num_pages: 320
description: Revealing that a beautiful and cultured European city has a dark and dangerous underbelly, this novel chronicles the violent lives of Rome's slum inhabitants. Born in a shantytown, Tommaso Puzzilli was once young and hopeful, but he soon succumbs to life on the streets, where he must resort to crime and prostitution simply to stay alive. Written by an author who ultimately suffered the same chilling fate as one of his characters, this fictional account offers a startling portrait of the very real tragedies of urban poverty.
language: English
title: A Violent Life
titlecomplete: A Violent Life
characters: Tommaso Puzzilli
genres: 20th Century, Film, Novels, LGBT, Queer, Literature, Italian Literature, Italy, Classics, Fiction
ratings_count: 1427
places: Rome
awards: awardedAt: -31507200000
name: John Florio Prize
category: William Weaver
publisher: Carcanet Pr