Virgins and Villains in Italy

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 2/26/2007

The first month of 2007 brought several changes to the international bestseller lists, including the debut of the top titles in Italy. In nonfiction, the bestselling title at the end of January, Re-Virginity, is described as a humorous look at "this new kind of American absurdity." While Americans' actual interest in revirginity may be debatable, curiosity about the Mafia in the U.S. always runs high; that's the topic of the #2 nonfiction. Though author Roberto Saviano is considered a star of the anti-Mafia movement, he is now living under police protection in Italy. Topping the fiction list is the newest Inspector Montalbano thriller from Andrea Camilleri, whose works are published in the U.S. by Penguin. The only two American-published works doing extremely well in Italy last month were The Kite Runner and The Innocent Man.

It was a bit different in France, where Hannibal Rising debuted at #1 in fiction, though no other American author cracked the top 10. New at #2 is Adam's Perfume, on radical ecology; it's the latest from Jean-Christophe Rufin, who won the Prix Goncourt in 2001 for Brazil Red. New titles also sat at the top of the nonfiction list, led by a biography of French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. Moving into the #3 slot, the humor book Coloring Book for Adults Bored in Offices, offers such suggestions as drawing a boss's boots, and then licking the paper.