Resumen de La novela de un criminal nato

Para quién es

This book suits readers who love true confessions, prison and military life in nineteenth century Italy, and the raw voice of a man telling his own story.

De qué trata este libro

At noon on September 17, 1868, an eighteen-year-old fires a pistol in a public square in Parghelia, in Calabria. By evening he is crouched behind a staircase in his uncle's house, listening to the carabinieri search the rooms.

The Novel of a Born Criminal is the life story of a man who signs himself Antonino M. He writes it for his sons in letters from 1888 and 1889, with a last prison letter from 1892. You will meet a prison split between two gangs, a cholera epidemic, a trial where the witnesses are dead men, and two very different captains.

Questions about La novela de un criminal nato

What is The Novel of a Born Criminal about?

It is the autobiography of Antonino M., who kills a man at eighteen in Calabria and then passes through civil prisons, army prisons and a penal company over fourteen years, before a bitter return to his family.

Is The Novel of a Born Criminal a true story?

It is presented as a true autobiography, with letters to his sons dated from Parghelia in 1888 and 1889. The writer says he tells the plain truth, so readers weigh his claims alongside his own account.

What is the Camorra in this book?

The Camorra is the criminal brotherhood of southern Italy. In these pages it has passwords, ranks such as Picciotto and Camorrista, statutes and tribunals, and it controls much of daily life inside the prisons the writer passes through.

Is The Novel of a Born Criminal easy to read?

The language is plain and direct, and the story moves briskly through short episodes, letters, dialogues and speeches. Scenes such as the trial of dead witnesses and the feast for Pescari are vivid and easy to follow.

Who are the main people in the book?

Besides the writer, there are his brother Michele and Michele's wife Donna Michela, the kind Captain Guar., the cruel Captain Alessandro Ter., Corporal Alfonso S., the girl Teresina, and the prison director Luigi M. of Aversa.