Synopsis
In this audaciously original debut, a teenager is sent to juvenile prison off the coast of Naples where he dreams—and writes—of a better future
Bringing 90s Naples to life, this virtuosic Italian novel is an extraordinarily moving and thought-provoking look at criminal justice and life in an isolated juvenile detention centre
Zeno is 15, a child in the eyes of the law, but he grew up long ago in the dusty heat of a crime-riddled neighbourhood in Naples. Winding down cobbled streets on his motorbike, he started his career as a petty thief to supplement his mother's income and, every now and then, take his girlfriend Natalina out for pizza in the city’s starlit piazzas. A quick hand at pickpocketing and selling drugs, Zeno is confronted by another boy from a rival gang who has been tasked with taking out the competition. He shoots three times, the boy drops dead, and Zeno is sent to Nisida, an infamous juvenile prison-island off the Neapolitan coast.
Separated from all he loves by the cruel, glittering sea, with a cell window looking out at the distant beaches, Zeno promises a prison school teacher he’ll write down the story of his life in exchange for a visit home at Christmas. But the sea has eyes everywhere, and someone on the outside wants revenge.
Boldly original and deeply humane, So People Know It’s Me unleashes Zeno’s luminous, unguarded and defiant voice – dreaming of a fragile future beyond Nisida’s walls. Translated from a unique blend of Italian and Neapolitan dialect, this is a mesmerising and powerful debut novel, the winner of the Nabokov Prize, borne out of the author’s own work as a criminal lawyer called upon to defend minors.
About the Author
Francesca Maria Benvenuto was born in Naples in 1986. She graduated with a Law degree in 2009 and completed a PhD in International Criminal Law in 2012. That same year she moved to Paris to study for a Master's Degree in Criminal Law at the Sorbonne. She then started her own law firm in Paris, where she currently works as a criminal lawyer. She is also studying for a Modern Languages degree at the University of Turin. Her debut novel, So People Know It's Me, was published in Italy by Mondadori in 2024.
Elizabeth Harris’s recent translations of Italian prose include works by Francesco Pacifico, Andrea Bajani, Claudia Durastanti and Antonio Tabucchi. She has been awarded an NEA Translation Fellowship, the Italian Prose in Translation Award, and the National Translation Award. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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