The Piranhas

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What to expect

'With the open-hearted rashness that belongs to every true writer, Saviano returns to tell the story of the fierce and grieving heart of Naples.' Elena Ferrante

In Naples, a new kind of gang rules the streets: the ‘Paranze’, the ‘Children’s Gangs’, groups of teenage boys who divide their time between Facebook or playing Call of Duty on their PlayStations and patrolling the streets armed with pistols and AK-47s, terrorizing local residents in order to mark out the territories of their Mafia bosses.

Roberto Saviano's eye-opening novel The Piranhas tells the story of the rise of one such gang and its leader, Nicolas – known to his friends and enemies as the ‘Maharajah’. But Nicolas’s ambitions reach far beyond doing other men’s bidding: he wants to be the one giving orders, calling the shots, and ruling the city. But the violence he is accustomed to wielding and witnessing soon spirals out of his control . . .

Critics Review

  • With the open-hearted rashness that belongs to every true writer, Saviano returns to tell the story of the fierce and grieving heart of Naples.

    Elena Ferrante

  • Thriller of the Month . . . Saviano’s characterisation, dialogue and set-pieces are first-rate, but what sets the book apart (as with Gomorrah) is his quasi-anthropological portrayal of a micro-society, with a mix of influences that ranges from Call of Duty, porn and mafia movies to Catholic ritual.

    Sunday Times

  • Very impressive . . . I admire Roberto [Saviano] a lot.

    Leila Slimani

  • A kind of Instagram-era Godfather, pungent with trashtalking and squalid detail.

    Metro

  • The children of Gomorrah . . . in Mr Saviano’s Naples, not even the playgrounds are safe.

    The Economist

  • This is an Italy everyone should see . . . Readers will be rewarded.

    Literary Review

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