Stephano Giacobini
L'Isola Degli Uomini Superflui

It would be genuinely dramatic to discover that the setting of Stephano Giacobini's novel "L'isola degli uomini superflui" actually existed. It would be disconcerting, but perhaps not so surprising. The Island (which is not in the middle of the sea but deep in the forest) is a place where very rich, spoiled, and morally depraved men can "purchase" another human being (a Superfluous Man) and kill him in whatever fashion pleases them, with sadism and violence, either for pure amusement or scientific purposes.

A perfect organization, worthy of Spectre, kidnaps the most miserable inhabitants of the favelas, obliterates their personalities with brutal torture, and makes them available to anyone who wants to experience the thrill of killing a man with their own hands, without fear of consequences, in utmost secrecy. Superfluous Men, therefore, regarded as little more than objects.

Could our current society, divided between (a few) rich, who are becoming ever richer, and (many, many) poor, doomed to become increasingly destitute, reach such an extreme? Can money go so far as to give a commercial value even to death, which becomes a consumer good like any other? The author seems to want to provide an answer to these questions, far from reassuring, with this novel, which serves as something of a metaphor for our society.

Fortunately, there is also love, which wedges itself between so much hatred with intensity equal to the violence perpetrated on the Island, involving some of the protagonists. But isn't love perhaps an exaggerated form of selfishness? The most useful of illusions?

Good and evil seem to chase each other endlessly in this thriller that is not only gripping due to its many twists and turns, but also prompts reflection on the current state of humanity and the nature of feelings.

Technically it is very well written, it is fluent, although the vocabulary is sometimes a bit too formal and refined.

Curiously, there are no geographical names, but the places where the story unfolds are described precisely, with indications of plants and animals that allow for identification for those familiar with geography or offer learning for those not well-versed in the subject.

Reading this novel can only be beneficial. However, be wary of some particularly raw and violent descriptions, bordering on splatter, which might disturb the dreams of those with weaker stomachs.