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Winner of Italy's most prestigious literary award, Premio Strega
'To be born male is an incurable disease'
In 1975, three young men, former students of the prestigious all-boys Catholic high school San Leone Magno, entrance two teenage girls to the seaside resort of Circeo. Neo-fascist scions of wealthy Roman families, the men rape and brutally torture the girls to the point of murdering one. The event, which comes to be known as the Circeo massacre, shocks and captivates all of Italy, exposing the violence and dark underbelly of the upper-middle class at a moment when the traditional structures of family and religion are under threat.
Edoardo Albinati sets his novel in the halls and corridors of San Leone Magno, in the late 1960s and the 1970s. His experiences at the school, reflections of his adolescence, and thoughts on the forces that produced contemporary Italy are painstakingly and thoughtfully rendered, producing a remarkable blend of memoir, coming-of-age novel, and true-crime story. Along with indelible portraits of teachers and pupils, The Catholic School also reflects on the legacy of abuse, the Italian bourgeoisie, and the relationship between sex, violence, and masculinity.