What is Rome Noir about?
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Brand-new stories by: Antonio Scurati, Carlo Lucarelli, Gianrico Carofiglio, Diego De Silva, Giuseppe Genna, Marcello Fois, C.D. Formetta, Enrico Franceschini, Boosta, Francesca Mazzucato, Maxim Jakubowski, Evelina Santangelo, Nicola Lagioia, Tommaso Pincio, Antonio Pascale, and Nicoletta Vallorani.
From the introduction by Chiara Stangalino & Maxim Jakubowski:
“According to the legend, Rome owes its origins to a murder—when one brother killed another in order to grab the crown. Since then, there has been a dark tapestry of misdeeds, plots, and assassinations alongside some of the cruelest crimes in the history of mankind, beginning with Nero and Caligula, all through myriad bloody Vatican intrigues, wars by the handful, urban terrorism, and the arcane modern collusions between politics and the Mafia . . .
Next time you are visiting Italy, enjoy your tourist pursuits but on occasion pause for a moment and try to see what lies beyond the corner of the alley or street you are walking down, or attempt to imagine what might be happening behind those closed curtains you are passing. But until then, let your imagination take a dip into Rome Noir, and travel the city from its trunk roads to its highways, past the notorious Stazione Termini and the shadow of the iconic Colosseum, and through both the fashionable and sometimes undesirable areas that have inspired our writers.“
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Walls & Stones
“Pasolini’s Shadow” by Nicoletta Vallorani (Piazza dei Cinquecento)
“Eternal Rome” by Antonio Scurati (Colosseum)
“The Melting Pot” by Tommaso Pincio (Via Veneto)
“Last Summer Together” by Cristiana Danila Formetta (Ostia)
Part II: In the Footsteps of Caesar
“Don’t Talk to the Passenger” by Diego De Silva (Fiumicino)
“Roman Holidays” by Enrico Franceschini (Villa Borghese)
“Tiburtina Noir Blues” by Francesca Mazzucato (Tiburtina Station)
“Words, Thoughts” by Marcello Fois (Via Marco Aurelio)
Part III: Pasta, Wine & Bullets
“Christmas Eves” by Gianrico Carofiglio (Stazione Termini)
“Beret” by Carlo Lucarelli (Vicolo del Bologna)
“Remember Me with Kindness” by Maxim Jakubowski (Calcata)
“Eaten Alive” by Evelina Santangelo (Via Ascoli Piceno)
Part IV: La Dolce Vita
“For a Few More Gold Tokens” by Antonio Pascale (Quartiere Pigneto)
“Silence Is Golden” by Boosta (Tangenziale)
“Caput Mundi” by Giuseppe Genna (Montecitorio)
“1988” by Nicola Lagioia (Via Appia Antica)