Thank You for the Books

These past months would have been terrible without books. Camilleri was a prolific writer that entertained nicely with his books. Fortunately, there is another author that I like, and I regularly buy his books when I see a new one.

Gianrico Carofiglio

Carofiglio has a degree in Law (1986), he started his activity as a lawyer, later he decided to leave his position to devote himself to his greatest passion: writing.

His first book (2002) entitled “Involuntary Witness” was a great success. The story is about a defense attorney in Bari, Apulia. Mr. Guerrieri, has become the most famous lawyer in the Italian judicial novel.

With his books Carofiglio leads us to a Bari seen from inside the protagonist, making us live almost all the moods of the character as well as all its sensations.

These novels (Involuntary Witness, With Eyes Closed, and Reasonable Doubts), have the same appeal of the early TV series “Law & Order.” A Jack McCoy-kind-of-guy; we get a somehow a different approach to the genre, a reversal of the usual formula in lawyer dramas, where the lawyer has his own flaws and strengths.

Often Guerrieri (the main character), makes a reflection on the hypocrisy of the judicial world at all levels, magistrates, judges, lawyers, judicial police … some food for thought.

Publication Order of Guido Guerrieri Books

• Involuntary Witness (2005)
• A Walk in the Dark (2006)
• Reasonable Doubts (2007)
• Temporary Perfections (2011)
• A Fine Line (2016)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

• The Past is A Foreign Land (2007)🔹
• The Silence of the Wave (2013)
• The Cold Summer (2018)

My favorite book was “The Past is a Foreign Land”, for which Carofiglio won a prize in 2005. He describes an extremely unbalanced and dangerous relationship between two young men, in which one of the two falls under the charm and charisma of the other, up to a clouding of reality and the inability to recognize the “sick” part of the personality.

It is about attraction and fascination to the limit of submission; and the ability to manipulate by those who are aware of having this power over others.

In 2006 Carofiglio entered politics as a consultant to the Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission. After two years he ran for the Democratic Party in the Senate and shortly after he was elected Senator.

How much does Gianrico Carofiglio earn?

Regarding his political activity, there were a few “critics” on social media particularly, about his salary as a senator and writing.

Carofiglio responded with a Tweet that he did not receive any annuity:

“Yesterday they wrote me that I am a fool and a cheap writer and that I perceive a lavish annuity. I have no observations on the first two points. On the third, I specify that I do not take any annuity, no pension, no salary. Thanks if you can take note of it”

However, according to a survey by La Repubblica, only those who sell between 50,000 and 100,000 copies a year are able to live well (only as a writer), with an estimated profit of between 100,000€ and 400,000€ to be divided at 50% between publisher and writer.

🔹 I’m not sure if the title in English is translated as “country” or “land”, but for me, it is more appropriate to use the word “land.”

Happy reading everyone