Description

‘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.

Publisher Review

‘A dark fable set in the juvenile prison of Nisida . . . Religion, the legal system, society and the State are criticised by the outcast Zeno with arguments drawn from his life . . . this novel is the merciless story of his conscience as a criminal born from need where readers will not only find horror but also – paradoxically – dignity and pride’ – Napolista

‘Giving voice to a fifteen-year-old boy incarcerated for murder in juvenile prison, Benvenuto crafts her writing, chiselling page after page with an unusual narrative voice, rich in ideas and surprising turns. The boys voice thus becomes the voice of a generation and an invisible social class, often cited only within the narrow space of crime news to signify the decadence of a metropolis like Naples . . . Illuminates and unfolds new spaces of an existence too often ignored and therefore always denied’ – Il Manifesto

‘Highly original and surprising’ – La Gazzetta

‘A flowing novel, which can be read in one breath through Zenos funny but at the same time crude words, and which drags the reader into the life and thoughts of someone who had to grow up too quickly’ – Il Giornale Locale