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Isabella Panfido

The identity of Venice, Queen of the Adriatic, is inseparable from the waters of the lagoon by which she is surrounded. Isabella Panfido takes us on an exploration of those waters that since time immemorial have been Venice's refuge and defence, visiting some of its many islands (the names of a few - Fisolo, Sant'Arian, Lio Piccolo, San Secondo - will be unknown even to the most assiduous visitors to the city), and introducing us to their elusive magic and their well-kept secrets.
We learn of haunting illusions created by the peculiar geography of the lagoon under certain climatic conditions; of the devastating plague of 1630 that led to the loss of 47,000 Venetian lives over a period of sixteen months; of the destruction by a bitter north wind of baskets full of carefully harvested soft-shelled crabs and their seemingly miraculous rebirth and metamorphosis from one delicacy into another; of thwarted yearnings and ambitions, of jealous rivalries and revenge, of the terrible price of vanity - and much, much more.
An expert guide and consummate storyteller, the author draws on a deep and extensive knowledge of her native city past and present, and on her own personal experiences, weaving together myth and legend, imagination and historical fact, to capture the mystique of the phenomenon that is Venice.
Venice Noir is the winner of two literary prizes: the Latisana per il Nord-Est Prize and the Gambrinus Giuseppe Mazzotti Prize.

Dedalus

City Noir

Venice Noir

Christine Donougher

Giuseppe Miale di Mauro

'A powerful novel with strong characters which permeate your senses with their intensity. It is so alive you want to turn it into a film.' Marco D'Amore (Ciro di Marzo in Gomorra)
'A fast-paced powerful novel with the characters so well delineated you feel that you hear them talking.' Maurizio de Giovanni, author of the Inspector Ricciardi novels.
A tragic event changes Ciro Incoronato's life and he takes solace in crack cocaine and living in a fantasy world of his own creation. He has a life of violence and crime as a minor member of a Camorra crime family and gets his kicks by chasing the cars of young women up and down the Naples ring road, called by the locals La Strada degli Americani (The American Road). We see the world through his eyes and the havoc he causes through the eyes of others; a thirty-year-old factory worker Carmine Scognamiglio, a beautiful young music student Martina Marinelli and ultimately the Naples lawcourts.
Giuseppe Miale di Mauro gives us a work of fiction based on true events which is as unforgettable and powerful as Roberto Savinio's Gomorra.

Naples Noir: La Strada degli Americani

Thomas Fazi

Alison Langley

In Budapest Noir 1945, 1956 and 1974 merge into 1991 and a nation is allowed to remember the dark days of its past and come to terms with its history before seeking to move on to a different future.
The novel starts with Ilona getting a phone installed in 1991. This banal act has huge significance as before the fall of the Communist government Ilona was not allowed to have a phone as her husband took part in the 1956 Uprising and her son escaped in 1974. In 1991 with the aid of a Fullbright Scholarship with his wife and small child Ilona's son Emil returns to Budapest for the first time to create an exhibition about Hungary's transition to democracy. Ilona wants her son to get back what had been stolen from them by the Communists and make them rich while Emil just wants to make art and learn about the past. This clash of values nearly spells disaster.
There are flashbacks to the Russian army arriving in 1945 and the uprising in 1956. The novel recounts the dark and tragic events which took place. It is hard not to be moved to tears by what Ilona and her family had to endure. Her story is one that she shared with countless others in Budapest and Hungary during those dark days. Ilona never complains and never talks about the past, it is a weight she carries in silence.

Dedalus Audio

Budapest Noir: Ilona Gets A Phone