Beauty and The Inferno by Roberto Saviano

 

Gomorrah, journalist Roberto Saviano’s exposé of the Neapolitan Camorra crime organisation, quickly became an international bestseller, and subsequently an award-winning film. But the downside of this was that Saviano became a marked man, with 24 hour police protection, and at least two planned attempts on his life. This book is a collection of pieces written since 2006, some simply journalistic profiles, but mostly about the author’s experiences since his change in circumstances. The translation is a little awkward, as the word order, whilst not incoherent, can sometimes seem more like it would fit Italian better than English. Still, this is a well written collection, and in a lot of ways a hopeful one. Early pieces have titles like ‘Fighting Evil with Art’ and ‘Truth, Despite All Else, Exists’. Other pieces show Saviano profiling people he admires, like Lionel Messi. This isn’t as incongruous as you’d think – Saviano is (rightly) insistent that he shouldn’t be trapped into simply writing about crime. Nearer the end of this collection he writes about appearing at the Nobel Prize ceremony, where his bravery is recognised. The attention Saviano has brought to his country’s problems has some upside, after all, and it’s moments of hope like this that really make this collection. [Johnny Chess]