Culture

Publisher: Abacus
Rating: 2/5
 
The Death of a Mafia Don centres on the investigation of a series of attacks and murders for which the Mafia appear to be responsible. As the investigation unravels, with every new lead or suspect, a corresponding Mafioso corpse is found. Despite the evidence, a Muslim reporter, Ahmad Farah, relentlessly pursues his own suspicions that the Taliban is somehow involved. As it turns out, an elusive new mastermind dubbed the Lion may be planning more than just a takeover of the Sicilian Mafia. 
 
I cannot decide whether to blame the insipidity of this book on the author or the translator. That said, something was definitely lost in translation. The writing was often awkward and plain, but what struck me immediately was how poorly and directly the dialogue had been translated. I simply could not get the sound of heavily-Italian-accented English from every Mafia movie I have ever watched out of my head. While I love listening to Italians speaking Italian (so much passion!), on paper, in English, it’s just jarring and annoying. 
 
Still, the translator could only work with what he was given. The story line is convoluted and uninteresting and I had to force myself to finish it. There were far too many superfluous characters and distracting, intertwining plots, which made for messy storytelling. So many that by the end of the novel, I had forgotten how the story evolved as there was no clear connection to the main plot. The idea of the Mafia doing business with the Taliban with government agencies puppeteering the dealings, however, was intriguing. If Giutarri had developed the back story of that plot a little more and focused a little less on the mood swings of his protagonist Ferrara, perhaps this book would have been a more worthwhile read.