The cover of A Private Venus admiringly refers to its author Giorgio Scerbanenco as the
 “Godfather of Italian Noir.” This label carries with it the history of Italian crime 
fiction as a genre, as well as Scerbanenco’s role in its development. As his name suggests,
 Scerbanenco was the progeny of a Cold War–era culture clash, evidence of what happens when 
a Ukranian man and an Italian woman love each other very, very much. Though he spent most of
 his life in Milan—and the city plays a central role in A Private Venus—both cultural 
influences make themselves known in the novel, most notably in its hero, Duca Lamberti.
 Duca is fiercely loyal and instinctively protective, an exemplar of Italian belly fire,
 but he maintains a cool, detached cynicism worthy of a spot in the KGB. Duca’s complexities
 only serve to mirror those prevalent throughout A Private Venus. Written in 1966, the 
novel is not quite mafia fiction—there are no blood wars, nor are there phony truces forged 
between families. However, it’s also not quite noir. Rather, Scerbanenco’s story bridges the
 gap between two genres, illuminating a culture in which the mob is not underworld, but overlord.
      *** ✔️WARNING✔️ ***
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