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La belleza y el infierno
Roberto Saviano is back confronting the injustices of organized crime in Italy. In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra (a powerful Neapolitan mafialike organization), exposing its territory and business connections.
Since 2006, Saviano has been threatened by several Neapolitan “godfathers.” Because of his courageous stance, he is considered a “national hero” by author-philosopher Umberto Eco.
Since 2006, Saviano has been threatened by several Neapolitan “godfathers.” Because of his courageous stance, he is considered a “national hero” by author-philosopher Umberto Eco.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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444 people want to read
About the author
Roberto Saviano
82 books1,346 followersRoberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.
In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra (a powerful Neapolitan mafia-like organization), exposing its territory and business connections.
In 2006 he wrote his bestselling book Gomorrah, where he describes the clandestine particulars of the Camorra business.
In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra (a powerful Neapolitan mafia-like organization), exposing its territory and business connections.
In 2006 he wrote his bestselling book Gomorrah, where he describes the clandestine particulars of the Camorra business.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 24, 2025
I wonder if Saviano wrote this in a panic room within an underground bunker on a fortified Island in the middle of the south pacific? If his previous book wasn't enough to seriously piss off the Mafia/Camorra, within the first piece of this twenty-six short essay collection he is exposing things that will surely bump up the already huge bounty placed on his head. Despite his detailed knowledge of organized crime, I found the essays where he isn't delving into that as much as much to be more interesting - as I got all the nuts & bolts of that from Gomorrah. His essay on meeting Joe Pistone, A.K.A Donnie Brasco, who worked as an undercover agent within the Bonanno Mafia was OK, but I didn't think much of his meeting with Salman Rushdie as I can't stand Salman Rushdie. I'm not the biggest football fan; only watching the odd game on TV now and again, but the piece on Lionel Messi was the most fascinating, with those on the Cannes Film Festival, Jazz, boxing, American writer William T. Vollmann, and the Vietnam War also being pretty good. Saviano is clearly passionate about his homeland, and is a good writer, but his anger, frustration and whining about the despair and pain of life on the run, where you can't go for a walk; even with bodyguards, is not going to gain any extra sympathy from me, as what did you expect would happen? Do I commend him for his bravery on speaking out? I guess so. But it's hardly on the same level as the bravery shown by little kids fighting cancer, or by a soldier willing to take a bullet for his buddy.
August 6, 2023
It is a good read. Saviano is an interesting author, and he is articulate about the experiences he has endured. Doesnt bore the reader. Almost feels like reading a collection of essays, on cinema, crime, corruption, history - all recurring themes of Italian society, in particular, are touched.
December 8, 2021
Saviano is best known for his book Gomorrah which lead to the Italian mob wanting him dead and why he has police protection. This is a collection of essays. Some of the essays are about Italian and the maifa (and there is one that concerns both Italian and American mobsters when he meets the real life Donnie Brasco), others are about the power of the written word (and includes a talk given in front of the Nobel committee), there is even an essay about Messi. One of the essay is about Cannes when the movie Gomorrah premiered. It includes a description of Harrison Ford that is worth reading. Saviano's best essays in this collection are the ones about literature.
March 24, 2018
Έτσι ακριβώς όπως το λέει ο τίτλος του!
https://pepperlines.blogspot.gr/2018/...
https://pepperlines.blogspot.gr/2018/...
March 3, 2010
Roberto Saviano. Beauty: his writing , literature. Hell: the life he is forced to live since he published Gomorrah (Gomorra in Italian) in 2006. Beauty and Hell (La bellezza e l'inferno) is the title of his latest published book I've just finished reading.
When he wrote and got his first book published , he couldn’t imagine that his life and the lives of his dear would change forever. They have become hell. He lives under constant police escort since several godfathers he mentions in his book want him dead. His family had to move and change their identities. Do you think his people living in Campania, Naples and areas nearby, consider him a hero? Not at all. He has been emarginated and left alone, attacked and offended with awful “graffiti” on the walls. They consider him mad, not a hero. Not that he considers himself as such. He is still shocked for the consequences that his thirst for justice, freedom and truth has brought to him.
I think he has been very brave, starting at only 26, to do what he has done so far: in his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra (a powerful Neapolitan mafia-like organization), exposing its territory and business connections. He denounced the underworld which, like a cancer, corrodes our beautiful country and consequently his life has changed forever.
I felt guilty since I really couldn’t cope with his Gomorrah. Millions of people read it but I couldn’t go beyond the first pages. Too harsh, too violent, too shocking. The same was with the movie. I just saw some scenes. But it was not fair, I thought. Such a man, one should be proud of, deserves more from me...I have to read one of his books, not only listen to him in his rare touching TV appearances. And I did it. “La Bellezza e L’Inferno” is a collection of articles and writings not only dealing with the Camorra but especially with Saviano’s relationship with writing, the beauty in his life, and the description of his personal hell. His prose is reallly involving, he knows how to use words and this is the reason why his words have attracted so many readers and this is also why all the attention to his words infuriated the godfathers so much that Saviano is to them a “dead man walking”. This young man believes in the power of the words and he is right. Maybe they can’t change the reaility or the entire world but they can touch the most hidden corners of the human mind and soul.
There are so many beautiful pages and thoughts in this book! I’m sorry you can’t enjoy them since it hasn’t been translated yet. Gomorrah was and it was quite successful in the USA.
Let’s see if , with my poor translation, I may convey to you some of his beauty (from the Preface)
The danger of reading
Writing in these years has given me the possibility to exist. Articles and reports. Stories and editorials. Work that, to me, hasn't simply been work. It coincided with life itself. If someone hoped that living in such a difficult situation might induce me to hide my words, they were wrong. I didn't hide them, I didn't lose them. But this has made it a fight, a daily fight, a silent punch-up fighting, like a shadow fight. To write, not to renounce my words, has meant not to lose myself. Not to surrender. Not to despair. ( ...)
The title of this book means a simple thing. It just wants to remind that , on one hand , we have freedom and beauty, necessary for those who write and live; on the other hand, their opposite, their negation: the hell which always seem to prevail.
To close this preface, Saviano quotes Giovanni Falcone who said that "like any human phenomenon mafia too must get to an end". And, finally, he quotes Albert Camus: "But Hell has only one time, then one day Life starts over ".
Then a series of beautiful writings and articles follows in which Saviano tells us about Miriam Makeba, Lionel Messi, Enzo Biagi, Peppino Impastato 's mother, Joe Pistone or the real Donnie, Ana Politkovskaja; of his experience at Cannes Festival where the movie Gomorrah was acclaimed; of his being invited at the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize Ceremony with Salman Rushdie; about his faith in the power of words. Words that can unhinge reality, oppose any form of power, witness the certainty that the truth exists, despite everything.
When he wrote and got his first book published , he couldn’t imagine that his life and the lives of his dear would change forever. They have become hell. He lives under constant police escort since several godfathers he mentions in his book want him dead. His family had to move and change their identities. Do you think his people living in Campania, Naples and areas nearby, consider him a hero? Not at all. He has been emarginated and left alone, attacked and offended with awful “graffiti” on the walls. They consider him mad, not a hero. Not that he considers himself as such. He is still shocked for the consequences that his thirst for justice, freedom and truth has brought to him.
I think he has been very brave, starting at only 26, to do what he has done so far: in his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra (a powerful Neapolitan mafia-like organization), exposing its territory and business connections. He denounced the underworld which, like a cancer, corrodes our beautiful country and consequently his life has changed forever.
I felt guilty since I really couldn’t cope with his Gomorrah. Millions of people read it but I couldn’t go beyond the first pages. Too harsh, too violent, too shocking. The same was with the movie. I just saw some scenes. But it was not fair, I thought. Such a man, one should be proud of, deserves more from me...I have to read one of his books, not only listen to him in his rare touching TV appearances. And I did it. “La Bellezza e L’Inferno” is a collection of articles and writings not only dealing with the Camorra but especially with Saviano’s relationship with writing, the beauty in his life, and the description of his personal hell. His prose is reallly involving, he knows how to use words and this is the reason why his words have attracted so many readers and this is also why all the attention to his words infuriated the godfathers so much that Saviano is to them a “dead man walking”. This young man believes in the power of the words and he is right. Maybe they can’t change the reaility or the entire world but they can touch the most hidden corners of the human mind and soul.
There are so many beautiful pages and thoughts in this book! I’m sorry you can’t enjoy them since it hasn’t been translated yet. Gomorrah was and it was quite successful in the USA.
Let’s see if , with my poor translation, I may convey to you some of his beauty (from the Preface)
The danger of reading
Writing in these years has given me the possibility to exist. Articles and reports. Stories and editorials. Work that, to me, hasn't simply been work. It coincided with life itself. If someone hoped that living in such a difficult situation might induce me to hide my words, they were wrong. I didn't hide them, I didn't lose them. But this has made it a fight, a daily fight, a silent punch-up fighting, like a shadow fight. To write, not to renounce my words, has meant not to lose myself. Not to surrender. Not to despair. ( ...)
The title of this book means a simple thing. It just wants to remind that , on one hand , we have freedom and beauty, necessary for those who write and live; on the other hand, their opposite, their negation: the hell which always seem to prevail.
To close this preface, Saviano quotes Giovanni Falcone who said that "like any human phenomenon mafia too must get to an end". And, finally, he quotes Albert Camus: "But Hell has only one time, then one day Life starts over ".
Then a series of beautiful writings and articles follows in which Saviano tells us about Miriam Makeba, Lionel Messi, Enzo Biagi, Peppino Impastato 's mother, Joe Pistone or the real Donnie, Ana Politkovskaja; of his experience at Cannes Festival where the movie Gomorrah was acclaimed; of his being invited at the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize Ceremony with Salman Rushdie; about his faith in the power of words. Words that can unhinge reality, oppose any form of power, witness the certainty that the truth exists, despite everything.
March 6, 2014
BOTWAbridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
Cover from Guardian.co.ukblurb- Gomorrah, a blistering expose of the Neapolitan Mafia, the Camorra, by a young Italian reporter, Roberto Saviano, became a bestseller both in Italy and internationally when it was published four years ago. The film based on it was Italy's entry for the 2008 Academy Awards. Both book and film stripped the glamour from the mafia and revealed its protagonists for what they were: ruthless, banal, sociopathic thugs far removed from elegant, Godfatherly sophistication and singing in a very different choir from the Sopranos.
Now he has published a series of essays, Beauty and the Inferno, in which he reflects on his new life as a fugitive writer and the experiences of others in the same position. "I'm not allowed to go for a walk, even with bodyguards," he explains. "Sometimes I can't stay in the same hotel more than one night at a time . . . more often than not I've stayed in rooms at the carabinieri barracks." Duncan Campbell: The Guardian, Saturday 9 October 2010
Refreshing set of diverse essays. two thumbs up.
July 29, 2020
Che parli dell'inferno della camorra o che racconti la bellezza di uomini divenuti grandi in mezzo alle avversità, Saviano raggiunge sempre il suo scopo: quello di renderci partecipi, quell'inferno e quella bellezza diventano anche nostri, entrano nella nostra vita. Con un obiettivo conseguente, ancora più alto: quello di stimolarci all'impegno, unendo le forze, verso "un nuovo percorso umano". Saviano fa la sua parte, con la scrittura, per migliorare il mondo.
February 10, 2025
Roberto Saviano’s "Beauty and the Inferno" is a striking collection of essays written after Gomorrah, at a time when the weight of truth had already changed his life forever. This is not just a book about organized crime; it is a book about survival, about the cost of bearing witness, and about the fundamental power of words to shape and expose reality. For the first time, we see the man behind the work—no longer just the investigative writer or the hunted journalist, but the human being trapped inside his own revelations.
Saviano brings us into the personal consequences of his literary battle against the Camorra, describing his life under armed escort, the suffocating isolation of exile, and the toll of living with constant threats. Yet, instead of turning away, he continues to write, to reveal, to name. He speaks of his encounters with figures who have similarly paid the price of truth: from Salman Rushdie, who warns him to “have faith in words,” to Anna Politkovskaya, the fearless Russian journalist assassinated for her reporting. He writes about Miriam Makeba, the South African singer whose music was a form of resistance, and Donnie Brasco, the undercover FBI agent who risked everything to expose the American Mafia. Each of these figures stands as a testament to courage, to the necessity of speech even in the face of silence imposed by power.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the book is Saviano’s meditation on the force of narrative. He argues that storytelling—whether fiction or creative non-fiction—has a unique ability to make us feel the reality of crime, corruption, and human struggle in a way that raw journalism often cannot. It is not just about exposing facts; it is about making those facts enter the reader’s soul. He suggests that crime reporting can sometimes become serialized narrative in itself, with real events unfolding in a structure that echoes fiction. This is why Gomorrah worked—it was more than reportage, more than investigation. It was storytelling wielded as a weapon, something more powerful than mere information.
Despite the darkness of its themes, his writing is never cynical. Saviano writes with elegance, sincerity, and, above all, compassion. He does not just expose the underworld—he illuminates the struggles of those who resist it and captures, with unflinching honesty, the humanity of those ensnared within it. His words are as sharp as they are humane, as urgent as they are poetic.
Recommended for: anyone who loves stories of truth-telling and the relentless power of narrative to unmask, to bear witness, and to commit to something larger than oneself.
Saviano brings us into the personal consequences of his literary battle against the Camorra, describing his life under armed escort, the suffocating isolation of exile, and the toll of living with constant threats. Yet, instead of turning away, he continues to write, to reveal, to name. He speaks of his encounters with figures who have similarly paid the price of truth: from Salman Rushdie, who warns him to “have faith in words,” to Anna Politkovskaya, the fearless Russian journalist assassinated for her reporting. He writes about Miriam Makeba, the South African singer whose music was a form of resistance, and Donnie Brasco, the undercover FBI agent who risked everything to expose the American Mafia. Each of these figures stands as a testament to courage, to the necessity of speech even in the face of silence imposed by power.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the book is Saviano’s meditation on the force of narrative. He argues that storytelling—whether fiction or creative non-fiction—has a unique ability to make us feel the reality of crime, corruption, and human struggle in a way that raw journalism often cannot. It is not just about exposing facts; it is about making those facts enter the reader’s soul. He suggests that crime reporting can sometimes become serialized narrative in itself, with real events unfolding in a structure that echoes fiction. This is why Gomorrah worked—it was more than reportage, more than investigation. It was storytelling wielded as a weapon, something more powerful than mere information.
Despite the darkness of its themes, his writing is never cynical. Saviano writes with elegance, sincerity, and, above all, compassion. He does not just expose the underworld—he illuminates the struggles of those who resist it and captures, with unflinching honesty, the humanity of those ensnared within it. His words are as sharp as they are humane, as urgent as they are poetic.
Recommended for: anyone who loves stories of truth-telling and the relentless power of narrative to unmask, to bear witness, and to commit to something larger than oneself.
October 9, 2011
"We discussed...how everything you seem to see is not the real story. How you always end up understanding less of what is happening rather than more."
This excerpt was from a conversation between two journalists, Saviano, and the Italian legend Enzo Biagi. Saviano's thoughts on Biagi fill a chapter in this collection of essays from Saviano's experiences as a journalist --work that would probably never be printed or aired in the United States.
First off, it's important to know that because of his work, Saviano is a wanted man. His journalism doesn't use the typical references to "an unnamed source" or an "anonymous tip". Instead, he fully exposes the names of organizations, politicians, and individuals that are involved with criminal activity in Italy, even if it endangers his life. Thus he's in hiding because of tell-all stories about the mob, and the way his articles explain not only who is committing the crimes, but also the structure of power and the methods (or businesses) they use to manipulate politicians, sell drugs, or launder money.
I'm not sure the difference in legalities that allows for such focused criticism that is relatively unheard of here. Even stating that a suspect is "alleged" is frowned upon here, whereas Italian newspapers can indicate full names and addresses. It makes reading his essays shockingly different from what a US reader may be used to, and makes his living in hiding completely understandable. Many times I had to pause and ask, "can he say that?" Seriously, I would not want to be his bodyguard.
Beyond the exposure though is a real intent to educate citizens in Italy about their government and what is happening around them. In describing Enzo Biagi, as mentioned above, parallels are seen between his goals and that of Saviano's: "Biagi was capable of looking at fragments of the daily news. He examined things bit by bit. He never jumped to a solution, but always advanced slowly...He examined our daily concerns about taxes, terrorism, schools and health and used them to ask bigger questions. He wanted to explain, freely and to spread information and make it known, but to do this with discipline and control" (127).
This is the model Saviano uses as he writes, at all times attempting to avoid both the cynicism that marks many reporters and the focus on elegance and style that detracts others. His reporting is for ordinary people and he tries to reveal it without frills. Like Biagi, he wants to motivate his readers to take notice, especially of the scores of unsolved deaths occurring around them:
"Can you really believe that none of this depends on you, or on your want of indignation? Do you really think that worrying about your everyday life is enough? Are you satisfied by the answers to these questions? Does saying "I'm not doing anything wrong; I'm an honest person," allow you to feel innocent? Can you let the news wash over you, over your soul?"
From that he describes the sixteen people who have been murdered by a mafia gang called the Casalesi who run businesses that profited more than 500 million Euros, while the rate of congenital birth defects increased 84% due to their illegal dumping of toxic waste. Their profit equates to 7172 deaths from cancer per year. So this lovely countryside in the South of Italy, namely around Lake Patria, has become an almost Wild-West type of region where the carabinieri and others trying to fight the criminals are threatened or killed, along with many innocents in the way.
In other essays he looks at similar issues facing the South of Italy, and at many times incorporating details of the culture of Italy, both ancient and current. Saviano is well-read: he references operas, plays, poetry, and literature in his writing. The pace of the essays are fast even while the details are disheartening. Seeing how crime is perpetuated as a business, focused on efficiency and results, is hard to accept.
One thing that alienated me a bit at first is his Preface, where he describes his efforts to live in hiding. It's off putting at first, as he seems to dwell on his imminent danger and how unafraid he is, given his important sacrifice. Since I'd never heard of him, it felt like a bit of bravado instead of reality. Yet, after I read the essays, I totally get it. I would hide too, and I now can respect that he has made tremendous, unimaginable sacrifices in the pursuit of truth. I just think it would have appeared better as an Epilogue than hitting the reader with all that indignation right up front.
This excerpt was from a conversation between two journalists, Saviano, and the Italian legend Enzo Biagi. Saviano's thoughts on Biagi fill a chapter in this collection of essays from Saviano's experiences as a journalist --work that would probably never be printed or aired in the United States.
First off, it's important to know that because of his work, Saviano is a wanted man. His journalism doesn't use the typical references to "an unnamed source" or an "anonymous tip". Instead, he fully exposes the names of organizations, politicians, and individuals that are involved with criminal activity in Italy, even if it endangers his life. Thus he's in hiding because of tell-all stories about the mob, and the way his articles explain not only who is committing the crimes, but also the structure of power and the methods (or businesses) they use to manipulate politicians, sell drugs, or launder money.
I'm not sure the difference in legalities that allows for such focused criticism that is relatively unheard of here. Even stating that a suspect is "alleged" is frowned upon here, whereas Italian newspapers can indicate full names and addresses. It makes reading his essays shockingly different from what a US reader may be used to, and makes his living in hiding completely understandable. Many times I had to pause and ask, "can he say that?" Seriously, I would not want to be his bodyguard.
Beyond the exposure though is a real intent to educate citizens in Italy about their government and what is happening around them. In describing Enzo Biagi, as mentioned above, parallels are seen between his goals and that of Saviano's: "Biagi was capable of looking at fragments of the daily news. He examined things bit by bit. He never jumped to a solution, but always advanced slowly...He examined our daily concerns about taxes, terrorism, schools and health and used them to ask bigger questions. He wanted to explain, freely and to spread information and make it known, but to do this with discipline and control" (127).
This is the model Saviano uses as he writes, at all times attempting to avoid both the cynicism that marks many reporters and the focus on elegance and style that detracts others. His reporting is for ordinary people and he tries to reveal it without frills. Like Biagi, he wants to motivate his readers to take notice, especially of the scores of unsolved deaths occurring around them:
"Can you really believe that none of this depends on you, or on your want of indignation? Do you really think that worrying about your everyday life is enough? Are you satisfied by the answers to these questions? Does saying "I'm not doing anything wrong; I'm an honest person," allow you to feel innocent? Can you let the news wash over you, over your soul?"
From that he describes the sixteen people who have been murdered by a mafia gang called the Casalesi who run businesses that profited more than 500 million Euros, while the rate of congenital birth defects increased 84% due to their illegal dumping of toxic waste. Their profit equates to 7172 deaths from cancer per year. So this lovely countryside in the South of Italy, namely around Lake Patria, has become an almost Wild-West type of region where the carabinieri and others trying to fight the criminals are threatened or killed, along with many innocents in the way.
In other essays he looks at similar issues facing the South of Italy, and at many times incorporating details of the culture of Italy, both ancient and current. Saviano is well-read: he references operas, plays, poetry, and literature in his writing. The pace of the essays are fast even while the details are disheartening. Seeing how crime is perpetuated as a business, focused on efficiency and results, is hard to accept.
One thing that alienated me a bit at first is his Preface, where he describes his efforts to live in hiding. It's off putting at first, as he seems to dwell on his imminent danger and how unafraid he is, given his important sacrifice. Since I'd never heard of him, it felt like a bit of bravado instead of reality. Yet, after I read the essays, I totally get it. I would hide too, and I now can respect that he has made tremendous, unimaginable sacrifices in the pursuit of truth. I just think it would have appeared better as an Epilogue than hitting the reader with all that indignation right up front.
December 30, 2017
Che fine ha fatto il giornalismo?
Saviano è diventato un fenomeno del suo genere. Ma la considerazione che mi ha spinto a fare, dopo aver letto questo libro a seguito di "Gomorra", è che vorrei ci fosse più giornalismo come il suo. Non cronaca pura e semplice, non racconto letterario e basta, ma giornalismo vivo come questo. In questo libro, ancor più che nel precedente, lui parla anche di molti autori grazie ai quali è diventato lo scrittore che è: Michael Herr, William T. Vollmann, Frank Miller, Varlam Salamov, cronache di guerre, tutte uguali, come quella che si svolge quotidianamente nella nostra terra, perchè non si spara soltanto con i fucili. E poi l'esperienza del Nobel, i nomi e cognomi di chi ha distrutto e inquinato, le logiche economiche, le radici di una mentalità distorta. Il potere della parola, la parola che fa della storia di uno la storia di tutti, di parole raccolte in un libro e destinate a tramutarsi in qualcosa che duri. Scrivere per Saviano incarna la sua sfida quotidiana per scardinare la realtà. Attraverso le storie di personaggi veri, attraverso la sua storia, traccia un percorso netto e riconoscibile del suo impegno. Una vita all'insegna della "bellezza" e dell' "inferno", che, come ama ricordare citando Camus, "ha un tempo solo, la vita un giorno ricomincia".
Saviano è diventato un fenomeno del suo genere. Ma la considerazione che mi ha spinto a fare, dopo aver letto questo libro a seguito di "Gomorra", è che vorrei ci fosse più giornalismo come il suo. Non cronaca pura e semplice, non racconto letterario e basta, ma giornalismo vivo come questo. In questo libro, ancor più che nel precedente, lui parla anche di molti autori grazie ai quali è diventato lo scrittore che è: Michael Herr, William T. Vollmann, Frank Miller, Varlam Salamov, cronache di guerre, tutte uguali, come quella che si svolge quotidianamente nella nostra terra, perchè non si spara soltanto con i fucili. E poi l'esperienza del Nobel, i nomi e cognomi di chi ha distrutto e inquinato, le logiche economiche, le radici di una mentalità distorta. Il potere della parola, la parola che fa della storia di uno la storia di tutti, di parole raccolte in un libro e destinate a tramutarsi in qualcosa che duri. Scrivere per Saviano incarna la sua sfida quotidiana per scardinare la realtà. Attraverso le storie di personaggi veri, attraverso la sua storia, traccia un percorso netto e riconoscibile del suo impegno. Una vita all'insegna della "bellezza" e dell' "inferno", che, come ama ricordare citando Camus, "ha un tempo solo, la vita un giorno ricomincia".
May 24, 2021
'Beauty and the Inferno' is a collection of essays by Roberto Saviano on many different themes, including boxing and writing, art in general, but most importantly on corruption, especially mafia related, community, truth and resistance. Some of the essays are fascinating and shocking, with detailed descriptions of mafia crime in Italy and important musings on writing as resistance, on empathy and how human one can be whilst enduring inhumane conditions. Other essays feel a bit more loose, regarding a particular person who inspired Saviano. One of my favourite essays is the one about boxing where Saviano conceives this sport as a respectful activity, where one learns to see oneself as the other, as both you and the opponent have the same goal of massacring each other whilst pushing through the pain, which makes both people equal. I found this perspective of the sport humanising and striking.
Nevertheless no matter how relevant, humane and intriguing Saviano's writing is, I personally found this collection of essays a bit too random and unconnected. Some of the essays were not as interesting as others, and all in all there is no connecting strand that would turn this into a proper book. A bit too loose for my liking but with many relevant thoughts.
Nevertheless no matter how relevant, humane and intriguing Saviano's writing is, I personally found this collection of essays a bit too random and unconnected. Some of the essays were not as interesting as others, and all in all there is no connecting strand that would turn this into a proper book. A bit too loose for my liking but with many relevant thoughts.
November 16, 2014
1.5/5
It was really hard for me to relate to the writing's style, even though I understood every single word of it and re-read it twice. Yet, it was not tempting to read and wasn't interesting a bit. It was like "alright, blah-blah-mafia, Mammos and so. but what's your point?' The only thing I understood is that there're people after Saviavo.
I just read. It was slow, very not emotional nor touching, and I could not complete the read, very sadly, I nearly fell asleep after the first 180 pages. It just felt so wrong to me, to read this kind of book. And I don't know why. I am usually a novella type, but I did read and enjoyed other kinds of books.
I really do, but still there was nothing good about the book. Which is bad because the summary on the backcover seemed kinda nice, and my father also wanted me to read it, as a recommendation from a friend. Didn't work for me, does not mean it would not work for you! try, maybe you will like it and tell me more passionately about it, huh?
It was really hard for me to relate to the writing's style, even though I understood every single word of it and re-read it twice. Yet, it was not tempting to read and wasn't interesting a bit. It was like "alright, blah-blah-mafia, Mammos and so. but what's your point?' The only thing I understood is that there're people after Saviavo.
I just read. It was slow, very not emotional nor touching, and I could not complete the read, very sadly, I nearly fell asleep after the first 180 pages. It just felt so wrong to me, to read this kind of book. And I don't know why. I am usually a novella type, but I did read and enjoyed other kinds of books.
I really do, but still there was nothing good about the book. Which is bad because the summary on the backcover seemed kinda nice, and my father also wanted me to read it, as a recommendation from a friend. Didn't work for me, does not mean it would not work for you! try, maybe you will like it and tell me more passionately about it, huh?
Currently reading
February 26, 2010and translating....
April 10, 2014
Moving and inspirational
May 31, 2021
Una specie di "Gridalo" prima del tempo, tra storie di vita vissuta e racconti delle vite di altri. C'è ovviamente un filo che lega tutti questi scritti (lo riassumerei poco elegantemente con "26 modi per sfuggire dall'inferno, con la parola e con l'arte, con la passione e la determinazione e anche un pizzico di disobbedienza"), ma non è uno di quei libri che vanno letti per forza da copertina a copertina: da sfogliare tante altre volte, semplicemente lasciandosi ispirare dalla bellezza.
Rivolgendosi al diritto, combattendo all'interno delle istituzioni e con le istituzioni [...] ha fatto sì che il dolore per una figlia in coma da diciassette anni smettesse di essere un dolore privato e diventasse anche il mio, il nostro dolore. Ha fatto riscoprire una delle meraviglie dimenticate del principio democratico, l’empatia. Quando il dolore di uno é il dolore di tutti. E cosi il diritto di uno diviene il diritto di tutti.
“Il nemico più scaltro non è colui che ti porta via tutto, ma colui che lentamente ti abitua a non avere più nulla”. Proprio così, abituarsi a non avere il diritto di vivere nella propria terra, di capire quello che sta accadendo, di decidere di se stessi. Abituarsi a non avere più nulla.
Se uno scrittore questo non lo vede, se non confida più che la bottiglia da gettare in mare approdi nelle mani di qualcuno disposto ad ascoltarlo, e ci rinuncia, rinuncia non a scrivere e pubblicare, ma a credere nella capacità delle sue parole di comunicare e di incidere. Allora fa un torto pure a se stesso e a tutti quelli che lo hanno preceduto.
Perché la letteratura mette in crisi un'organizzazione che può contare su centinaia e centinaia di uomini e su miliardi di euro? La risposta è semplice: la letteratura mette paura al crimine quando ne svela il meccanismo, ma non come accade nella cronaca. Fa paura quando lo svela al cuore, allo stomaco, alla testa dei lettori.
Una volta ci furono delle scritte contro di me, nel mio paese. [...] L'aspetto incredibile è che non c'erano mai state scritte contro chi invece era stato responsabile dell'aumento del cancro in quella terra, contro chi aveva massacrato quella terra, e quindi spesso mi sono chiesto: è mai possibile che uno scrittore sia ritenuto responsabile, che abbia una colpa per aver raccontato queste cose, e non sia data la responsabilità a chi le ha commesse?
Per questo mi piace dire, parafrasando Albert Camus: "Esiste la bellezza ed esiste l'inferno, vorrei - per quanto posso - rimanere fedele a entrambi".
February 16, 2018
Andare per mercatini e cercare libri riserva di solito due costanti e, raramente, qualche sorpresa. La sorpresa è quando scovi un volume fuori ristampa, o l'ultimo giallo Mondadori di uno scrittore che stai collezionando. La conferma è la marmellata, la valanga, il blob, di robaccia tutta uguale, entro la quale troneggiano invitti gli Harold Robbins, le Liale, i Cussler, i Dan Brown, i Ken Follett...
Le mode salgono e scendono, un anno tutti comprano la Meyer, un paio d'anni dopo la trilogia della Meyer finirà in discarica.
Ora, se c'è una cosa che mi fa incazzare è vedere i libri di Saviano nei mercatini. Vantaggio per me, che li trovo quasi gratis. Però fa incazzare lo stesso. Vuol dire che o è stato un regalo sgradito e mai aperto (infatti sono praticamente nuovi) o che il compratore li ha letti e ha poi deciso che non valeva la pena di tenerli, che occupavano spazio e basta. E questo pensiero è avvilente.
Vengo al libro (intanto: splendida copertina, azzeccatissima rispetto al contenuto: è un Burri). Leggendo questa raccolta di articoli si comprende in tutta chiarezza che, non avesse deciso di occuparsi di criminalità, Saviano sarebbe comunque un grande giornalista.
Lo è anche quando spazia su personaggi della letteratura, del calcio (splendido il dittico Messi-Maradona), della musica (Michel Petrucciani), della graphic novel (Frank Miller). Si disillude chi credeva che sapesse solo di mafia e mafie. Niente di umano gli è alieno. Usa la lingua italiana con chiarezza, incisività, bravura. Sa quello che vuole dire, sa raccontare le persone, le atmosfere, le situazioni.
Avrebbe potuto essere un ottimo recensore semi-anonimo, o noto solo a qualche nicchia di riferimento, e invece si è condannato a un destino di camere d'albergo, di scorte, di reclusione (che narra lui stesso in uno dei tanti pezzi indimenticabili di questa raccolta). Gli faremmo torto a compatirlo. Limitiamoci a leggerlo.
Le mode salgono e scendono, un anno tutti comprano la Meyer, un paio d'anni dopo la trilogia della Meyer finirà in discarica.
Ora, se c'è una cosa che mi fa incazzare è vedere i libri di Saviano nei mercatini. Vantaggio per me, che li trovo quasi gratis. Però fa incazzare lo stesso. Vuol dire che o è stato un regalo sgradito e mai aperto (infatti sono praticamente nuovi) o che il compratore li ha letti e ha poi deciso che non valeva la pena di tenerli, che occupavano spazio e basta. E questo pensiero è avvilente.
Vengo al libro (intanto: splendida copertina, azzeccatissima rispetto al contenuto: è un Burri). Leggendo questa raccolta di articoli si comprende in tutta chiarezza che, non avesse deciso di occuparsi di criminalità, Saviano sarebbe comunque un grande giornalista.
Lo è anche quando spazia su personaggi della letteratura, del calcio (splendido il dittico Messi-Maradona), della musica (Michel Petrucciani), della graphic novel (Frank Miller). Si disillude chi credeva che sapesse solo di mafia e mafie. Niente di umano gli è alieno. Usa la lingua italiana con chiarezza, incisività, bravura. Sa quello che vuole dire, sa raccontare le persone, le atmosfere, le situazioni.
Avrebbe potuto essere un ottimo recensore semi-anonimo, o noto solo a qualche nicchia di riferimento, e invece si è condannato a un destino di camere d'albergo, di scorte, di reclusione (che narra lui stesso in uno dei tanti pezzi indimenticabili di questa raccolta). Gli faremmo torto a compatirlo. Limitiamoci a leggerlo.
April 16, 2025
È il primo libro che leggo di Roberto Saviano, e, lo ammetto, non fa proprio parte dei generi letterari che prediligo, ma sebbene le storie a cui dà vita in queste pagine che scorrono non troppo lisce ma che alla fine scorrono comunque, mi è piaciuto lo stile narrativo di Roberto Saviano che anni fa seguivo in tivù nel programma “Che tempo che fa” di Fabio Fazio. Gli scritti raccolti in questo libro (dal 2004 al 2009) edito da Mondadori, non sono una lettura semplice, piacevole, perché trattano storie a dir poco assurde, ai limiti dell’inverosimile di fatti nudi e crudi, raccontati senza filtri né riserve né abbellimenti, e insieme alla narrazione di tanti personaggi incontrati nella vita o tra le pagine dei libri, trasformano queste pagine in una specie di martello che vuole abbattere, con tenacia e coraggio, quella recinzione fatta di falsità, meschinità, corruzione, malvagità, crudeltà, sulla pelle di vite umane, come soltanto alcune persone prive di umanità e di scrupoli riescono ad ergere tutto intorno al mondo che dalle fondamenta, però, urla, in silenzio, la sola e unica parola che tutti noi, o meglio, la maggior parte di noi, vorremmo poter sentire e rendere nostra, per sempre. Verità. O, giustizia.
July 6, 2020
Come dice la dedica appena sopra il titolo, questo libro vuole essere un dono che Saviano porge ai suoi lettori, quei lettori che gli hanno permesso di rendere utile il suo sforzo, il suo rischiare, sembra quasi ci ringrazi di aver permesso che la camorra lo minacciasse e lo privasse della sua vita.
Dico sembra perchè nel libro ricorrono spesso commenti su quanto sia dura vivere in quelle condizioni, ma non ne fa mai un vittimismo, è così e basta. E' così per un bene superiore al suo benessere.
Libro davvero consigliato per le storie che l'autore ci racconta e le riflessioni che ci permette di fare con le sue parole, sembrerebbero scontate, si potrebbe anche dire "parla sempre e solo di mafia...". Si, lo fa, e per fortuna che lo fa.
Dico sembra perchè nel libro ricorrono spesso commenti su quanto sia dura vivere in quelle condizioni, ma non ne fa mai un vittimismo, è così e basta. E' così per un bene superiore al suo benessere.
Libro davvero consigliato per le storie che l'autore ci racconta e le riflessioni che ci permette di fare con le sue parole, sembrerebbero scontate, si potrebbe anche dire "parla sempre e solo di mafia...". Si, lo fa, e per fortuna che lo fa.
June 14, 2022
An interesting collection of essays and thoughts from the author.
At times it is mostly a train of thought exercise with names sprinkled in but at other times the author adds insight into both his own life and the lives of those he admires.
The translation might be the reason that some of the sentences are not fully cohesive or it might be the train of thought. I am sure I enjoyed reading this more than some of the people he names.
At times it is mostly a train of thought exercise with names sprinkled in but at other times the author adds insight into both his own life and the lives of those he admires.
The translation might be the reason that some of the sentences are not fully cohesive or it might be the train of thought. I am sure I enjoyed reading this more than some of the people he names.
August 21, 2017
Tra queste pagine si sente l'odore del potere delle case editrici, un libro obbligato, insomma. La scrittura savianese stanca e arresa c'è tutta, e nessuno mi toglie dalla testa che la parentesi Abruzzo gli sia stata imposta con la forza. Da leggere, forse. Ma senza troppe pretese
August 23, 2025
Najbardziej podobały mi się teksty dotyczące Włoch czy Neapolu, inne trochę mi się dłużyły. Szkoda że informacje o poszczególnych artykułach nie pojawiały się przy nich (np rok napisania), tylko dopiero na końcu.
May 10, 2018
Que un escritor te cuente con una magnifica prosa en ensayos novelados lo mas asqueroso y bello de nuestra naturaleza, no tiene precio
April 29, 2020
Probably not the first book someone should read from Saviano, as it only contains newsletter articles
January 5, 2023
Tre stelle e mezza
December 26, 2025
Um livro de homenagem e resistência por tantas vidas que serão para sempre exemplos de revolução, coragem, amor e principalmente esperança para sobreviver ao inferno muitas vezes, solitário.
January 3, 2026
Raccolta stupenda. Brividi
January 19, 2011
É una carrellata di eventi, cose, persone... ma anche di visi, sorrisi, lacrime, voci, suoni.
In parte va a completare la narrazione incominciata in Gomorra, di cui continua l’opera di svelamento della realtà, di apertura degli occhi sulla vera esistenza che ci circonda, che accompagna le nostre vite di tutti i giorni. Continua a delineare l’Inferno che l’uomo ha creato in terra: il sopruso, la violenza, la grettezza, la corsa al potere. Continua a scuotere le coscienze delle “persone per bene”, che preferiscono girare la faccia e vivere una vita tranquilla, rinunciando ad una vita GIUSTA!
É davvero un pugno allo stomaco, diretto e preciso, la lettera che scrive alla sua terra, ai suoi conterranei: io sono uno di loro e mi ha lasciato senza fiato, non perché mi abbia rivelato verità nuove o spiegato meccanismi ignoti; semplicemente mi ha fatto sentire inadeguato, immobile e fermo nella mia sterile correttezza quotidiana, di bravo e onesto cittadino, ma che più di questo non fa.
Non basta non delinquere o trasgredire le leggi o le regole... c’é bisogno di rimboccarsi le maniche prima che questa nostra terra scivoli irrimediabilmente nel baratro della perdizione più assoluta.
Mi ha fatto venire la voglia di darmi da fare, di partecipare attivamente, di liberare il mio tempo per resistere all’orda barbarica delle organizzazioni criminali, della corruzione politica, del disfacimento dell’etica democratica.
É stato facile per me comprendere le dinamiche delle storie di Saviano perché vivo nella sua stessa terra: ma la forza di questi scritti é proprio quella di non fermarsi ai confini della mia provincia o della mia regione...riesce ad andare oltre, a raggiungere tutti gli angoli della nostra penisola, a travalicare qualsiasi barriera o frontiera, a far comprendere anche ai più ignari cosa sia la prepotenza e la sopraffazione che un’organizzazione criminale, commista alla corruzione politica, possono ingenerare in un territorio, in un popolo.
Leggendo Saviano anche chi non é a Napoli si sente napoletano, senza considerare il fatto che viva nel Nord Italia, in Europa o oltre Oceano: il piombo delle armi di Napoli diventa il piombo del mondo, il sangue dei morti ammazzati é quello di un qualunque cittadino di questo mondo, la monnezza delle terre casertane/campane assurge a monnezza del mondo.
Poi, come contraltare a questo mondo oscuro, c’é la brillante testimonianza della Bellezza che questo mondo può generare: il sudore delle palestre di Marcianise, che riescono a strappare forti braccia alla criminalità e temprarle per farle diventare le braccia dei campioni olimpici; la musica inebriante di Michel Petrucciani, che intrappolato in un corpo mostruoso e fragile, riesce ad essere una stella nel firmamento jazz mondiale; la tenacia e il senso dello Stato dei giudici e dei magistrati, che ogni giorno tentano di riportare legalità nelle terre e nei cuori degli uomini di questo paese, rinunciando alla propria vita; il dolore e la forza di Felicia Impastato, dal cui cuore hanno strappato il figlio Peppino, che riesce a vedere condannato don Tano, assassino e padrone di Cinisi, e che come mamma raccomanda “Robbe’ stai attento” ma come donna gli dice “Robbe’, stai attento e continua”; l’abbraccio che l’Accademia di Stoccolma riserva a Saviano, testimone della consapevolezza che il mondo e’ costellato dalla presenza di Giusti, che non hanno razza, nazionalità o età, ma che semplicemente sono accomunati dall’essere Uomini; il compito etico, morale ed educativo che ha la letteratura, che vince sui tiranni, sulle dittature, sulle persecuzioni, che resiste con la forza delle idee, che attiva i pensieri e le azioni degli uomini, scuotendoli dal torpore che li rende docili e accomodanti con il Potere!
Questo libro é molto più intimista e profondo rispetto all’opera d’esordio: ne trapelano le emozioni dell’autore in maniera diversa, un mix di stupore per il successo ottenuto e di odio per questo stesso successo che l’ha privato della sua vita normale, ma tutto immerso nella consapevolezza di aver fatto la cosa migliore.
Ne viene fuori un Saviano uomo e non personaggio pubblico e famoso: se ne annusano le debolezze, i momenti di scoraggiamento, di rimpianto, ma anche la soddisfazione, il coraggio e la forza delle sue azioni, che lo fanno continuare su una strada così pericolosa e faticosa.
É un bel libro, uno di quelli che dopo averlo letto ti fanno guardare allo specchio in maniera diversa, come un novello Dorian Gray: aiuta a distinguere, nella propria immagine riflessa, quanto un singolo uomo possa emanare una luce brillante o una demoniaca oscurità, a seconda della vita che ha deciso di vivere.
In parte va a completare la narrazione incominciata in Gomorra, di cui continua l’opera di svelamento della realtà, di apertura degli occhi sulla vera esistenza che ci circonda, che accompagna le nostre vite di tutti i giorni. Continua a delineare l’Inferno che l’uomo ha creato in terra: il sopruso, la violenza, la grettezza, la corsa al potere. Continua a scuotere le coscienze delle “persone per bene”, che preferiscono girare la faccia e vivere una vita tranquilla, rinunciando ad una vita GIUSTA!
É davvero un pugno allo stomaco, diretto e preciso, la lettera che scrive alla sua terra, ai suoi conterranei: io sono uno di loro e mi ha lasciato senza fiato, non perché mi abbia rivelato verità nuove o spiegato meccanismi ignoti; semplicemente mi ha fatto sentire inadeguato, immobile e fermo nella mia sterile correttezza quotidiana, di bravo e onesto cittadino, ma che più di questo non fa.
Non basta non delinquere o trasgredire le leggi o le regole... c’é bisogno di rimboccarsi le maniche prima che questa nostra terra scivoli irrimediabilmente nel baratro della perdizione più assoluta.
Mi ha fatto venire la voglia di darmi da fare, di partecipare attivamente, di liberare il mio tempo per resistere all’orda barbarica delle organizzazioni criminali, della corruzione politica, del disfacimento dell’etica democratica.
É stato facile per me comprendere le dinamiche delle storie di Saviano perché vivo nella sua stessa terra: ma la forza di questi scritti é proprio quella di non fermarsi ai confini della mia provincia o della mia regione...riesce ad andare oltre, a raggiungere tutti gli angoli della nostra penisola, a travalicare qualsiasi barriera o frontiera, a far comprendere anche ai più ignari cosa sia la prepotenza e la sopraffazione che un’organizzazione criminale, commista alla corruzione politica, possono ingenerare in un territorio, in un popolo.
Leggendo Saviano anche chi non é a Napoli si sente napoletano, senza considerare il fatto che viva nel Nord Italia, in Europa o oltre Oceano: il piombo delle armi di Napoli diventa il piombo del mondo, il sangue dei morti ammazzati é quello di un qualunque cittadino di questo mondo, la monnezza delle terre casertane/campane assurge a monnezza del mondo.
Poi, come contraltare a questo mondo oscuro, c’é la brillante testimonianza della Bellezza che questo mondo può generare: il sudore delle palestre di Marcianise, che riescono a strappare forti braccia alla criminalità e temprarle per farle diventare le braccia dei campioni olimpici; la musica inebriante di Michel Petrucciani, che intrappolato in un corpo mostruoso e fragile, riesce ad essere una stella nel firmamento jazz mondiale; la tenacia e il senso dello Stato dei giudici e dei magistrati, che ogni giorno tentano di riportare legalità nelle terre e nei cuori degli uomini di questo paese, rinunciando alla propria vita; il dolore e la forza di Felicia Impastato, dal cui cuore hanno strappato il figlio Peppino, che riesce a vedere condannato don Tano, assassino e padrone di Cinisi, e che come mamma raccomanda “Robbe’ stai attento” ma come donna gli dice “Robbe’, stai attento e continua”; l’abbraccio che l’Accademia di Stoccolma riserva a Saviano, testimone della consapevolezza che il mondo e’ costellato dalla presenza di Giusti, che non hanno razza, nazionalità o età, ma che semplicemente sono accomunati dall’essere Uomini; il compito etico, morale ed educativo che ha la letteratura, che vince sui tiranni, sulle dittature, sulle persecuzioni, che resiste con la forza delle idee, che attiva i pensieri e le azioni degli uomini, scuotendoli dal torpore che li rende docili e accomodanti con il Potere!
Questo libro é molto più intimista e profondo rispetto all’opera d’esordio: ne trapelano le emozioni dell’autore in maniera diversa, un mix di stupore per il successo ottenuto e di odio per questo stesso successo che l’ha privato della sua vita normale, ma tutto immerso nella consapevolezza di aver fatto la cosa migliore.
Ne viene fuori un Saviano uomo e non personaggio pubblico e famoso: se ne annusano le debolezze, i momenti di scoraggiamento, di rimpianto, ma anche la soddisfazione, il coraggio e la forza delle sue azioni, che lo fanno continuare su una strada così pericolosa e faticosa.
É un bel libro, uno di quelli che dopo averlo letto ti fanno guardare allo specchio in maniera diversa, come un novello Dorian Gray: aiuta a distinguere, nella propria immagine riflessa, quanto un singolo uomo possa emanare una luce brillante o una demoniaca oscurità, a seconda della vita che ha deciso di vivere.
September 13, 2020
"Scrivere, non fare a meno delle mie parole, ha significato non perdermi. Non darmi per vinto. Non disperare "
July 3, 2013
Beauty and the Inferno is a collection of essays by Roberto Saviano, an author of Italian origin who is best known for the book and subsequent film about organized crime in southern Italy called Gomorrah. This work - a play on words of "Camorra", a criminal organization based in Naples - sent the young writer into hiding indefinitely. Yet despite constant movement from place to place and unending concern about attempts on his life, he continues to write important work; in the opening pages, he claims that his writing is as essential to his continued existence as air.
Saviano is ever on the move, yet he describes each place he inhabits as being the same confining walls - his impressive travel itinerary includes neither museums nor cathedrals, nor restaurants nor quaint trattorias, for any public appearance announces his location to his would-be assassins. His only companions are his stoic, nearly silent bodyguards. He gets so accustomed to the interminable solitude that at the private reception for his movie - which involved a room full of about 20 people of the cast and crew, all individuals that he knew well - sent him into an anxiety attack. He felt exposed. Unsafe. Unable to remember how to be normal in social situations.
I thought what a stifling life this must be, yet he managed to indict me as I sat in my comfortable chair in my comfortable home in my relatively safe city. He asks whether living a cosy, peaceful life is moral when there is so much suffering in the world; how can one do nothing to uncover corruption and injustice simply because it is inconvenient? He asserts that he has done nothing brave, only what his conscience demanded that he do. He insists this is not virtue but responsibility. I shifted uneasily in my chair, took an awkward sip of wine, and felt very thankful that there are people in the world like Roberto Saviano.
As expected, there are many essays in Beauty and the Inferno that deal with organized crime in Italy and all of the business, political, and societal implications thereof. For me, the most eye-opening essay was the one about the recent earthquake in Abruzzo, my grandmother's birthplace. Apparently the building industry has ties to the Camorra. This includes the concrete industry, and there is a lot of money to be made off of government contracts. A few ringleaders get quite rich by rebuilding with concrete, converting beautiful piazzas and ancient stone into drab, soviet-looking, monochromatic, soulless blocks. These men then buy themselves beautiful homes in the Veneto, soaking up Italy's rich aesthetic heritage while others lose theirs in the rubble. It is not surprising that the long arm of organized crime, which now has interests and connections on almost every continent, can stretch even to the north (though my grandmother tended to pretend that all of that "bad stuff" happened in the south), yet it is distressing that the rebuilding effort in stricken areas can be so easily co-opted.
There is more to this book than mafia intrigue. Within these pages, Mr. Saviano also writes a succinct biography of soccer virtuoso Messi, discusses how boxing is salvation for youths in southern Italy, describes the death of Anna Politkovskaya, meets Miriam Makeba, Salman Rushdie, and, most poignantly, Joseph Pistone, i.e., the real "Donnie Brasco". Each essay exhibits profound pathos, and the writing style echoes even in translation a certain music that makes me lament that I cannot currently read these pieces in their original Italian. Roberto Saviano has done excellent work as a teacher as well as that of an artist, for though he takes his subjects from this earth, he manages to transfigure the quotidian into the sublime.
Saviano is ever on the move, yet he describes each place he inhabits as being the same confining walls - his impressive travel itinerary includes neither museums nor cathedrals, nor restaurants nor quaint trattorias, for any public appearance announces his location to his would-be assassins. His only companions are his stoic, nearly silent bodyguards. He gets so accustomed to the interminable solitude that at the private reception for his movie - which involved a room full of about 20 people of the cast and crew, all individuals that he knew well - sent him into an anxiety attack. He felt exposed. Unsafe. Unable to remember how to be normal in social situations.
I thought what a stifling life this must be, yet he managed to indict me as I sat in my comfortable chair in my comfortable home in my relatively safe city. He asks whether living a cosy, peaceful life is moral when there is so much suffering in the world; how can one do nothing to uncover corruption and injustice simply because it is inconvenient? He asserts that he has done nothing brave, only what his conscience demanded that he do. He insists this is not virtue but responsibility. I shifted uneasily in my chair, took an awkward sip of wine, and felt very thankful that there are people in the world like Roberto Saviano.
As expected, there are many essays in Beauty and the Inferno that deal with organized crime in Italy and all of the business, political, and societal implications thereof. For me, the most eye-opening essay was the one about the recent earthquake in Abruzzo, my grandmother's birthplace. Apparently the building industry has ties to the Camorra. This includes the concrete industry, and there is a lot of money to be made off of government contracts. A few ringleaders get quite rich by rebuilding with concrete, converting beautiful piazzas and ancient stone into drab, soviet-looking, monochromatic, soulless blocks. These men then buy themselves beautiful homes in the Veneto, soaking up Italy's rich aesthetic heritage while others lose theirs in the rubble. It is not surprising that the long arm of organized crime, which now has interests and connections on almost every continent, can stretch even to the north (though my grandmother tended to pretend that all of that "bad stuff" happened in the south), yet it is distressing that the rebuilding effort in stricken areas can be so easily co-opted.
There is more to this book than mafia intrigue. Within these pages, Mr. Saviano also writes a succinct biography of soccer virtuoso Messi, discusses how boxing is salvation for youths in southern Italy, describes the death of Anna Politkovskaya, meets Miriam Makeba, Salman Rushdie, and, most poignantly, Joseph Pistone, i.e., the real "Donnie Brasco". Each essay exhibits profound pathos, and the writing style echoes even in translation a certain music that makes me lament that I cannot currently read these pieces in their original Italian. Roberto Saviano has done excellent work as a teacher as well as that of an artist, for though he takes his subjects from this earth, he manages to transfigure the quotidian into the sublime.
June 5, 2011
Roberto Saviano’s Beauty and the Inferno has one of the most powerful and honest prefaces I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading – it blew me away frankly - and I’m still reeling days after reading it for the first time! His passion for truth and justice is undeniable and if ever a book warranted reading after an introduction, then this is, without hesitation, one such title.
In Beauty and the Inferno Saviano delves into politics, corruption, drugs, meeting Salman Rushdie at the Swedish Academy, sport and music, sharing a variety of articles - 25 in all - and frank opinions along the way. The book touches you in a way few titles can – it will shock, it will tease, anger and entertain but most of all it will educate.
Roberto Saviano is best known for his work on the Italian mafia, but Beauty and the Inferno also tackles universal themes with great insight and humanity, with urgency, and often with anger.
This important collection includes essays on the legacy of the earthquake at L'Aquila, a town at risk of becoming overrun by mafia; on boxing as an escape route; on the life of the legendary South African jazz singer, Miriam Makeba; on an encounter with Salman Rushdie, and a tribute to Frank Miller, author of the graphic novel 300; on Michael Herr's Dispatches. One essay reflects on the aftermath of the publication of his book and subsequent film, Gomorrah, and how his life has been conditioned by the mafia's death threats, and the final essay in the collection celebrates the life of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
In the grand scheme of things it’s almost impossible to single out any of the essays from this collection for they are all as powerful as each other, in their own way, but for me – and I’m going to immediately contradict what I’ve just said - four articles stood head and shoulders above the others namely: Brittle Bones, Playing it All, Miriam Makeba and When the Earth Shudders, Cement Kills.
In When the Earth Shudders, Cement Kills Saviano takes a look at the legacy of the earthquake in Abruzzo (epicentre in L’Aquila, capital of Abruzzo) in April 2009 where more than 300 people perished. Any earthquake – wherever it may be – will involve a certain amount of rebuilding - and Saviano believes that this leads to corruption (in L’Aquila) - political and criminal monopolies - which in itself causes great anxiety and consternation in the local population. The devastation we discover affords less than an honourable class to operate and profiteering is expectantly rife – the mafia clans, the ‘Ndrangheta and the Camorra families sharing the spoils. It doesn’t stop with the so called cement bosses, Abruzzo is well known for the dumping of toxic waste in the 1990’s – once again behind it was the Camorra, one of the oldest and largest criminal organisations in Italy.
Full review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/05/28...
In Beauty and the Inferno Saviano delves into politics, corruption, drugs, meeting Salman Rushdie at the Swedish Academy, sport and music, sharing a variety of articles - 25 in all - and frank opinions along the way. The book touches you in a way few titles can – it will shock, it will tease, anger and entertain but most of all it will educate.
Roberto Saviano is best known for his work on the Italian mafia, but Beauty and the Inferno also tackles universal themes with great insight and humanity, with urgency, and often with anger.
This important collection includes essays on the legacy of the earthquake at L'Aquila, a town at risk of becoming overrun by mafia; on boxing as an escape route; on the life of the legendary South African jazz singer, Miriam Makeba; on an encounter with Salman Rushdie, and a tribute to Frank Miller, author of the graphic novel 300; on Michael Herr's Dispatches. One essay reflects on the aftermath of the publication of his book and subsequent film, Gomorrah, and how his life has been conditioned by the mafia's death threats, and the final essay in the collection celebrates the life of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
In the grand scheme of things it’s almost impossible to single out any of the essays from this collection for they are all as powerful as each other, in their own way, but for me – and I’m going to immediately contradict what I’ve just said - four articles stood head and shoulders above the others namely: Brittle Bones, Playing it All, Miriam Makeba and When the Earth Shudders, Cement Kills.
In When the Earth Shudders, Cement Kills Saviano takes a look at the legacy of the earthquake in Abruzzo (epicentre in L’Aquila, capital of Abruzzo) in April 2009 where more than 300 people perished. Any earthquake – wherever it may be – will involve a certain amount of rebuilding - and Saviano believes that this leads to corruption (in L’Aquila) - political and criminal monopolies - which in itself causes great anxiety and consternation in the local population. The devastation we discover affords less than an honourable class to operate and profiteering is expectantly rife – the mafia clans, the ‘Ndrangheta and the Camorra families sharing the spoils. It doesn’t stop with the so called cement bosses, Abruzzo is well known for the dumping of toxic waste in the 1990’s – once again behind it was the Camorra, one of the oldest and largest criminal organisations in Italy.
Full review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/05/28...
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