#RivetingReviews: Jennifer Sarha reviews M. SON OF THE CENTURY by Antonio Scurati, translated by Anne Milano Appel

First published in 2018, Antonio Scurati’s M. Son of the Century (‘M. Il Figlio del Secolo’) is the first in his pentalogy on the life of Mussolini. The novel was a commercial as well as a critical success (it won the Strega prize in 2019) and has been translated into forty languages. A TV series directed by Joe Wright and starring Luca Marinelli came out in 2024. The novel is long but very readable (NB: I read it over two weeks while on holiday) and the chapters are short and clearly written. Anne Milano Appel’s translation is superb and works well with Scurati’s Italian.

The novel’s burning questions concern the rise of fascism: what did Mussolini and the people around him think they were doing? What were the circumstances that enabled them to take power? As an answer, Scurati provides a thorough historical grounding in the post-First World War situation in Italy: the rise of socialism; the widespread contempt for the weakness of the state; the belief that violence will bring about the desired society; and the belief also that violence is what protects the old world. This is the context in which Mussolini’s fascists are able to enter and, eventually, to corner the market on societal violence. There is a vast amount of information here, but it is skilfully managed, and Scurati uses it to construct a compelling read. The narrative on the March on Rome alone is a masterclass in dramatisation.

In terms of style and language, Scurati conveys both the threat and the excitement of revolution (whether socialist or fascist) via multiple perspectives and modes of writing. The violence is never graphic, yet we are made aware of its constant presence and the dread it evokes. We see the pleasure of landowners and aristocrats in stepping on the rights of their workers and burning down their houses. Mussolini himself, however, is kept at a certain distance – unlike in the TV series – but he is nevertheless a compelling protagonist: a man who understands politics, communication and dramatics, and unabashedly deploys them in his own interest. We are not invited to take his side but we are shown his appeal; the novel builds on layers of understanding to show us how a fascist makes himself look reasonable and respectable.

Another key aspect of the novel is rhetoric, used by all the politicians and activists at the time (something often misunderstood by modern audiences, who lack the habit – common from antiquity to the 1960s – of listening attentively to long speeches as entertainment). Scurati employs a deft hand as he demonstrates the power of persuasive discourse and how it enables fascist slogans to enter the mouths, if not the brains, of various audiences. By inviting readers to interact and grapple with Mussolini’s rhetoric, with its strengths and weaknesses, Scurati offers exactly what one wants in a historical novel: a way to access a moment in history on its own terms.

Reviewed by Jennifer Sarha

M. SON OF THE CENTURY

Written by Antonio Scurati

Translated by Anne Milano Appel

Published by Fourth Estate (2022/2025)

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Jennifer Sarha is a Finnish writer and scholar based in Luxembourg. She has an unmentionable day job, but her spare time is dedicated to literary and historical pursuits; reading voraciously in many languages and in translation.

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