SUBURRA

Edoardo Ballerini is akin to a narration magician. Few others could make this novel full of unlikable Mafioso--with vocabularies to rival those of middle school boys--an enjoyable listening experience, but he achieves this feat. The detestable thugs in this Italian crime story are somewhat caricatured--especially their misogyny and egocentrism--but they are disturbingly intensified through Ballerini's emphatically evil portrayal. Bonini and de Cataldo's writing itself creates little for the listener to care about; the performance is the audiobook's saving grace. Ballerini's energy and emotion keep the listener anticipating what's to come. J.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2017]