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Average Customer Rating:

Needs Savage Editing - Maybe A Re-Write

Customer Rating:

What could have been an excellent investigative book turns out to be a difficult to read book. The first chapter is riddled with metaphors and is written in such a florid style one begins to wonder if it is a different author. Maybe an author who was confused on whether he should be writing poetry or prose rather than hard fact. Subsequent chapters are infused with far too many names and places for any reader to grasp. Once in a while there is a flash of light when the author concentrates on one character and gives an insight into his biography. Alas, these examples are too few. I was disappointed that Saviano didn't focus enough on the politicians in Italy. If he was prepared to put his life on the line for naming a few psychopaths why didn't he go all the way and name key names in the political hierarchy? It makes a saddening read, even more so to know that the psychopathic criminal gangs in Italy are responsible for 6% of the Italian GDP! Saviano needs to read the works of some genuine investigative journalists such as John Pilger before he embarks on any more ventures. His emotive style ruined the book. Finally. The book has convinced me that Italy is a 'basket case' and has fallen off my countries to visit.

Buy it if you want to read about the dark side of man

Customer Rating:

The book offers a native eye on mafia "entrepreneurship" in South Italy and Europe. If you are interested to know how organized and disorganized crime operates, a possible outcome for a community that has been abandoned by government care and to what extend can people go, this is definitely your read. What was enjoyable for me is that the book is written mostly in a journalistic fashion with not a lot of "creative editing" to make it more story-like. I guess the reality was graphic enough. In the back of the cover it is written "a mosaic of terrifying stories...Gomorrah paints a terrible portrait of an organization that has killed more than all other is Europe". I don't know the body count but I agree with the description of the book.

Good story poorly told

Customer Rating:

I assume the film is more gripping than the book because this is a truly awful (American) English translation. Large parts of the book are lists and elongated family trees, and the narrative just doesn't seem to go anywhere. There are many better true crime books out there and as far as getting a taste of Italian "life" try the books by Tim Parks, or the "Miracle of Castel de Sangro" by Joe McGinnis a superb mix of football and crime.

Not a page turned, but not bad either

Customer Rating:

I became interested in this book after reading that the author is now in hiding from the mafia he wrote about. I was expecting the book to be similar to Naomi Klein's hard hitting NO LOGO, but what I got was more a cross between that and Will Self. That is, he gives a lot of solid information but often digresses into poetic ramblings (for instance on the nature of life and death). I don't mind this in fiction, but when I'm reading for facts I find it slightly distracting. But that is only based on my own reading preferences. It can get confusing very quickly. There are a lot of names, places, and lots of horrible deaths! I found myself skimming over a lot of the excessive detail. The best thing about this book is that it opens up the case files to the general public. Some of the stuff I read I couldn't believe - particularly the story about Angelina Jolie's dress (not going into details, so now you'll have to buy the book!).

5 stars for bravery, 1 for readability

Customer Rating:

Whilst one has to applaud the bravery of Saviano this is a terrible read (not helped by a poor translation I suspect). The lists of names, places, killings, businesses etc. are just boring. The prose repeatedly collapses on itself such that the meaning is ambiguous. Italians have a very florid writing style (go and read a translation of a football report to see what I mean) and it hasn't been well adapted here for an English audience. Also, the paperback has random hyphens scattered through the text which becomes irritating. Hard work.