A Pimp's Notes

Praise for "A Pimp"'"s Notes" "["A Pimp's Notes"] has the power of a thriller, the efficacy of an atmospheric portrait, the poignant seduction of a noir. And it draws its force . . . from the fact that it recounts people, places, atmospheres that the author knows well, as they are part of his own past." --Gloria Satta, "Il Messaggero" ""A Pimp's Notes" is a nuanced but explosive thriller by one of the world's new crime masters. A great read." --Scott Turow "Narrated by the titular Bravo (who seems to be equal parts Dante's Virgil and Hemingway's Jake Barnes), "A Pimp's Notes" is an intense and captivating journey, sly, insightful, and sinister, through a dark and treacherous underworld. It's a strange tale fueled by lightning-crack, whiplash-inducing twists that'll have you talking back to the pages. Bravo is a smart and feral voice." --Bill Loehfelm, author of "The Devil She Knows" "The greatest Italian writer today . . . is still Faletti . . . [He] will surprise you, will take you by the throat, will leave you breathless, will move you." --Antonio D'Orrico, "Corriere della Sera" "Expertly plotted, complex without ever becoming convoluted . . . As the narrative proceeds, many small and unobtrusively planted seeds are brought to bloom in satisfying and surprising ways." --Christopher Beha, "The New York Times Book Review" "Set in 1978, this unforgettable crime thriller from Faletti ("I Kill") packs a considerable punch. In the prologue, the troubled narrator, who calls himself 'Bravo' ('Being nameless just gave me an extra layer of shadow in which to cloak myself'), explains that having his penis sliced off by an unknown assailant has led to his embarking on a career as a pimp. The initial chapters detailing his activities in Milan move somewhat slowly, but things quickly accelerate after a multiple homicide at a financier's villa whose victims include the financier and a member of parliament. The massacre may be linked to the Red Brigade's abduction of former pr

Giorgio Faletti spent years as a successful comedian and singer/songwriter before beginning a career as a writer. His first novel, "I Kill" (2002), was an international sensation. His fifth novel, "I Am God," was recently published in England, to wide acclaim. Antony Shugaar is a writer and translator. Aside from Giorgio Faletti's "A Pimp's Notes," his recent translations include books by Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Silvia Avallone, Nanni Balestrini (with an NEA translation fellowship), Fabio Bartolomei, Massimo Carlotto, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Diego De Silva, Marco Mancassola, Gianni Rodari, and Paolo Sorrentino. He is the author of "Coast to Coast" and "I Lie for a Living" and the coauthor, with the late Gianni Guadalupi, of "Discovering America" and "Latitude Zero." He has published with the "Washington Post," the "Boston Globe," and online with the "New York Times," among other publications. He is currently at work on a book about translation for the University of Virginia Press.