The (Im)possibility of Detective Fiction in Sicily: Sciascia, Camilleri and Piazzese

Abstract This thesis examines the detective fiction of the Sicilian writers Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989), Andrea Camilleri (1925-) and Santo Piazzese (1941-). All of the works discussed are detective novels set the south-western part of Sicily. The authors chosen for analysis use a traditional, formulaic and popular template of the detective story, or some variation thereof, and their novels all contain the figure of the detective as a protagonist and organizing narrative device. The contemporary Sicilian detective novel, as demonstrated by the works of the three selected writers, reveal the importance of place. This thesis compares and contrasts the manner in which the Sicilian locale or setting is depicted, related to, constructed, invented and contextualized by each author. The idea of Sicily as a simulacrum is also discussed. As each author recreates his settings in novel form, these simulacra go on to form connections with, overlap or negate other literary spaces, not all of them located in Sicily or even Italy. The places of the novels are examined with reference to real cities, towns and communities. Furthermore, the emphasis is on how these fictional representations are created or fit into relationships with other texts and genres. There is also the relationship between the detective and the city or community in which he operates. Familiar tropes and connections between writing and walking, and interpretation and pursuit that compare the detective to the reader are also examined. The novels are read as investigations of Sicily, in addition to the investigations of specific murders or cases outlined in each mystery, and the detectives illuminate their readings and observations of the place and the people who inhabit it, as much as they solve crime. Finally, I consider the familiar lineage of investigative forefathers and literary predecessors, not necessarily Sicilian or Italian, featured in the novels of all three authors. The manner in which each author uses and struggles against the detective genre and these traditions is another of the main topics of this investigation.

Department dc:contributor.department

Italian Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Henze, Maximiliana

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Somigli, Luca

• crime
• detectives
• genre
• mystery
• postmodern
• Sicilian

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/89762

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/89762