Matteo is a ten-year-old with no friends in Asinara, where his father has come to oversee the agricultural penal colony in 1960. His solitude is shattered by the arrival of Vincenzo, the son of one of the island’s seasonal fishermen, and their friendship blossoms through adventurous explorations, treasure hunts, ghost stories and lobster-fishing expeditions. However, these experiences cannot redeem the island’s oppressive atmosphere or rescue Matteo from his family falling apart.
Following the tragic death of a prisoner, Matteo’s father, in a bid to prove his ability to maintain order and discipline, abandons his reformist beliefs and stages a manhunt for an escapee. Meanwhile, Matteo’s mother succumbs to the charms of Lamanna – a young inmate who works as a houseboy – becoming his lover and accomplice. With her assistance, Lamanna manages to escape, and Matteo’s father, betrayed and deceived by his wife, pursues him at sea and kills him. Matteo can alert the authorities to prevent this tragic outcome, but does not. Over twenty years later, he confesses all that happened to a guard at Asinara. Ironically, he is now in prison there as a member of the Red Brigades, and with his comrades sets the old prison ablaze.
Marco dell’Omo returns to fiction with a compelling tale that highlights the significance of certain historical places in shaping our present. It captures the essence of the universal desire for growth and its inherent challenges, even when growing up means finding oneself or escaping by swimming freely in the sea.
“A romantic and poignant tale where the hand of destiny leaves an indelible mark on every character.”
La Stampa TTL
“Islands, prisons, lobsters, freedom, the winds of Asinara, Ponza’s fishermen, conversations in the harbour, and an Italy undergoing an astonishing transformation in the face of modernity.”
Il Venerdì – La Repubblica
Marco Dell’Omo is a journalist who has followed thirty years of Italian politics. He is the author of the book of mountaineering stories I conquistatori del Gran Sasso and the novel La Banda Gordon (Nutrimenti, 2020). He has also written films and documentaries for television.
Il manifesto
Checchino Antonini
Lessico famigliare di un adolescente all’ombra dell’Asinara
Il Venerdì
Filippo Ceccarelli
Cronisti della vita vera
La Nuova Sardegna
Alessandro Marongiu
I fuggitivi. Un’adolescenza all’Asinara
Alto Adige
Paolo Campostrini
Prigionieri dell'isola carcere
Gazzetta di Parma
Elisabetta Stefanelli
Asinara, morte e vita dura non solo per i detenuti
Alto Adige
Marco Fregona
Prigionieri dell'isola, storia di un'amicizia circondata dal mare
Mangialibri
Sebastiano Del Rosso
I fuggitivi
Senza Linea
Cristiana Abbate
"I fuggitivi" di Marco dell'Omo. Recensione
Cronaca Qui
Nessuno può fuggire dall'Asinara. E ora che tuo padre è direttore...
