EROI DI CARTA.Il caso “Gomorra” e altre epopee

The book “Gomorra” by Roberto Saviano represents one of the most interesting cases of contemporary literary hits at a global level. Sold in millions of copies in many languages, the book owes its notoriety to the author's hero role, inasmuch – according to the common opinion – he was threatened to be killed by the camorra. Therefore the book is considered a first hand account of the criminal reality of Naples and at the same time a biographical narrative, a journey of the young hero in the abysses of crime and a witnessing of hope and redemption. Starting from the perspective of semiotics and sociology of literature, the book by Alessandro Dal Lago is a critical analysis of both the book and the role of national hero played by its author. From a literary point of view, “Gomorra” appears to shift ambiguously between fiction and non-fiction. If, according to the recent tendencies of Italian “epic” novelists, the fictional side glamorizes the account of squalid street crimes, drug selling and other unlawful activities, the non-fictional side legitimates the truth of such account, with the result to transform the book into a “revelation” of the dark side of Naples life. At the same time, the “making” of the hero (realized by newspapers, political authorities and so on) represents a national (and international) solace in front of the stable and growing power of organized crime in Italy. In other words, the epic of “Gomorra” and its author is a contemporary myth built with the contribution of several actors. Dal Lago’s book is one of the first attempts, at least in Italy, to look in depth at the role of bestsellers in the shaping of contemporary culture.