Italian / Italy
Black Boys
(Black Boys)
Clima, Gabriele
(text)
Milano: Giangiacomo Feltrinelli editore, 2020. – 175 p.
(Series: Up Feltrinelli)
ISBN 978-88-07-91059-3
Accident | Mother | Son | Loss of father | Revenge | Gang | Right-wing extremism | Racism
Reading age: 14+
White Ravens issue: 2020
Gabriele Clima’s impressive novel presents a story full of violence, rage, and lust for revenge. It is about the fragility of adolescence and the abyss one can fall into, but also about ways to grab hold and find one’s way back. Alex, the sixteen-year-old protagonist, is suffering gravely after the sudden death of his father. His life’s mission is now to hunt down the perpetrator, a “black guy”, who supposedly caused the deadly accident. To get closer to his goal, he becomes a member of the Black Boys, a neo-fascist group, whose actions stoke hatred and racism. Alex joins their “revenge campaigns”, committing extreme violence, until an even more dramatic incident forces him to confront reality. With effort, he becomes aware of the insanity of his behaviour and succeeds in escaping the dangerous chaos that pulled him into the abyss. [SO]