The Brewer of Preston

This was an added extra when I picked up a few of Camilleri's "Inspector Montalbano" books from the local library.

The setting Vigate in the 1870s, and the proposed production of a play - the Brewer of Preston - at the local theatre by the Prefect of Vigata - an event which the townsfolk intend will never happen. What was unexpected was that this writing style differs so much from the "Inspector Montalbano" novels. The chapters, which introduce us to an eclectic and eccentric cast of characters, are presented in no particular order - in fact we are told to read them in whatever order we like! As we slowly read, we pick up little hints as to how each scene and the characters will eventually relate, and the circumstances that bring them show more all together begins to unfold.

" ... how many things in Sicily happened by mistake ..."

The writing is at times sardonic, comedic, tragic, farcical, absurd. Loaded with clever, and often satirical, writing, Camilleri reveals tempestuous political scheming and double crossing, murder, infidelity, police corruption, anarchy, organised crime - and above, the Sicilian style of justice.

One is left wondering ... is the opera being acted out on the stage or in the real lives of the novel's characters... show less

"The Brewer of Preston" is a one-off historical novel by Andrea Camilleri, best known for his Montalbano series. In 19th Century Vigata, Sicily, the new Prefect (or governor) of the region is determined to inaugurate a new opera house with a production of “The Brewer of Preston,” an opera he had seen previously and that just happens to be managed by one of his relatives. The town of Vigata, however, is having none of it, and arson, mayhem and murder soon ensue…. This is a very funny, very bawdy, old-fashioned farce of a novel, one in which (as the author himself notes in an end-note) the reader is told that the order of the chapters is random and the reader is encouraged to rearrange them to one’s own satisfaction. As with the show more Montalbano series, this novel is translated by the talented Stephen Sartarelli; my one quibble in reading this in e-book form is that his always informative notes are awkward to access. Very enjoyable; recommended, but be prepared for some very earthy language! show less

Incommensurabile

Sono contenta di aver iniziato a conoscere Camilleri dalle sue storie "poliziesche" di Montalbano. Ho iniziato a masticare il suo siciliano fiabesco, irreale perchè trova poca rispondenza in quello vero, ma così poetico e visionario, così carnale e sanguigno da rispettare nella sostanza la materia di cui è composto il popolo siculo. Dicevo che sono contenta, perchè il meglio era ancora da venire. I romanzi che prendono le mosse da eterei indizi storici come da cronache dei tempi che furono, sono qualcosa di assolutamente imperdibile. La messa in scena di un'opera lirica (Il birraio di Preston) per l'inaugurazione del nuovo teatro di Vigata è il pretesto per raccontare dinamiche, intrighi, intrecci, speculazioni e show more rapporti di potere realmente fondati e documentati. Molte sere dopo la rappresentazione teatrale, l'edificio va in fiamme, ed ecco che inizia la sfilata dei personaggi, ognuno a raccontar dal proprio punto di vista la genesi di tutta la vicenda. Un esercizio di scrittura notevole ed una padronanza della storia e dei suoi intrecci da lasciare senza fiato. Uno dei più bei libri di questa ambientazione di fine '800. Camilleri patrimonio dell'umanità. L'ho già detto? show less

As with cinema, when I’m reading something like a Camilleri novel, it’s always possible to discuss its heightened reality. You concentrate life, as one does in theater. The proscenium arch for film is its syntax. Some thoughts arise, like when discussing reality. Imagine you ask someone who is talking about another person, "What are you doing?" They answer, "Well, I'm trying to tell you this and that, etc.” But you look at them and say, "No...What are you doing?" They get somewhat thrown, or agitated, or confused. Eventually lines are drawn. It's such a simple question. But it is really asking for you to really meditate or think about what this whole process of communication is really up to. What rules are being followed...what show more political system of exchange is really going on? What part of this is really a card shuffling act? What shifts of power are taking place in this exchange? What are you keeping me from noticing? What is being depended on? The question is simple, but the reality of the exchange is buried. There may not be words to describe the real chemistry of the exchange, and there may be issues about the decimation of personality inherent in the query. The many levels of reality that exist do not necessarily lend themselves to what Camilleri desires in his writing. The Italian reality that Camilleri's typing fingers align with, that offer more chance and accident may not inherently bring forth mysteries or truths, or even depths of experience. It's the arrangement of the reality, the artifice of the presentation, the syntax of the language of editing the events which takes place behind the scenes that manifests the gestalt of the experience. I think it was Antonioni who said that if one could explain a film, then it was not a film. Adding more realistic transactions in a design does not promise a quantum leap or realization from the experience. It's the reader, or the film watcher who adds their reality to these set conditions, and ours hearts, conscious and unconscious minds weave pearls of understanding upon them. A book is the launch pad. Whatever reality it contains will always be one of omission. That’s what draws me in to the Camilleri novels. We’re not reading about the “real” Italy (or Sicily to be more precise). What I’m reading is my inner vision of Italy. Nothing else. show less

Camilleri must have had a lot of fun writing this historical farce about the attempt of the new Florentine prefect in Montelusa/Vigata in just unified Italy to impose his will on the local Sicilian population by staging a second-rate opera, "The Brewer of Preston," to inaugurate the new theater he has had built, only to have the theater burn down just after the chaotic opening night. The chapters jump around in time and feature a variety of entertaining characters, including the local police officer, the local Mafiosi, the agitator from Rome, the prefect who nobody likes, various officials and local notables, and many more. Camilleri adapts his chapter titles from the first lines of other books (helpfully pointed out in the notes, as I show more would have recognized only a few of them), and this adds to the fun and satire. Vigata, of course, is where Camillerill's wonderful detective, Inspector Montalbano, will roam a hundred years later, and this book, like Camilleri's previous historical novel, doesn't rise to the level of the Montalbano books, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed it. show less

In a small Sicilian town, shortly after the unification of Italy, a new theatre is being opened with an opera for its first production. The unpopular prefect imposes his choice of a much-detested work in English called The Brewer of Preston. This causes local outrage, so the prefect mobilises all of his resources to force the villagers to accept his choice, no buts.

In telling this story Camilleri presents an opera buffa of his own, with a cavalcade of characters and a voluminous array of incident, plot and subterfuge. The story is told out of chronological order, which muddies the waters for the reader. There are simply too many minor characters flitting in and out of this plot to keep track of, and the end result is confusion. In an show more end-note the author, somewhat disingenuously, suggests that we re-read the story in whatever chapter order takes our fancy. Not a chance. This novel is a mess and I couldn't wait for it to be over. show less

A laugh out loud comedy of errors based on the actual events of an 1870's performance of The Brewer of Preston in Sicily. I don't know how much was satire and how much was simply the way things go in Sicily - it is home to La Cosa Nostra after all - but the story of how an opera triggered mayhem and murder was a hoot. The random ordering of the chapters added to the sense of chaos and ending with chapter 1 was the perfect wrap up.

I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program