece in the book, "A Straightforward Tale" most resembles a story in the usual sense of the word, though it is delightfully not straightforward at all. All four parts of OPEN DOORS concern murder, the death penalty, justice, and the question of whether it's really possible to understand the nature of crime, though of course we know when one has been committed. "Open Doors", the title piece, harks back to political twists in 1937, the Fascist period in Italy. "Death and the Knight" takes place in 1989, the year the author died, and deals with terrorism. "A Straightforward Tale", already mentioned, is most Sicilian, connecting police, the courts, the church and the Mafia without ever mentioning that last organization. "1912+1" also deals with a murder case, this a real one in 1913, in which a countess shoots dead a young lover---but why? All the stories are interlaced with countless literary references and philosophical wanderings. OPEN DOORS is definitely not beach reading, but thoughtful and illustrative of an interesting mind and a top writer. It's not surprising that he doesn't have a mass following. If Sciascia had not chosen to write in this genre, he might have gotten a Nobel Prize.

Open Doors and Three Novellas is an excellent read for anybody interested in Italian Gialli (equivalent of French Noir)or Detective stories. Sciascia, arguably one of Italy's most important contemporary writers, provides the reader with a detailed insight towards the corruption and scandolous behavior of some of Italy's bureaucratic instituions, such as the police and the church.

This book is my introduction to Sciascia whom I learned of while visiting Sicily. Great writer!

Sciascia is perfect proof how the particular can become general, Sicily to Italy to the world. These stories etch vividly the emotional and ethical problems facing those involved in crime, justice, and families in Sicily. Well translated, they are engrossing. He deserves to be in the 20th Century pantheon

Sciascia is simply a great writer.

I have grown to love and respect Sciascia above all the other modern writers of political and social issues in modern Italy. His writing is absolutely mesmerizing (in Italian) and this translation makes a good job in transposing what is clearly a very difficult prose to transpose intact.As always with Sciascia, the themes are universal: death penalty, corruption, terrorism of state, decadent society.These are not among Sciascia's must-read works (look at "The Day of the Owl" and "To Each his Own" for that), but they express values and a vision of the tragedy in human nature that are typical Sciascia, albeit maybe a little more bitter, written, as they are, so close to his death.In particular I found "Open Doors" a beautifully written reflection on the meaning of justice and a harsh comdenation of the practice of capital punishment.I wish the almost universal love of everything Italian would extend to these lesser known gems of our contribution to the progress of the world.

I am an avid reader of Sciascia and have been trying to track down every thing I can in English. (My Italian is not so good.)The product description for this book does not list the novellas included in this collection. They are:* Open Doors* Death and the Knight* A Straight Forward Tale* 1912 + 1A mixed bag. If you are new to Sciascia, I'd start with The Day of the Owl or Equal Danger. Both five stars.As far as I can tell his novella One Way or Another (Todo Modo) is currently only available in the UK. I mention this because that book packages One Way or Another with Death and the Knight.The New York Review has re-released much of his work recently. All are worth giving a look.Most of his other books are available in British editions-- try ordering from amazon.uk. However, I can tell you that the British translation of Night of the Owl is inferior to the American translation and the the British paperbacks are cheaply thrown together. The New York Review editions are attractive and feature good introductory essays.

A skilful translation of Sciascia’s spare, ironic style.