Summary of The Day of the Owl
The director of a small construction company is shot dead in front of a bus full of passengers in a Sicilian town square, but all the witnesses claim to have seen nothing. When Captain Bellodi of the Carabinieri — newly appointed, from northern Italy, and unwilling to accept the local code of silence — begins investigating, he uncovers links reaching from a local Mafia boss to political circles in Rome. Throughout, his inquiry is obstructed by those determined to keep the truth hidden.
Reasons to read The Day of the Owl
“The Day of the Owl” is a literary crime novel by Leonardo Sciascia, one of Sicily’s most important twentieth-century writers. The novel is widely regarded as the first major work of fiction to confront the role of the Mafia in Sicily, its connections with politicians, and the silent complicity of Sicilian society. Inspired in part by the 1947 assassination of the trade unionist Accursio Miraglia in Sciacca, the novel had a significant cultural and social impact in Italy upon its publication. It was awarded the Premio Crotone in 1962 and was adapted into a 1968 film of the same name starring Claudia Cardinale and Franco Nero.
Setting: Sicily (Italy)
The novel is set in an unnamed Sicilian town reflecting the rural Sicily of the past-war period. Captain Bellodi was inspired by the real Carabinieri officer Renato Candida, who served in Agrigento. Other potential settings are Sciacca or the author’s birthplace, Racalmuto.
Original title: Il giorno della civetta
Year of publication: 1961
Nr of pages: 136
