So People Know It's Me
Francesca Maria Benvenuto author Elizabeth Harris translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Pushkin Press
Published:5th Jun '25
Should be back in stock very soon
'Love Ferrante? Read this. . . follows one young man's self-realisation in a foreboding juvenile prison' Telegraph
'An extraordinary tale of crime and punishment in Naples. . . Moving and thought-provoking, the novel deserves to appear on prize lists' FT
Zeno is fifteen years old, a minor by law, but he grew up long ago in the dusty heat of Naples. Winding down cobbled streets on his motorbike, he delivers baggies and picks pockets, doing whatever it takes to put food on the table and steal a few precious moments of freedom with his girlfriend, Natalina, in the city's starlit piazzas.
That's until a rival gang member pulls up beside him with a gun, and Zeno ends up on the brutal prison island of Nisida. Separated from all he loves by the cruel, glittering sea, with a cell window looking out at distant beaches, Zeno promises to write down the story of his life in exchange for a visit home. But the sea has eyes everywhere, and someone on the outside wants revenge.
Boldly original and deeply humane, So People Know It's Me unleashes Zeno's luminous, unguarded and defiant voice - dreaming of a fragile future beyond Nisida's walls.
An extraordinary tale of crime and punishment in Naples. . . Moving and thought-provoking, the novel deserves to appear on prize lists. It captures, with effective brevity, a city of splendour and squalor and a childhood curtailed * FT *
Love Ferrante? Read this intelligent Neapolitan writer. . . Benvenuto's superb debut, So People Know It's Me, follows one young man's self-realisation in a foreboding juvenile prison * Telegraph *
This novel gives a voice to lives too often overlooked and marginalised, capturing the fragile humanity behind Naples' toughest streets * Service95 *
Zeno, a classic Neapolitan urchin, has been re-housed in a challenging island detention centre for juveniles after shooting a rival to death. As part of his rehabilitation, he's to write down his thoughts in return for a visit home at Christmas. Through this exercise he recounts his impoverished and crime-speckled existence, a process that leads him to think there may be more to life than couriering drugs through the alleys of Naples on a moped * Strong Words Newsletter *
As in any classic dramatic monologue worth its salt the tension lies in the gulf between the relater and his reality. By turns impish and boastful, Zeno is really a victim of circumstances, and we see his vulnerability in little bursts of sincerity * TLS *
A dark tale set in the juvenile prison of Nisida . . . where readers will not only find horror but also - paradoxically - dignity and pride * Il Napolista *
Benvenuto crafts her writing, chiselling page after page with an unusual narrative voice, rich ideas and surprising turns . . . illuminates and unfolds new spaces for an existence too often ignored * Il Manifesto *
Highly original and surprising * La Gazzetta di San Severo *
A flowing novel that can be read in one breath . . . immerses the reader in the life and thoughts of someone who was forced to grow up too quickly * Il Giornale Locale *
The inimitable soul of Naples is at the very heart of this astonishing book. One of the strongest of the season * Corse Matin *
ISBN: 9781805331742
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
160 pages