Roberto Saviano’s book, Gomorrah, about the warring Camorra clans in Naples, was published in 2006. Due to the enormous success of the book and Saviano publicly insulting the head of the Casalesi crime family, he has had to live under police protection for the last 16 years. Together with Israeli cartoonist Asaf Hanuka, Saviano’s first comic, I’m Still Alive, explores his feelings on his situation as well as relating anecdotes and showing the realities of his way of life.
I really wish I liked Saviano’s writing more because the adaptations that have followed his work have been some of my most favourite media ever. The movie version of Gomorrah is great but the TV series? I honestly believe it’s one of the best shows ever made - it’s unbelievably good and I highly recommend it to any fans of crime drama.
As a result, I’ve tried to read Saviano’s books intermittently over the years and haven’t ever really gotten that far. I’m Still Alive is the only book of his I’ve finished and even then I’d say I didn’t totally dislike it in large part to Hanuka’s enormous illustrating skills.
I knew nothing about Saviano’s personal life prior to reading this book so it’s compelling to begin with to realise the very strange and extreme lifestyle he’s had to lead since 2006. I think it’s entirely laudable that he took such a principled stand against the criminals destroying Italian communities and some of the stories he relates of near misses and various threats he’s received over the years are interesting.
Then - and I know this sounds very shallow and arsehole-y of me, considering we’re talking of a man’s real life - it gets quite repetitive and dull: he used to have the freedom to do stuff and now he doesn’t, he’s isolated and lonely, etc. etc. I get that the reality of his life is unknowable to anyone who hasn’t gone through it themselves - which he notes as well - and that the repetition of the book is nothing compared to what he must go through, but it’s also a narrative that feels a bit thin to read.
And the hell of it is that Saviano is smart enough to be aware of these things himself, mentioning the repetition and how it must seem to others. I initially thought he’d basically been living in a cell these past 16 years but he’s lived all over the world, travelled to book festivals, and so on - it’s not as constricting as I first imagined, though he’s had an ever-present armed guard. And he’s aware of revealing details like this too, that it undermines the perception of his situation as less than life-threatening. He’s obviously an intelligent man to observe all of this, in addition to his many artistic accomplishments, but there’s only so much to his situation and, even for a comic, it feels padded.
So it’s hats off to Asaf Hanuka whose beautiful and creative art really enlivens what would otherwise be a rather dry and one-note narrative. He throws in fantasy sequences, like in Sliding Doors, when Saviano imagines his life if he hadn’t published Gomorrah, or magic realist moments when a dozen Savianos are pointing guns at him, or he’s floating above the 9/11 memorial.
Hanuka occasionally breaks the fourth wall, injecting himself into the story to quiz Saviano on particular details, and he mixes up the colour palette for each chapter so that it’s always visually appealing to the reader. The conjugal visit sequence in particular, done without words, was especially inspired. Hanuka’s a brilliant cartoonist in his own right - his Realist strips are worth a look - and he’s a superb choice as collaborator to Saviano for this book.
I’m Still Alive is an insightful look at a brilliant man’s unusual life, though the story becomes less engrossing long before the end, and is buoyed up by the artist’s talents. If you’ve never seen the Gomorrah movie or TV series, definitely check them out if you can - they are spectacular works of art and are a lasting tribute to Saviano’s bravery in speaking up.
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