Beauty and the Inferno - Hardcover

Roberto Saviano

3.68

754 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857050087 ISBN 13: 9780857050083

Publisher: MACLEHOSE PRESS, 2011

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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.

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Review:

'It is good to be reminded of the raw bravery of the Savianos of this world and to salute them for sacrifices they have made in their challenges to power' Duncan Campbell, Guardian.

'Its tone is angry and urgent ... the essays in Beauty and the Inferno are in some sense a celebration of bravery and an expression of rage against corruption and cowardice ... Saviano appears to be on a crusade to educate and galvanize Italy' Caroline Moorhead, TLS. --Reviews.

From the Back Cover:

WINNER OF THE EUROPEAN BOOK AWARD. The writings collected in Beauty and the Inferno tackle universal themes with great insight and humanity, with urgency, and often with anger. The breadth of Saviano's interests is remarkable, his heroes as diverse as Donnie Brasco and Lionel Messi, but as with the bestselling Gomorrah, his fearless and unflinching condemnation of the Italian mafia takes centre stage. Implicit in his tributes to writers, musicians, sportsmen and journalist is the message that there is an alternative to living in corruption and fear. Beauty and the Inferno is a searing polemic that encompasses Saviano's vision of life and of art, of the good to be found in humanity and the evil inherent in power. Above all, his commitment to truth resonates from every page.

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