Tina, Mafia Soldier

  I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Tina, Mafia Soldier

Author: Maria Rosa Cutrufelli 

Publisher: Soho Crime

Release Date: 3.7.23  (First published January 1, 1994)

Publisher’s Summary 

A classic of Italian feminist mafia literature about a dangerous, enigmatic young gangster pushing the boundaries of gender and propriety, in English for the first time

In the 1980s, a teenage girl terrorizes the Sicilian town of Gela. Tina's father was in Cosa Nostra and was brutally shot dead in front of her when she was just eight; after that, she made it her mission in life to join the mafia, although women are traditionally not allowed in. Nicknamed 'a masculidda, or "the tomboy," Tina is notorious through Gela for her recklessness, cruelty, and complete disregard for societal expectations.

When a news article is published about Tina's latest crimes, an unnamed teacher living in Rome feels compelled to write a novel about her--even though it means returning to her home island of Sicily to gather material. She and Tina circle around each other in a hypnotic, dangerous dance of obsession and violence until their first, and last, explosive meeting.

In this ruminative, literary exploration of what it means to live in the mafia's dark shadow, the narrator's observations and interactions are counterposed against recollections of Tina's life as she grows up from a child into a soldier of the mafia, shedding gender constraints along the way.

Based closely on Maria Rosa Cutrufelli's experiences as a Sicilian and on the true case of a teenage girl who became a mafia soldier, Song to the Desert is a powerful work of autofiction whose original Italian publication was a watershed moment for Italian crime fiction, as it shed a light on a corner of mafia literature that had previously gone unexplored: the role of women in the mafia, and the impact that the mafia has on women and girls.

My Review

I don't think I could write anything in my review that is not already covered in the summary. This book is a slow slow burn and definitely atmospheric but it is not quite the action-packed story I expected. The promise of a "genderbending mafiosa" had me expecting more of a salacious and feminist Sopranos but this story focuses more on the local history and setting, with Tina almost blending into the background.  I struggled with the first half of the book in terms of pacing and not knowing where the story was going, but once I got my bearings I was intrigued. The notes at the end of the novel explaining the author's inspiration gave me much more perspective and appreciation for this story. I would recommend this to readers of hyperlocal and specific historical fiction.