The Loneliness of the Brave: A Novel about Giovanni Falcone

The explosion pierces the rural silence of Corleone. Young Toto Riina sees his loved ones perish. The roar of this explosion marks the beginning of an entire era. People whisper about the new power called the mafia, Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing" in the Sicilian dialect), the provincial begins to push out the urban crime, and soon all of Sicily stands still in fear of brutal terror. Murders follow one after another, in cities and villages, on the coast and in the very center of the island. The mafia declares war not only on its competitors but also on the authorities, and primarily on those who try to fight it. Carabinieri, police officers, prosecutors, and magistrates (investigating judges) all find themselves under the merciless sights of those for whom murder is routine. But the explosion also gave rise to another force — courage and persistence, embodied by Giovanni Falcone and his like-minded associates. In the 1960s, a fierce confrontation between law and crime begins in Sicily, which will later engulf all of Italy. The story of the great mafia fighter, Giovanni Falcone, a true hero of Italy, is told by one of the best Italian writers, the author of the global bestseller "Gomorrah".