Roberto Saviano Reflects on 'Gomorrah': A Journey from Bestseller to Audiobook

Roberto Saviano gives voice to his debut novel, 'Gomorrah', exclusively on Audible from May 5th, but if he could go back, 18 years ago, when what has become a worldwide bestseller was released, he would "do something completely different". "I should have done it with more caution. I could have done it by giving less space to the investigative aspect, but more to the literary, cultural aspect," the writer tells Ansa on the eve of the closing of the Turin Book Fair 2024. "However, it's there now. I could have had it read by an actor and instead I wanted to go through this torture. Going back to the place and space that so much determined me and that has devastated me so. Me and 'Gomorrah' are indissolubly linked. For years I tried to detach myself, but never really. It's an obsession, the study of these dynamics and power." What did it feel like to return to 'Gomorrah'? "I experienced all possible emotions, from nausea to true hatred, to nostalgia, to the renewal of the pain I had felt, then to reconciliation, maybe, I'm not sure yet. Reading it meant rediscovering it, not just suffering this book, I never did in all these years. I don't even keep it at home. It destroyed my life," explains Saviano just before the presentation. "It was unthinkable, no one could imagine such a consequence, it wasn't within the realm of rational possibilities that a book could generate such a fierce dynamic of attack. But it's also due to the fact that the world I was talking about had never been illuminated in this way." What made it an international bestseller? "It seems paradoxical, but listening to the audiobook you realize that it's the hybrid that made everything more accessible. It's not an academic scientific essay, it's not a fiction novel, it's not a mystery, and it's not reportage, but it's all these things together. This allowed more access points so that those who read the novel feel that they are reaching historical truths. Those who try to access through the essay enjoy the literary style. Those who want the reportage see it and manage to find also the economic and historical dynamics. This so strange balance, a strange beast, in the audio is felt even more because the rhythms change, at a certain point there's something in perspective with my voice and then the data. In the audio, it's all even more powerful, telluric." About thirty hours were spent reading it. "A nightmare because you have to stay with your words for so long. Then there was a moment of reconciliation. I had an incredible nostalgia for my black Vespa that still exists, in my brother's garage. An incredible nostalgia for the me of those years. One thing that surprised me, I found my writing completely identical. Writers when they read things from the past do not recognize themselves. I don't like to be faithful ever, but I haven't betrayed my writing." What has changed in this twenty years? "A lot. The attention towards these themes today has returned identical to that of 25 years ago. But the consequences of the light and the debate are evident: from Naples city of war to Naples city of tourism. All those who accused me of having defamed the city today have the proof of having said nonsense. Today it's the city with the most B&Bs in Italy, more than Venice. This means that if I had really defamed Naples people would flee or be wary and instead there's a rush to live there. This why? Because when you turn on a light of understanding you must never fear to show the horror, the wound, the contradiction. What opens up to understanding attracts." Insider in the Rai schedule, a small victory? "All thanks to the Association of Mafia Victims' Families, Article 21, and WikiMafia because from the first minute they never stopped hammering to get an answer: why did you block it?" Any other projects? "I'm working on another podcast with an international theme. I'm bringing the book 'We Belong to Each Other' to the theater with the show 'Belonging' in which I talk about the concept of belonging." The next European elections? "We must vote. We are facing a risk that the right-wing parties will become the sole interpreters of social suffering."