The Loveliness of Terror

This is a novel about violent urban protest. Fifty years ago rioting and terror rocked Europe, nowhere more so than in Italy which suffered the ‘years of lead’ - a decade of incessant bombings, kidnappings and the murder of public figures. A massive crackdown ended the turmoil but the underlying social problems were never resolved. In recent times acts of terror, fuelled by jihadism, have targeted the West. In 2011 the peace of English cities and of one Norwegian island was shattered in ways that had not been imagined. Civil society remains under threat from within.

We revel in terror on our screens. The public craves catharsis. Where they can, onlookers gather at fatal road accidents or public executions. Art finds beauty in the violence that is part of everyday life.

This is a love story enmeshing three people, set in Italy - one of the most beautiful, wealthy and violent countries in the developed world. The problems it faces at home are far from unique. The novel contains a warning to all well-off societies.

Gemma and Tancredi, children of lawyers for the Red Brigades terrorists, take part in demonstrations against globalisation at a meeting of world leaders in Italy. They become friends with Zoe, an English student, and she goes with them for a weekend in Egypt, unaware of a plan hatched by Tancredi, who is waging a private war against pollution, to sabotage one of the Nile cruise ships. It is a fiasco and subsequently Tancredi’s interest in protest cools. Gemma, however, is drawn into Middle East issues by an Egyptian friend, Salim, and as a freelance journalist goes with him to Iraq.

On her return she leads a radical action group frustrated with government policies and political apathy in Italy who call themselves Luna. They start a campaign of urban protest with graffiti, leaflets and some harmless explosions. Zoe is not in it, but is sympathetic when she learns about Luna. Things start going wrong as the group steps up its activity and Gemma begins to rely increasingly on the fanatical Salim. Tancredi, already closer to Gemma than a brother should be, turns to Zoe whose English boyfriend has security connections and his own suspicions about Luna. In the beautiful locations of Liguria and Florence a crescendo is building towards disaster.