''To Each His Own'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

title: ''A ciascuno il suo'') is a 1966

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), ''Cadaveri Eccellent ...

in which an introverted academic (Professor Laurana), in attempting to solve a double-

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

, gets in too deep, with his naive interference in town politics.Set in an era of political corruption in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as a whole; the novel deals with themes such as

anomie In sociology, anomie () is a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow. Anomie is believed to possibly evolve from conflict of belief systems and causes breakdown ...

, exclusion and identity.

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 (New York:

NYRB Classics New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, ...

, 2000).

Film Adaptation

A film adaptation of ''A ciascuno il suo'' was directed by

Elio Petri Eraclio Petri (29 January 1929 – 10 November 1982), commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film director, screenwriter, theatre director, and critic associated with the political cinema in the 1960s and '70s. His film ''Investigation ...

and released in Italy on 22 February 1967. The film won several awards, including the Best Screenplay at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

and the

Silver Ribbon The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

in several categories at the

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

References

{{Reflist 1966 novels Novels by Leonardo Sciascia Novels about the Sicilian Mafia Italian novels adapted into films