At the End of a Dull Day

by Massimo Carlotto, Antony Shugaar (Translator)

Overview

An explosive crime thriller from the author of The Goodbye Kiss, “the reigning king of Mediterranean noir” (Boston Phoenix).

Giorgio Pellegrini, the hero of The Goodbye Kiss, has been living an “honest” life for eleven years. But that’s about to change. His lawyer has been deceiving him and now Giorgio is forced into service as an unwilling errand boy for an organized crime syndicate. At one time, Giorgio wouldn’t have thought twice about robbing, kidnapping, and killing in order to get what he wanted, but these days he realizes he’s too long in the tooth to face his enemies head-on. To return to his peaceful life as a successful businessman he’s going to have to find another way to shake off the mob. Fortunately, Giorgio’s circumstances may have changed, but deep down he’s still the ruthless killer he used to be.

“Carlotto . . . provides a machine-gun pace, a jaundiced eye for political corruption and a refreshing absence of anything approaching a moral vision.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Carlotto’s taut, broody Mediterranean noir is filled with blind corners and savage set pieces. Pellegrini’s deeds are unquestionably loathsome, but his witty Machiavellian perspective, amplified by a class rage well attuned to the current Italian zeitgeist, makes you root for him all the same.”—The New Yorker

“[Carlotto’s] narration allows gruesome glimpses into an unscrupulous psyche.”—Publishers Weekly

“A surprisingly enjoyable romp . . . a very solid noir thriller, and very good (if slightly queasy-making) fun. One of Carlotto’s better works.”—The Complete Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609451141
Publisher:	Europa Editions, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/07/2013
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Massimo Carlotto was born in Padua, Italy. In addition to the many titles in his extremely popular Alligator series, he is also the author of The Fugitive , Death's Dark Abyss , Poisonville , Bandit Love , and At the End of a Dull Day. One of Italy's most popular authors and a major exponent of the Mediterranean Noir novel, Carlotto has been compared with many of the most important American hardboiled crime writers. His novels have been translated into many languages, enjoying enormous success outside of Italy, and several have been made into highly acclaimed films.

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter One At the End of a Dull Day....................     15     

Chapter Two King of Hearts....................     75     

Chapter Three Renegade....................     91     

Chapter Four Ylenia....................     125     

Chapter Five C'est lundi....................     135     

Chapter Six Ombretta....................     153     

Chapter Seven Man at Work....................     163     

About the Author....................     185     

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Massimo Carlotto has a history as riveting as any novel." —Chicago Tribune

“Carlotto is the reigning king of Mediterranean noir.” —The Boston Phoenix

“The best living Italian crime writer.” — Il Manifesto

Editorial Reviews

Praise for At the End of a Dull Day

  “Carlotto [...] provides a machine-gun pace, a jaundiced eye for political corruption and a refreshing absence of anything approaching a moral vision.”
— Kirkus Reviews

 “Carlotto’s taut, broody Mediterranean noir is filled with blind corners and savage set pieces. Pellegrini’s deeds are unquestionably loathsome, but his witty Machiavellian perspective, amplified by a class rage well attuned to the current Italian zeitgeist, makes you root for him all the same. ”
—The New Yorker
   
“[Carlotto’s] narration allows gruesome glimpses into an unscrupulous psyche.”
— Publishers Weekly

“There's ugliness here [...] and some quick but horrible violence, but this is a very solid noir thriller, and very good (if slightly queasy-making) fun. ”
—The Complete Review

Praise for Massimo Carlotto

“Massimo Carlotto has a history as riveting as any novel.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Carlotto is the reigning king of Mediterranean noir.”
—The Boston Phoenix

"In hardboiled fiction, there is this hardcore Italian guy I suggest: Massimo Carlotto. Tough as fuck."
—Guillermo del Toro, Director

“The best living Italian crime writer.”
—Il Manifesto

 

From the Publisher

Giorgio Pellegrini's 11 years of playing it straight (The Goodbye Kiss, 2006) come to an shrieking halt when he finds out that his lawyer, a rising political star, has bilked him out of €2 million. Giorgio's years as a terrorist, fugitive and prisoner may not have served him well as the owner of the fashionable restaurant La Nena, but they provide the perfect credentials for the wholesale revenge he plans against Sante Brianese, who pocketed Giorgio's enormous stake and then had the nerve to pretend it went south in a bad investment. The trouble is that Brianese is too clever and well-connected to succumb to half-baked schemes. To Giorgio's initial move--trashing his house and beating his housekeeper to a pulp--he responds by setting three members of the Calabrian Mafia on La Nena while he makes the rounds of the talk shows expressing solicitude for the housekeeper and promising to pay her medical expenses. So, Giorgio steps up his campaign. His new, higher-octane plan is nothing special; what makes him fascinating is his full-bore abuse of everyone else who crosses his path, from Martina, the wife he bullies, to her friend Gemma, whom he forces to give up smoking as a condition of his seducing her, to Isabel, the prostitute he kills since he can't frame someone for murder without providing a corpse. Even though Giorgio tells his own story, he never comes across as sympathetic. His brutal bad-boy appeal is as shocking as it is undeniable. Carlotto (Bandit Love, 2010, etc.) provides a machine-gun pace, a jaundiced eye for political corruption and a refreshing absence of anything approaching a moral vision.

Kirkus Reviews