by L. R. Carrino
Mariasole Simonetti stringe la mano del figlio mentre segue il carro funebre che sta accompagnando suo marito Giovanni Farnesini al cimitero di Poggioreale. Nel lungo tragitto, tra il rumore delle serrande dei negozi chiuse a metà per rispetto e il dolore che la spezza in due, Mariasole ripercorre gli eventi che l’hanno portata fino a questo tragico momento. Il cadavere di Giovanni, figlio del boss Don Antonio Farnesini, è stato trovato sugli scogli di Mergellina. La sua colpa è di aver violato la legge più importante del giuramento del clan Acqua Storta: «Un camorrista deve sempre ragionare con il cervello, mai con il cuore». Con il padre in carcere e il suocero latitante, l’equilibrio delle forze interne alla federazione Simonetti-Farnesini è minacciato.…
"Yes, but here Carrino, a Neapolitan, frames the story of the Camorra [the Neapolitan mafia] in a very literary way – the Camorra he describes is very different to that which we are used to hearing about. It’s as though he’s describing it from the inside – he has such a deep understanding of characters, and conveys a complexity we have never met before. He delves so far down into these characters’ souls, and it’s incredible, too, how he has been able to tell things from a female perspective. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Yes, but Carrino’s aim is more than simply a literary exercise – again, it’s born from reality. The character of Mariasole is an absolutely real one, who exists in the great mystery that is the relationship between the female universe and the criminal universe. Her character lifts the veil on certain aspects of this relationship, prompting a series of questions which we, as readers, are not used to considering – for example: how does the wife fit into the relationship between father and son in the clan? Mariasole is a revolution because she inverts roles – she is fiercely strategic in the way she lives her life, which differs from the submissiveness that we tend to associate with women in criminal contexts. Her relationship with her son is very different to that which we might expect, too. The story begins with a great scene in which the mother and son attend the funeral of Giovanni, Mariasole’s husband and the boy’s father, after which Mariasole starts doing everything in her power to facilitate the accession to power of her son within the clan, navigating every obstacle to achieve this goal. The mafia is all about power passed down from one man to the next but here we have a woman of great intelligence, ingenuity and humanity who manages to take control of the pedals. “Our analysis of society is very different: we say that in this moment it’s the criminal cultures that are winning in Italy. ” Naples represents a very important place for us to focus on when trying to discover what is going on in Italy. Naples represents tradition, for better and for worse, as well as modernity, for better and for worse. Neapolitan writers are able to see both sides of this city that is loved by foreigners at the same time as being full of conflict for many Italians."
