To Each His Own (novel)

To Each His Own (Italian title: A ciascuno il suo) is a 1966 detective novel by Leonardo Sciascia in which an introverted academic (Professor Laurana), in attempting to solve a double-homicide, gets in too deep, with his naive interference in town politics.[1]

To Each His Own
First edition
AuthorLeonardo Sciascia
Original titleA Ciascuno Il Suo
TranslatorAdrienne Foulke
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian
GenreDetective novel
PublisherCarcanet / Gli Adelphi
Publication date
1966
Published in English
1992
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages146
ISBN978-0-85635-991-0
OCLC28175434
Preceded byL'onorevole 
Followed byLa corda pazza 

Plot summary

Dr. Manno, the town pharmacist, receives an anonymous letter made up of newspaper cuttings. The letter contains a death threat, but is dismissed by the locals as a practical joke. However, when Dr. Manno and his hunting companion, Dr. Roscio, are found murdered the next day, it becomes quite apparent that the letter was intended to do more than simply frighten the pharmacist from engaging in his favourite pastime.

Although the double-homicide is interesting gossip for the townspeople, nobody gives the motives for the murders a second thought, and it is assumed that the pharmacist would have known the reason for his murder and would have thus deserved the consequences. Everybody in the town continues with their daily lives after a short lapse of time apart from Professor Laurana.

When Dr. Manno initially received the letter, Laurana notices the word "UNICUIQUE" and proudly believes himself to be the only person with the knowledge to solve the case. For months, Laurana follows various leads, and before long finds himself entangled in a web of corruption from which he cannot escape. Prof. Laurana is soon regarded to be a threat by the perpetrators of the crime, and it does not take long before he too is murdered.

Availability

To Each His Own is available in paperback under ISBN 0-940322-52-8 (New York: NYRB Classics, 2000).

Film Adaptation

A film adaptation of A ciascuno il suo was directed by Elio Petri and released in Italy on 22 February 1967. The film won several awards, including the Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and the Silver Ribbon in several categories at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

References

  1. Set in an era of political corruption in Sicily and Italy as a whole; the novel deals with themes such as anomie, exclusion and identity.
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