ABOUT
THE BOOK

Translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli

2020 Longlist

Raffadali, province of Agrigento, 1920s: The Sacco brothers are free men with strong ideas about socialism and the State. Their lives change radically one morning when their father, Luigi Sacco, receives an anonymous letter from the local Mafia demanding protection money and is the victim of a robbery attempt. Luigi tells the police of the extortion letters he received, but the police don’t know what to do: no one in the village has ever dared denounce the Mafia before.

From that moment on, the Sacco brothers must defend themselves: from the Mafia and the forces of order, from their collaborators, traitors, and from the village’s leaders, as they are assailed by murder attempts, false accusations, and false testimony.

About the Author

Andrea Camilleri was born in Sicily and widely considered to be one of the greatest living Italian writers. His Montalbano crime series, each instalment of which is a bestseller in Italy is published in America by Penguin Random House. His literary honors include the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.

Sadly, Andrea Camilleri passed away in July 2019, shortly after his book The Sacco Gang had been nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award.

Librarian’s Comments

The Sacco Gang is not only a gripping Italian “western,” but an indictment of the Mafia’s influence and the devastation it wreaks in people’s lives.