Meet Vittorio and Milo, two young grifters living by their wits in modern Turin, getting by on petty scams and swindles. The two young men have kept an idea in a back drawer for years, the Big C - the Big Con. They're sure it will make them rich, but so far they haven't been able to get it off the ground. Enter Milo's uncle Grissino, a con-man with years of experience. He immediately grasps the potential of the Big C and joins the enterprise. Along with Cristina, Milo's girlfriend and the object of Vittorio's hopeless passion, the four set out to prove that "the great Western economy has a protective net around it, but the holes are very big and it can be penetrated if you use a little imagination."
Currently in production as a film, the novel is an ironic picture of life among the lowlifes-adrift, opportunist, and alienated. It's quirky, fresh and funny, filled with rapid-fire dialogue and the droll philosophical musings of a swindler with a literature degree.
Translated by Aubrey Botsford from the original Italian, La Ballata Delle Canaglie.
About the Author
 ENRICO REMMERT was born in 1966 in Turin, Italy, where he still lives and works. He has published numerous stories in literary anthologies and magazines in Italy and abroad. His first novel, Rossenotti, won the Tuscania and Chianciano prizes and has been translated into several languages. The Ballad of the Low Lifes is his second novel.
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The Critics Praise:
"Readers will relish the ideas while enjoying a writing style which, without sacrificing pace, manages to tell us something new about human nature."
LA STAMPA
"A great book; it replies with fireworks and pauses for thought, exhilarating dialogue, commentaries shouted out loud and subplots intermingled with the main story. A wonderful novel, to be read immediately."
L'UOVO
"Enrico Remmert is a suave critic-bringing to mind Calvino's light touch-of this deceitful world."
TUTTOLIBRI
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