A Tomb on the Periphery

By John Domini

"...John Domini is a master of suspense and of psychological complexity. The result is an edgy, richly peopled and thoroughly absorbing novel."-Margot Livesey

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1928589405
• ISBN13: 9781928589402
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Gival Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A TOMB ON THE PERIPHERY

A self-contained sequel to Domini's virtuoso EARTHQUAKE I.D.(which focused on an American family encountering Naples as part of a NATO relief effort), this new novel focuses on the redemption of a young Neopolitan jeweler, Fabbrizio, who is involved with underground figures who steal relics from archeological digs and sell them to museums; and/or who sell counterfeit relics (which he crafts) to museums. The villains of the story are two local hoods, quick with knives. The intrigue and romance begins as Fabbrizio goes freelance, working with an American woman, who needs his help in robbing a tomb of a necklace worn by the skeleton of a Greek princess, and who claims to have a buyer in New York. Fabbrizio earnestly seeks success in a dangerous and corrupt world. If the hoods discover him dealing contraband on his own, they will kill him. Of course, in the tomb "on the periphery" of Naples, a family of Somali refugees witnesses Fabbrizo and the American making off with the necklace; and the family is arrested when the theft is discovered, then later released. They hope to find Frabbrizo, recover the necklace and win permanent citizenship by returning it to the police. Fabbrizio has his own family ties: his father, Babo, had been a jewelry maker, whose business failed. Fabrizzo's older brother, Rico, is a computer nerd, lost in a dream of passing exams, but thanks to their mother, Babo accepts a dull office job. Fabrizzo himself keeps up the passion for making jewelry, albeit as a forger, wondering how his father could "have cut out his heart and tossed it in a desk drawer." His mother objects to illegal activity and wants him to Fabrizzo to advance himself through a "regular" life. But after his father dies, his mother has a heart attack and they need money to care for her. "No more black work," she pleads, but Fabrizzo sees a last contract with the hoods as a way to save the family. The American, Shanti, is a femme fatale to Fabrizzio, "spilling the damp green complications of humanity across the airbrushed flatness of his mental centerfold," and the repartee between them is consistently lively. Of course she turns out to be Italian herself. She only needs pictures of the stolen necklace to perpetrate an internet scam, and then willingly gives it to Fabrizzio. The local hoods don't know he has it. The Somali father has found him, but in the meantime the hoods have kidnapped the Somali mother and daughter. Farbrizzo, with the necklace, rushes to their rescue, and manages to triumph: "While his soul may have gone astray, his moral compass had remained true." Domini manages suspense as well as Alfred Hitchcock. The story is mostly told over Fabrizzo's shoulder, as his rumination, and in narrative prose that is rich in metaphor, wit, and sensory description. For instance, in his encounter with the Somali father: "the flecks of gold in the man's eyes remained hard to assess, like sparks thrown off by an interior blacksmithing to

Intrigue in Italia

John Domini's "A Tomb on the Periphery" is a fast-paced and finely-wrought novel that draws heavily on the author's obvious erudition and his extensive knowlege of Neapolitan culture and society. The geographic and archeological details are rich and intensely realized, while the dialogue, and especially the humor, is resoundingly pitch-perfect. Fabbrizio, the novel's hard-boiled protagonist, displays an extraordinary psychological complexity and proves himself a compelling guide whose distinctive voice never wavers. Domini does here for Southern Italy what Peter Taylor once did for Memphis and William Kennedy did for Albany--and he does it just as well, with an original and vibrant flair. Readers who invest a few moments to peruse page one of "The Tomb on the Periphery" will soon find themselves engrossed, as I did, and their interest will be very well rewarded.

A young man with cojones...and heart

I shouldn't compare John Domini's "A Tomb on the Periphery" to a novel of almost a whole decade earlier -- Marcos Villatoro's "The Holy Spirit of My Uncle's Cojones (Arte Publico Press, 1999). TOMB is Italian; COJONES is Latino. The young man of TOMB is older, edgier, darker. And Villatoro's COJONES is not in everyone's minds; it's too esoteric to reference, just another small press novel. Yet neither Domini's nor Villatoro's small press works should be ignored. And while other reviewers are right to praise the suspense and mystery of TOMB, I find my thoughts focusing on the heart of the young man, who in the end must make a choice that will make all the difference in his character -- the consequences of which will reverberate far into his future as an adult, and will determine what kind of man he will be. And that crux of the novel, that choice, that man-in-the-making, is the very thing in Villatoro's novel that was memorable as well. I cannot say anything more, or else this review would be a spoiler. Read TOMB for what the other reviewers describe. Suspense. Mystery. Utter coolness of setting, of attitude, of plot. Enjoy the ride. But when you get to the end, you may find, as I, that this story of a man in the making -- a young man who finds the cojones to become his own person -- is the story truly worth remembering.

A fast paced thriller from first page to the last

Being raised under the gun of the mob - not the best way to stay a law abiding citizen through one's life. "A Tomb on the Periphery" is the tale of Fabbrizio - a man who has been outside the law all his life, but tries to keep in touch with his humanity. An American archaeologist comes into his life, and among other hectic day to day tasks he must do to stay alive, her emergence doesn't help things. A fast paced thriller from first page to the last, "A Tomb on the Periphery" is a must for fans of the genre and community library thriller collections.

Don't Judge this Book by its Cover

John Domini's A Tomb on the Periphery is the second of a three-novel series set in post-earthquake Naples, Italy. The main character Fabbrizio, or Brizio for short, takes us on a wild ride through the grittier side of an already chaotic disaster area created Domini's first book in the series, Earthquake I.D. Though it is part of a series, A Tomb on the Periphery can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own. As a result of the catastrophic earthquake, new archaeological ruins have been uncovered on the periphery of town. Known for being a guy who can get around law, Brizio finds himself tangled up with Shanti, an American with her eyes on a priceless artifact found among the tombs. Fabbrizio unknowingly forms a connection with the artifact and its previous owner, who is now reduced to a pile of bones in a duffel bag being shuffled all over the city. Danger looms from all sides as Brizio attempts to sort out the American, trouble at home, an illicit jewelery replication project and the ever present immigration issues. Domini treats his readers to a feast of thugs, high-speed action, social commentary, humor and even a bit of romance in a well-packaged story. I found TOMB to be even more satisfying than Earthquake ID and hope the third and final book of the series will continue the trend of better and better.