Reading Group Guide
1. How do you interpret Inspector Montalbano’s dream at the beginning of the novel?
2. What does Montalbano’s theory about the proliferation of paperwork on his desk say about him?
3. Is there any significance to the fact that the Lombardo’s house is “almost identical” (p. 6) to Montalbano’s own?
4. When Montalbano’s housekeeper, Adelina, invites him over to celebrate her son’s birthday, the Inspector is torn between Adelina’s arancini and the dinner date he made with his neighbor, Liliana Lombardo. If Liliana hadn’t agreed to join him at Adelina’s, what choice do you think he would have made? Which would you choose if you had pick between a delicious meal and a sexy—but illicit—date?
5. Are you familiar with The Lady from Shanghai, the Orson Welles’ movie that includes the famous scene in a house of mirrors? If so, why might Camilleri connect this particular movie to his novel? If not, have you ever read about something in a novel and sought it out to read/watch/experience for yourself?
6. In Vigàta, which seems more corrupt: the press or the government? Do you think that Sicily is more corrupt than America, or is it simply better hidden here?
7. While lunching at Enzo’s, Montalbano observes cavaliere Ernesto Jocolano make a fuss about the cleanliness of a plate. Jocolano’s observations spur Montalbano to make a connection he had previously overlooked. Did you understand what Montalbano was thinking before he explained it to Fazio?
8. Were you misled by any of Camilleri’s red herrings? If so, which one?
9. (Spoiler Warning: Don’t read on if you don’t what to know whodunit!)
Montalbano suspects that Liliana has ulterior motives for trying to seduce him, but he still has a difficult time resisting her. How do you think the average man would behave in the same situation?
10. Was there anything Montalbano could have done to save Liliana and Arturo? Did your opinion of Liliana change once you knew she was trying to protect Arturo?
11. We never meet Adriano Lombardo until the end of the novel. Did you suspect the true nature of his relationship with Liliana?
12. What do you think about the way Montalbano sets Nicotra up? In Sicily—where justice is notoriously crooked—did the mafia kingpin deserve to die the way he did?