Niccolò Ammaniti
Come Dio comanda (The Crossroads / As God Commands)
A novel, Mondadori 2006 - Einaudi Stile Libero 2015, 554 pages

Winner of the Premio Strega 2007

Come Dio comanda was made into a film by Gabriele Salvatores in 2008

“Bang! Propulsive from the first page, this latest from Ammaniti is stunningly, disturbingly entertaining adrenaline fiction.”
Kirkus Review

“[As God Commands] is a rollickingly dark horror-comic, a grueling piece of fun.”
The Independent

The economically depressed village of Varrano, where Cristiano Zena lives with his hard-drinking, out-of-work father, Rino, is a world away from the picturesque towns of travel-brochure Italy. When Rino and his rough-edged cronies Danilo and Quattro Formaggi come up with a plan to reverse all their fortunes, Cristiano wonders if maybe their lives are poised for deliverance after all.  But the plan goes horribly awry. On a night of apocalyptic weather, each character will act in a way that will have irreversible consequences for themselves and others, and Cristiano will find his life changed forever, and not in the way he had hoped. Gritty and relentless, As God Commands moves at breakneck speed, blending brutal violence, dark humor, and surprising tenderness. With clear-eyed affection, Niccolò Ammaniti introduces a cast of unforgettable characters trapped at the crossroads of hope and despair.

Niccolò Ammaniti

Niccolò Ammaniti was born and lives in Rome. He made his debut in fiction in 1995 with the novel Branchie. He is the author of award-winning novels and short stories, translated in 44 countries: Fango (1996), Ti prendo e ti porto via (1999), Io non ho paura (2001, Premio Viareggio), Come Dio comanda (2006, Premio Strega), Che la festa cominci (2009), Io e te (2010), Il momento è delicato (2012), Anna (2015) and La vita intima (The Intimate Life, 2023). In 2014 he edited the anthology Figuracce, which includes the short story Marco Risi contro la Maga della Maglianella.

Many of his books have been successfully made into films: L’ultimo capodanno (directed by Marco Risi, 1998); Branchie (directed by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, 1999); Io non ho paura and Come Dio comanda (both directed by Gabriele Salvatores, 2003 and 2008), Io e te (directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, 2012). Following his work as author and director of the feature-length doc The Good Life (2014), Ammaniti has made his TV debut with The Miracle, a SKY original series for which he was showrunner, co-writer and co-director that also aired in France, Germany, Spain and UK. In 2019 Ammaniti received the Series Con Award. Ammaniti is also showrunner, co-writer and director of Anna, a Sky original TV series, based on the novel of the same name.

In January 2017, Niccolò Ammaniti has been awarded a honorary degree in Philology, Literature, and History.

 

Link
Niccolò Ammaniti’s website

Video
Come Dio comanda, a film directed by Gabriele Salvatores

“Bang! Propulsive from the first page, this latest from Ammaniti is stunningly, disturbingly entertaining adrenaline fiction.”
Kirkus Review

“[As God Commands] is a rollickingly dark horror-comic, a grueling piece of fun.”
The Independent

“Niccolò Ammaniti is one of Italy’s brightest literary stars. His fiction combines tense horror with the blackest comedy… [offering] an artful interstitching of plots and cinematic, horror-dazed images.”
The Observer

“Every scene contains a twist.”
The Guardian

“A black thriller with the momentum of an action-packed Hollywood movie.”
Times Literary Supplement

“Brutal but effective.”
The Times

“Energy and danger spray off it like water from a choppy sea… Very hard to put down.”
Daily Mail

“Ammaniti, a wonder at creating graphic black comedy, keeps the plot rolling while pushing his characters to their absolute limits… If the Coen brothers ever wanted to go Italian, this’d be prime adaptation material.”
Publishers Weekly

“Not at all pretty, but darkly, ferociously beautiful—a triumph for Europe’s hottest novelist.”
Kirkus Review

“[As God Commands] shows the gritty side of [Italy] not seen by tourists… The issues raised here range widely, from alienation, violence, drug use, hunger, and joblessness to the role of religion in today’s world… An excellent book discussion choice… A powerful novel, cinematically written, with touches of unsentimental emotion and comedy… The masterly Ammaniti creates powerful characters not easy to forget.”
Library Journal

“It is impossible not to be gripped.”
Financial Times 

“An extraordinary book. The characters are dissected with a sly sense of humor, compelling you to follow them wherever they go. Ammaniti sketches a cruel picture of adolescence and laments the Italian landscape where beauty and nature have lost out to business parks and megastores.”
NRC Handelsblad

“Niccolo Ammaniti strikes a masterful balance between farce and tragedy.”
Die Welt

“Ammaniti is a modern-day Dickens: he takes a ruthless snapshot of degradation, arousing horror, shock and tears.”
La Repubblica

“Niccolò Ammaniti is the best novelist of his generation.”
Il Giornale

“Ammaniti is a born story-teller.”
l’Unità

“Both classic and modern, As God Commands has the authenticity of a great novel.”
El Cultural

“A tragicomic story by a writer at the top of his form.”
Le Figaro

Foreign rights sold in
Australia: Text Publishing
Brazil: Bertrand Editora Brasil
Croatia: Profil Multimedia
Denmark: Gyldendal
Egypt: Beba Editions
Finland: Otava Publishing
France: Grasset
Germany: Fischer
Greece: Kastaniotis
Hungary: Európa Könyvkiadó
Iceland: Bjartur bokaforlag
Israel: Kinneret
Korea: Seamulkiul
Kuwait and Middle East: Dar Kalemat
Macedonia: Kultura
The Netherlands: Lebowski
Norway: HR Ferdinand
Poland: Muza
Portugal: Bertrand Editora
Romania: Humanitas
Russia: Machaon-Inostranka
Serbia: Plato Books
Slovenia: Goga
Spain and latin America(Castilian): Random House Mondadori
Spain (Catalan): Empuries
Sweden: Norstedts
Turkey: Can Yayinlari
Uk: Canongate
Us: Black Cat-Grove Atlantic

Italian and international editions

 

Foreign publishers of Niccolò Ammaniti’s works:
Albania: Botimet Dudaj
Armenia: Zangak
Australia: Text Publishing
Brazil: Companhia das Letras, Bertrand Editora Brasil
Bulgaria: Colibri
China: Shangai 99, Crown Publishing, Horizon Media
Croatia: AGM, Profil, Vorto Palabra
Czech Republic: Havran, NLN, Nakladatelstvì Lidové noviny
Denmark: Gyldendal
Egypt: Beba Editions
Estonia: Pegasus
Finland: Otava Publishing
France: Edition du Félin, Grasset, Laffont
Georgia: Sulakauri
Germany: Fischer, Reclam, Piper
Greece: Perugia, Kastaniotis, Metaixmio
Hungary: Ulpius Haz, Noram kiado, Európa Könyvkiadó
Iceland: Bjartur
Israel: Kinneret
Japan: Hayakawa Shobo
Korea: SeamulkiulSigongsa
Kuwait and Middle East: Dar Kalemat
Latvia: Jāņa Rozes apgāds
Lithuania: Tyto Alba, Alma Littera
Macedonia: Kultura, Magor, Antolog Books
Mozambico: Societade Ediotorial Ndjira
The Netherlands: Wereldbibliotheek, Prometheus, Lebowski
Norway: HR Ferdinand, Vigmostad og Bjørke
Poland: Muza
Portugal: Dom Quixote, Bertrand Editora
Portugal (Mozambico): Sociedade editorial Ndjira
Romania: Humanitas
Russia: Machaon, Inostranka, Atticus
Serbia: Plato Books
Slovenia: Goga, Študentska založba
Slovakia: Slovart, Ikar
Spain and Latin America (Castilian): Grijalbo, Anagrama
Spain (Catalan): Empuries, Angle Editorial
Sweden: Norstedts
Thailand: Butterfly Publishing
Turkey: Can Yayinlari, Doğan Kitap
UK: Canongate
US: Canongate US, Black Cat-Grove Atlantic
Vietnam: Phu Nu

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