IL CORSO DELLE COSE / THE FLOW OF THINGS

A dead body is found near a small Sicilian town. Marshal Corbo begins the investigation of the intricate case. Written in 1978, The Flow of Things is the first novel by the inventor of inspector Montalbano. «The novel’s first virtue is its construction: Camilleri knows how to weave the threads of a “mystery” with rare ability, leading the reader on the dangerous and bewitched paths of mental hypothesis, of continuous questioning. But paid tribute to this skill, which dramaturgical practice may have fostered, one must emphasize the density of the Sicilian atmosphere evoked and, more so, the subtle qualities of the writing. Certain hours, certain figures appear in full evidence thanks to a soft, sly use of words that forms its own very recognizable music».
Ruggero Jacobbi, 1979.