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A review by ben_miller
Suburra by Giancarlo de Cataldo, Carlo Bonini
4.0
Let's call it 3.5 stars for this cliche-filled but undeniably page-turning potboiler out of Italy. Sex, drugs, brain-spatter...it's all here. The plot moves propulsively, and weaves together the stories of numerous interesting, if not particularly deep, characters.
What lifts it above pure pulp is the sobering glimpse into the deep veins of corruption, xenophobia, and tribalism that infect Roman society, and which are disturbingly recognizable for Americans these days, too. At the root of all ideologies, Suburra seems to argue, there is only the desire for money and power. Not a new lesson, maybe, but one we never quite seem to learn.
What lifts it above pure pulp is the sobering glimpse into the deep veins of corruption, xenophobia, and tribalism that infect Roman society, and which are disturbingly recognizable for Americans these days, too. At the root of all ideologies, Suburra seems to argue, there is only the desire for money and power. Not a new lesson, maybe, but one we never quite seem to learn.