The Fugitive by Massimo Carlotto - A review

Massimo Carlotto published his debut book, 'The Fugitive', in 1995, but it didn't reach the English-language market until 2007. By that time, the author had already established a fanbase over here due to the release of the first two 'Aligator' books and the first 'Giorgio Pellegrini' novel.

Autobiographical, ‘The Fugitive’ tells of Carlotto’s life on the run after being sentenced to eighteen years for a crime he didn’t commit (not to mention the time he had already spent incarcerated while waiting for sentencing) and covers his experiences in Western Europe and South America.

Carlotto (through the translator Anthony Shugaar) tells us about how he evaded capture for so long, and how trusting the wrong person saw that all end. In a rather conversational tone, he discusses the disguises and characters that he inhabited, the way he lived his life and how it affected him, as well as the friendships he built and maintained while almost always adhering to self-imposed rules.

However, I found the most striking thing about this book was his self-depreciating humour, no doubt a coping mechanism if we are to get all pop-psychology, which led me to forget that I was reading about a man on the run. Carlotto’s humour didn’t just entertain it actually delighted me, and it was only when the topic shifted toward the death of a friend or the corruption and mistreatment by authorities that the gravity of his situation returned. That really hit hard. Although, I had to laugh when the Mexican authorities extradited him to Italy and only then did he realise that the authorities, in all likelihood, had lost and forgotten about his arrest warrant.

Now, I came to this release on the back of his other work, and it helps provide insight, as much as a reader needs, into the man but beyond that as a human I don’t think there is anyway in which I would have been able to continue through his bad luck, and even worse experiences and come away with any sense of positivity let alone to carve a new life.

Filled with paranoia, despair, hope and humour - this is a fantastic read that at only 160-odd pages you can blitz through. And you will.

From being a fugitive, a bulimic, and a nicotine addict to a successful author takes some doing, and I have a lot of respect for Massimo Carlotto. Not to mention a lot of space on my bookshelf for his releases.