Watch Out, Baby!

The hero of the Italian writer Carlo Manzoni’s novella (1909–1975) is the most ordinary superhuman—one might even say, a Superman. He can do many things—for example, he can put his finger into the barrel of a gangster’s pistol, and afterward the helpless gangster will sacrifice his ear to it. He can open the most complicated lock with a pencil and drink a barrel of “Bourbon”… A chase? What a thing to scare the hero with! The police? He’s on good terms with them, as is proper for a private detective since the days of Sherlock Holmes, though their relationship is tense—but should one take these narrow-minded characters seriously? Bandits, treacherous beauties, experienced blackmailers, un-caught killers? Please! If they haven’t been caught, we’ll catch them; if they can’t be found, we’ll find them! And how could he fail to find them, when the companion of the valiant Yako at his private detective agency is some creature with four legs—able to lap wine from a bowl, and to bark, and, most importantly, to perfectly keep a trail and at the right moment make independent decisions. Another kind of super-dog!

For goodness’ sake, there’s nothing this vicious, sharp, accurately aimed parody of adventure novels with a superman in the title doesn’t have. After Manzoni’s novella, you probably won’t be able to read crime thrillers without a smile—two detective friends will immediately come to mind, preparing for another heroic operation and drinking “Bourbon” on the fly: one from his glass, the other from a bowl under the table.