Coming Soon........
For several years, I lived in a small seaside town in southern Lazio, and I loved it. To be so close to the sea in a small community was a wonderful experience and I miss it from time to time. It was a close knit bunch of people and the phone book contained many pages of the same surname (in this case Capponi), which at least went someway to explaining the close knit aspect. This book, the Commandant and the Lobster, involves putting a "foreigner" (in this case a Neapolitan who has been transferred from the mountainous region of Abruzzo) into a similar community. He is the new head of the Vigile Urbano in San Felice Circeo, the local police charged with dealing with local disputes, permissions, traffic and numerous other responsibilities. The book, divided into individual stories although linked, takes a humorous look into small-town Italian life.
The Commandant and the Lobster and other stories
The opening story introduces the new Commandant, the Neapolitan Salvatore Cozzolino, and his second in command, Giuseppe Buongiorno, a Sicilian who has lived in the town long enough to feel one of the locals. A lobster is involved, obviously, being in the title and all that.
In the second story, there is corruption in the air of the south Lazio football as, it becomes apparent, the Mayor of the neighbouring town of Terracina (San Felice's biggest rival) has been knobbling referees to ensure that his town's team gets to the all Lazio finals in Rome. Will the new Commandant and Giuseppe foil the plot?
