Sciascia's famous novel 'A ciascuno il suo', published in 1966

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                                                                Sophie Ryle

Detective story or socio-political analysis? Which perspective is more appropriate to the interpretation of ‘A ciascuno il suo’? Discuss.

Leonardo Sciascia was born in 1921, in a Sicilian town called Racamulto. Beginning in the 1950s, he established himself in Italy not only as a respected novelist, but also as a controversial observer and commentator on the socio-political condition of the country, particularly that of Sicily. Sciascia’s famous novel ‘A ciascuno il suo’, published in 1966 by Einaudi, was written at a time of political and social unrest and cynicism due to the failure of the of the 1964 coalition of Socialists and Christian Democrats, which had inspired hope for a balanced, stable, reasonably honest government.

A classical detective novel is typically a celebration of human intelligence; and the ability to know, to interpret, and decipher: The sharp and cunning detective overcomes the obstacles laid for him to unravel the mystery and solve the dastardly crime: Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot immediately spring to mind.  ‘A ciascuno il suo’ is placed firmly within this genre; as a ‘libro giallo’; and indeed, Sciascia appears to deliberately convey the impression to the reader that this is how he wants the novel to be read: it corresponds in many ways with the aforementioned stereotypes, containing murder, intrigue and suspense, and above all his preface to the novel is a quote from ‘I delitti di rue Morgue’ by Poe, a novel considered pivotal in defining the genre of mystery writing. But ‘A ciascuno il suo’ is what is known as a ‘scarto’ – something that refers to a prototype but does not quite fit with it: Sciascia uses the mould of a ‘giallo’, but in fact he gives the reader far more than a murder-mystery story: principally it is a subtle but fierce critique of Sicily’s society and traditions.

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 ‘A ciascuno il suo’ is a twist on stereotypical detective stories – the mystery proves insoluble because everyone involved except the investigator is duplicitous.

This investigator, a professor, lacks the necessary scepticism to be able to explore the crime effectively, and is not committed to the problem – he lacks passion and determination. He is motivated purely by interest; “Curiosità, semplice curiosità” (P85), but not particularly concerned about justice. Laurana is not a typical detective at all, indeed he is where the major ‘scarto’ between traditional mystery writing and Sciascia’s work lies – he is not supremely intelligent, and ...

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