Savage Kiss
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Roberto Saviano returns to the streets of Naples and the boy bosses who run them in Savage Kiss, the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Piranhas, the bestselling novel and major motion picture
Nicolas Fiorillo and his gang of children—his paranza—control the squares of Forcella after their rapid rise to power. But it isn't easy being at the top.
Now that the Piranhas have power in the city, Nicolas must undermine the old families of the Camorra and remain united among themselves. Every paranzino has his own vendettas and dreams to pursue—dreams that might go beyond the laws of the gang. A new war may be about to break out in this city of cutthroat bargaining, ruthless betrayal, and brutal revenge. Saviano continues the story of the disillusioned boys of Forcella, the paranzini ready to give and receive kisses that leave a taste of blood.
Saviano’s Gomorrah was a worldwide sensation, and The Piranhas, called “raw and shocking” by The New York Times Book Review, captured readers with its tale of raw criminal ambition, told with “openhearted rashness” (Elena Ferrante). Savage Kiss, which again draws on the skills of translator Antony Shugaar, is the latest thrilling installment from the brilliant Italian novelist.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Saviano's disappointing sequel to 2018's The Piranhas continues the story of a youthful Naples organized crime gang. While the author has done heroic investigative reporting of the Camorra crime syndicate, as detailed in his nonfiction book Gomorrah, this effort leans on mob fiction tropes of de rigeur bloodshed, betrayals, and numerous shoot-outs. The Piranhas' leader, teenager Nicolas Fiorillo, is bent on vengeance after his brother, Christian, was killed by another young thug, Dentino, who has just become a father. Nicolas targets the newborn baby, but his plan to gun down the infant in the hospital nursery is foiled. Nicolas's continuing quest for revenge, his fears that his group includes a traitor, and his attempts to expand his power make up the bulk of the plot. Nothing here feels remotely fresh, and Saviano fails to facilitate any empathy for his psychopathic antihero, who places his family in jeopardy thanks to a careless error that's rather convenient to the plot. Awkward translated prose ("On his tongue, he felt the silence that is created between father and son when they make peace.") is another negative. Admirers of Saviano's journalism will hope he sticks to nonfiction.
