The Fugitive [Paperback]

Massimo Carlotto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

"Carlotto is the reigning king of Mediterranean noir."-The Boston Phoenix

After serving years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, Massimo Carlotto received a presidential pardon in 1993. The first book he wrote as a free man was The Fugitive, telling of his years on the run from a politically motivated murder charge. This gritty tale takes readers from the French underworld to a Mexico besieged by guerrilla warfare. Virtually a handbook on how to live life on the lam, The Fugitive is also a vibrant novel full of vivid underworld characters and breathtaking moments that Carlotto recounts in the cool, lucid prose that has become his trademark.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Billed as a novel, this less than compelling account by one of Italy's top authors of crime fiction focuses on the six years he spent as a fugitive from Italian justice for a murder he claims he didn't commit. After an Italian court upheld his murder conviction in 1979, Carlotto (The Goodbye Kiss) lived in Paris, Madrid and Mexico City. He describes in some detail his various disguises, people he met in the expatriate communities, techniques for evading capture and sources of income—primarily his family and wages as a translator. What's lacking, however, is any sense of urgency. During his years on the run, Carlotto was never pursued by Italian authorities; he finally gave himself up in 1985. Though fortunate for him, the result is a flat, suspenseless plot. Originally published in 1994 in Italy, this short book contains frequent digressions into local politics and the machinations of Carlotto's legal case—including his eventual presidential pardon—that interfere with his story of personal flight. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Carlotto, considered one of Italy's foremost crime writers, spent time in prison for a crime he did not commit. The victim of a politically motivated conspiracy, he also spent time on the lam, a fugitive from justice, living in foreign countries under false identities. This is the lightly fictionalized story of those years on the run, and it's a gripping tale, whether read as a novel or as a memoir. Carlotto's ordeal began in 1976, when he was charged for a murder and convicted; running out of appeals and knowing the fix was in, he decided to run, and between 1982 and 1985--the focus of this novel--he created a variety of identities, supported himself with numerous menial jobs, and learned that trusting in others is a very risky business. As exciting as that other Fugitive, this roman a clef (originally published in Italy in 1994) combines compelling crime drama with a searing portrait of a justice system gone horribly wrong. It also reads like a step-by-step guide on how to live under the radar. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Europa Editions (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933372257
• ISBN-13: 978-1933372259
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating memoir, June 16, 2009

By 

Mark Smallwood (Boulder Creek, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fugitive (Paperback)

I read this book on a recent plane trip and found it to be a fascinating examination of the author's years in exile and jail time for a crime he did not commit. Contrary to another reviewer's opinion, I did not find the book to be jumbled or disorganized. The author begins the story with his betrayal by a hired lawyer who was supposed to help him start immigration proceedings in Mexico, where he was then living. The book is not meant to be a chronological approach, but rather deals with the psychological and emotional issues around exile and the Kafka-esque experience of the Italian judicial system of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

The other review is correct in that the book is quite short.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unpursued for a murder he didn't commit., October 23, 2010

By 

coyote "coyote521" (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fugitive (Paperback)

Since the title of this book is "The Fugitive", it brings to mind a television series from the 1960's which had the same name. that "Fugitive" was a little different; the protagonist was accused of a murder he didn't commit (that of his wife) like the hero of this book, but he was pursued by a very determined policeman who wanted to arrest him and bring him to justice.

The hero of this "the Fugitive" is not pursued by anybody. Through much of the first part of the book he goes into great detail about all the different disguises he used, the characters he played, the tricks that he learned; how to cross borders, how to make telephone calls, get money, how careful you have to be just about every minute , waking and non-waking, of every single day. And he is very good at it. He manages to avoid capture for years. But, in all fairness, this could be because absolutely nobody is looking for him.

I have to say that for me, and maybe this is just me, reading pages and pages of details about how to avoid being caught when nobody in the entire universe is actually pursuing you is just not all that riveting.
Mostly I found myself both feeling sorry for this poor schnook and all the trouble he went to, and also wondering if perhaps he was suffering from some rare form of paranoia; Fugitiphobia.

By the way, the hero was "wanted" nowhere because he was for some reason accused of a murder he was trying to report. I know this from the inside flap of the book. He also belonged to a left wing protest group. That may have had something to do with it, I wouldn't know.
that stuff isn't in the book. He starts at the end and then flashes back to the middle. He never bothers with the beginning.

Of course, it's possible that at the end of the book he goes back to the beginning. I wouldn't know.
I didn't get there. I was reading the book on a bus and there was a guy sitting opposite me who peered over the top of his newspaper and so I jumped out the window of the bus, dodged mid town traffic, changed my name, started acting like a german tourist, and then got on a subway and jumped off at the last minute as the doors were closing (I learned that cool trick from "the Fugitive", so I guess reading the book wasn't a total waste of money). Somewhere along the way I lost the book and I can't buy another copy because I could be apprehended.

2 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Carlotto, The Fugitive, May 16, 2007

By 

Howard S. Shapiro "Howard" (West Bloomfield, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fugitive (Paperback)

Although Carlotto is allegedly a major novelist in Europe, this memoir is disorganized, rambling, and boring. Its only virtue is its brevity. Do not waste your money.