One Way Or Another
by Leonardo Sciascia
Award: PEN/Translation Winner 1978
Date Read: March 8, 2023
A driver on a wander comes across a sign that piques his curiosity. On a lark, he decides to stop, confused by the sign announcing a hermitage and discovers a combined hermitage and hotel. When he inquires of the attendant behind the desk whether it’s one or the other, the priest essentially says yes. And so begins a strange tale encompassing a brief exploration of faith that includes a murder mystery.
What the driver has unwittingly encountered is a retreat amongst the scions of the clergy and industry that includes “spiritual exercises” combined with the female attentions of five prostitutes. Out of curiosity, the interloper decides to stay and witness these sacrosanct rituals. During his bizarre time there, one of the captains of industry is killed, along with another man suspected of blackmail. Before all is said and done, the owner of the hotel and a noted doer of good deeds is also murdered.
Because of the positions of power these gentlemen occupy, the inspectors realize the murder will never be solved. All of the witnesses are taken at their word and their power in society renders all of them beyond reproach. As much as the commissioners and constables lean into their task, they ultimately know it’s futile to press their witnesses too hard.
Sciascia is clearly captivated by the idea of power and concentration of power in the hands of a few. His other works that have been translated also play with power dynamics. A strange little tale told by a strange man.
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