Gomorrah

GOMORRAH does for the Italian Mafia what THE GODFATHER and THE SOPRANOS did for American organized crime. But GOMORRAH is real. Investigative reporter Roberto Saviano, a lifelong native of Naples, reveals the criminal underbelly of his city in frightening detail. Michael Kramer narrates with a steady technique. His calm approach to the material, much like that of an unflappable news anchor, magnifies the horror of the incidents being related. Whether Kramer is recounting the tamer portions about the fake-fashion underworld or relating the more graphic sections that deal with torture and murder, he is our anchor. What's more surprising is that the book was published at all, since Saviano names names. No wonder he's been under police protection. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 13, 2007
Saviano has created a perfectly realized, morally compelling journey through the brutal world of contemporary Italian mob life in this ceaselessly violent tale of the Camorra, a network of thugs, exploiters and killers who run Naples and the surrounding countryside. Armed with a police band radio, Saviano visits one crime scene after another, recording the final words and circumstances of the dying and dead. The murders described are savage, cruel and senseless: “The head... hadn't been cut off with a hatchet, a clean blow, but with a metal grinder: the kind of circular saw welders use to polish soldering. The worst possible tool, and thus the most obvious choice.” Jewiss's translation of Saviano's intense prose flows beautifully from the pestilence and degradation of everyday life in the teeming Neapolitan slums to the futile efforts of the police to control the rich, organic chaos that is the only way the Camorra know how to live. A stunning achievement, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the state of contemporary Europe.

February 11, 2008
Saviano's landmark exposé of the demoralizing effects of organized crime in his homebase of Naples, Italy, is an incredible tale that loses its power in this long-winded reading by veteran Kramer. Droning on in a matter-of-fact tone, Kramer loses the author's personal approach and fails to bring life to the touching memoir. Uninspired and indifferent, Kramer often sounds tired, struggling to keep himself interested, much less the listener. With slurred, often muffled narration, Kramer makes no attempt to engage his audience, a shame considering the rather fervent account that Saviano manages to recreate given his relationship with a deadly organized crime outfit and extensive research into the topic. Listening to Kramer over nine discs becomes a monotonous task rather than the entrancing experience that it should be. An utterly disappointing reading that fails to capture the gusto of Saviano's work. Simultaneous release with the FSG hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 13).

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.