A short life of the author
Leonardo Sciascia (1921–1989) was born on 8 January 1921 in Racalmuto, Sicily. He worked as a schoolteacher before becoming a full-time writer and served in the European Parliament.
Life and Career
Il giorno della civetta (The Day of the Owl, 1961) — about a northern Italian police captain investigating a murder in a Sicilian town where no one will acknowledge that the Mafia exists — was one of the first Italian novels to confront the Mafia directly. A ciascuno il suo (To Each His Own, 1966) — about a professor who investigates two murders and discovers that the truth leads to the highest levels of society — is his finest mystery.
Il contesto (Equal Danger, 1971) — an explicitly political novel about a detective investigating the murders of judges — and Todo modo (1974) — about a retreat of powerful men at a hermitage — are his most radical works.
Major Works and Themes
Sciascia wrote about power, corruption, the Mafia, and the impossibility of justice in a corrupt system. His mysteries never truly solve anything — that is the point.
Key Works
- The Day of the Owl (1961)
- To Each His Own (1966)
Collecting Sciascia
Italian originals (Einaudi, Adelphi) are the primary collected form. English translations (NYRB Classics, Granta) bring $10–$25. Sciascia died in 1989.