Cacucci is one of those really good (not great,
but really good) Italian writers whose existence somehow is often forgotten by
the country’s shrinking readership. He has written fiction (Puerto Escondido is a funny little gem)
as well as fictionalized history books, like this one about Jules Bonnot and
the Bonnot Gang at the turn of the century.
The novel alternates fictionalized descriptions
of Bonnot’s life to frequent extracts from anarchist writing (it is also the
novel which introduced me to Max Stirner: until I was 16 I was convinced that
Bakunin had been the only actual anarchist philosopher). It is a beautiful
attempt to again give importance to the small defeated of history (the big ones
are still remembered, the small ones are quickly forgotten). More people should
read this book (even if it’s just to realize who were the members of the first
criminal gang to use a car), but even in this case more people won’t.
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