Luca Di Fulvio
La Scala di Dioniso

"Search in that bitch's vagina for the bones that are missing from my son" is a phrase that appears repeatedly in the novel, fully encapsulating the grim and malevolent spirit that permeates it.

Stories of physical and mental deformities, of illness and insanity.

In an unhealthy neighborhood of a big city, at the dawn of the first day of the new century, 1900, the fury of a killer is unleashed who stages crime scenes like film sets, leaving messages that the protagonist inspector, Germinal, will have to decipher in spite of himself.

Germinal is the complete opposite of the flawless cop; he is, in fact, a desperate heroin addict with his own skeletons in the closet. As punishment, he finds himself in the sweltering peripheral neighborhood known as the Leech, populated by prostitutes, thieves, criminals of all kinds, and revolving around the large sugar factory, which itself is about to explode into an internal worker revolt.

The Scale of Dionysus is not a simple thriller, as the cover suggests, but much more: a typically noir 19th-century novel masterfully written, nonetheless. The plot is intricate and never boring, the dialogues are never predictable, sometimes requiring one to pause and appreciate the author's virtuosic style and language at certain points.

The setting is fundamental and consequently enhanced with meticulous descriptions.
Di Fulvio's world has strong cinematic references: the smoky, sickly atmosphere recalls The True Story of Jack the Ripper but, especially, the grotesque characters of Noverre, the Mechanic Man, and Sciron's circus could well be rendered by a well-tuned Tim Burton.

The novel is actually divided into two stories: the first concludes with the inevitable confrontation between the killer and the commissioner, the second is a long flashback, The Sixteen Steps, which tells the personal story of some of the protagonists, clarifying certain aspects of the novel. This too is a rather original choice.

Novel passed with flying colors, the same goes for the author, to whom nothing can be faulted in form, style, or content. Those who appreciate Zafon will certainly enjoy "The Scale of Dionysus".