RATKING by Michael Dibdin (Faber & Faber, 1988)
“A ratking is something that happens when too many rats live in too small a space under too much pressure”.
A ratking is not a creature but a condition. It’s a state of a nation.
Dibdin’s subject is Italy, a country where state corruption is so advanced as be as deadly as an inoperable form of cancer. Italy is one of the most conspicuous examples of the misuse of power and the decay of democracy but it is not alone. This novel could be set elsewhere and be just as damning but, at the same time, it is Dibdin’s accurate sense of place that gives the story its credibility.
Ostensibly, this is a generic crime thriller with a maverick cop , Aurelio Zen, appointed to a high-profile kidnapping case. The victim is the head of a prominent Miletti family in Perugia, Umbria. This man has four children and as the investigations proceed the dysfunctional relations between these siblings suggests that the demise of their father would not necessarily be a cause of grieving.
Zen is under no illusions that the can of worms he uncovers will be closed happily. Neither does he see the resolution of the case as being anything but an isolated victory against the wealthy lawyers, politicians and criminals who control the institutions. His pessimism is understandable but also a little frustrating for any reader looking for a more inspirational figure. Continue reading
