More than two hundred years ago Johann Wolfgang von Goethe asserted that to understand Italy one had to start with Sicily. Leonardo Sciascia, who frequently cited the German writer's aphorism, attempted through a lifelong examination of his native culture, particularly the Mafia, to uncover and account for the corrupt underbelly of this important part of Italian society. The plots of novels such as Il contesto or Todo modo, which seemed to border on the fantastic when they first appeared, can be seen in retrospect as having been only too close to reality. In the words of a minor character in A ciascuno il suo, reality "è sempre più ricca e imprevedibile delle nostre deduzioni" (is always richer and more unpredictable than our deductions).

Sciascia's works should continue to be indispensable reading for students of Italian society, but when the sociological interest of his writings becomes dated, they...