The Costas Haritos Series

Following my previous post on Petros Markaris the complete series of Costas Haritos, so far, include six novels plus a collection of short stories:

• 1995 Nυχτερινό δελτίο, (Spanish title: Noticias de la noche, Tusquets, 2008) (English title: Late-Night News aka Deadline in Athens)
• 1998 Άμυνα ζώνης, (Spanish title: Defensa cerrada, Tusquets, 2008) (English title: Zone Defence)
• 2003 Ο Τσε αυτοκτόνησε, (Spanish title: Suicidio perfecto, Ediciones B, 2004) (English title: Che Committed Suicide)
• 2005 (Spanish title: Un caso del comisario Jaritos y otros relatos clandestinos, Nueve relatos, Ediciones B, 2006) short stories.
• 2006 Βασικός Μέτοχος, (Spanish title: El accionista mayoritario, Tusquets, 2008) (English title: Basic Shareholder)
• 2008 Παλιά, Πολύ Παλιά, (Spanish title: Muerte en Estambul, Tusquets, 2009)
• 2010 Ληξιπρόθεσμα Δάνεια, (Spanish title: Con el agua al cuello, Tusquets, Octubre 2011)

The Greek writer Petros Markaris Wins the VII Pepe Carvalho Prize.

The Greek writer Petros Markaris, author of detective novels featuring the Athenian police investigator Costas Haritos, has won the VII Pepe Carvalho Prize in recognition to his career, as reported by the Instituto de Cultura de Barcelona (La Vanguardia).

The jury, formed by Sergio Vila-Sanjuán, Daniel Vázquez Sallés, Rosa Mora, Jordi Canal, Paco Camarasa and Juan José Arranz, has awarded unanimously the prize to Markaris, a clear representative of the Mediterranean noir.

They have also stressed that Markaris with Haritos, like Manuel Vázquez Montalbán with Pepe Carvalho, are critical witness of the evolution and transformation of Athens and Barcelona, two cities that became main characters in their novels.

Markaris has cooperated with Theo Angelopoulos on a number of film scripts and has translated several German dramas into Greek. His last book (Con el agua al cuello) the sixth instalment in the Costas Haritos series, if my information is correct, will be published in Spain soon.

The award ceremony will be held during the next edition of BCNegra, which is scheduled to take place from 6 to 11 February, 2012.

The Pepe Carvalho Prize has been awarded in previous editions to Andreu Martin, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, PD James, Henning Mankell and Francisco González Ledesma.

Prague Uprising

Since I’m close to finish reading The Widow Killer, by Pavel Kohout I thought it would be of interest to share with you the following information.

The Prague uprising was an attempt by the Czech resistance to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation during World War II. Events began on May 5, 1945, in the last moments of the war in Europe. The uprising went on until May 8, 1945, ending in a ceasefire the day before the arrival of the Red Army and one day after Victory in Europe Day. Read more at Wikipedia, May 1945 – Prague Uprising and Liberation and Prague Uprising: “Do not let Prague be destroyed!”.

Crime Fiction on a Euro Pass – Sicily (Italy)

Crime Fiction on a Euro Pass is a community meme hosted by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise. The idea behind is that participants write a post linked to the country of the week. This week’s country is Italy. You can visit HERE the contribution of other fellow participants.

Sicily (Sicilia) is both the largest region of the modern state of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, architecture and language. The history of Sicily has seen Sicily usually controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spanish—but also experiencing short periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate then Kingdom of Sicily. Although today part of the Republic of Italy, it has its own distinct culture. (from Wikipedia) See also Best of Sicily travel guide.

Andrea Camilleri was born in 1925 in Porto Empedocle, in Agrigento Province, in Sicily. He worked as a script editor, a theatre and TV producer, before taking up writing very late – his first book, “Il Corso delle Cose” was not published until 1978. Even when he published his second book, “Un filo di fumo,” in the year 1980, no one would have been so rash as to apostrophize him as a future best-selling author with several million copies in print. It took another 15 years to reach that point. His hour finally came when he turned away from writing historical novels, to crime fiction, and with his invention of Detective Montalbano, who lives in Sicily and solves his cases in the imaginary town of Vigàta – it was Detective Montalbano who brought commercial success with him. Detective Montalbano is a gourmet – above all, he loves seafood in all its variations. He has a deep-seated aversion to flying and solves his cases using his instincts and an ability to practically become one with his surroundings and delve into the murderer’s soul. (from Camilleri fan club).

I suggest a visit to:

• Andrea Camilleri Reader Website 
• A Sicilian Meal for Montalbano

I’m currently reading The Snack Thief and my long term plan is to read all the books in the series in chronological order. So far I’ve read:

• El perro de terracota de Andrea Camilleri

• The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri

• The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

• Ardores de Agosto by Andrea Camilleri (in Spanish)