Abstract
Reviewed by: Elgin K Eckert, The Umbra Institute, Italy
After Barbara Pezzotti’s two previous volumes on Italian crime fiction (the 2012 publication The Importance of Place in Contemporary Italian Crime Fiction; and the 2014 book Politics and Society in Italian Crime Fiction, in which she covers the history of the Italian gialloi from its origins to the present), her current work proposes a closer look at a specific subgenre, the fastest growing type of the vast body of crime fiction produced in Italy today: historical crime fiction. In her careful analysis, Pezzotti shows that many works of historical crime fiction provide a valid alternative lens through which to view historical events, as historical crime fiction tends to focus especially on how Italian society perceived social, cultural and political changes during the historical periods covered.
For Pezzotti, the crime genre and history have a ‘privileged relationship’. Fictional representations of the past, she argues, have a two-fold purpose: not only do they comment on the past, but they also ‘intervene in the social and political changes of the country’. She shows how historical crime fiction mirrors the anxieties within Italian society during the periods it depicts and, in such a way, gives voice to experiences that have been marginalized by mainstream historiography.
The works discussed in Pezzotti’s work are divided into three main sections: works set during the Risorgimento; Representations of Fascism and the Second World War; and the Years of Lead. Authors covered include some of the biggest names in contemporary crime literature (including Andrea Camilleri, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Maurizio De Giovanni, Marcello Fois, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Francesco Guccini, Carlo Lucarelli, Loriano Macchiavelli and Leonardo Sciascia). Her book also investigates many of the more important films on the topic (among others, Elio Petri’s A ciascuno il suo and Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto, Pietro Germi’s Un maledetto imbroglio (based on Gadda’s Quer pasticciaccio), Michele Placido’s Romanzo criminale and Marco Tullio Giordano’s Romanzo di una strage – unfortunately only mentioning his La meglio gioventù in passing). Among the TV series she discusses are Inspector Nardone (1950s Milan), Inspector De Luca (Fascism and the immediate post-war era) and Romanzo criminale (Rome, 1970s and beyond).
Written in a clear and lucid style, Pezzotti’s book is approachable for non-experts in the field: introducing each section and before her detailed analysis, the author gives an overview of the main historical, social and political events that have inspired each work. Pezzotti’s interdisciplinary study is a precious contribution for all those interested in Italian crime fiction and the intersection of literature, history and national identity. As Pezzotti states in her conclusion: Italian history contains open wounds, which are not only difficult to heal but which also continue to infect both Italian politics and society. Indeed, the current state of Italian politics is inextricably linked to the repression of some traumatic events. (p. 237).