I’ve started a book club about fascism with some friends. Our first book is “M: Son of the Century”, an Italian novel about Mussolini’s rise to power. I’m reading in Italian, but I also have an English translation for when it gets tough.
I’m a little over 100 pages into it, and so far, it’s great. The author, Scurati, does an amazing job of showing how angry a lot of Italians were after WWI. Everyone agreed that the old world of the 19th century was over, but they disagreed with what would come next. Lots of arditi and other veterans were apparently furious that Italy hadn’t conquered more territory during the war.
It’s been wild reading this while watching this rage-filled, information-free regime come to power in the US. I don’t get why people are so angry about not being able to control other people.
This isn’t a traditional book club — we’re not meeting in person, just sharing thoughts as we read. I chose this book because I wanted to understand how fascism took power in Italy through a historical novel, especially given what’s happening to American democracy.
What’s interesting and terrifying is how Mussolini handled the early movement. His collaborators wanted to define detailed political goals, but Mussolini understood that details didn’t matter. What mattered was anger. Trump might be an idiot, but he’s successful for the same reason — he can’t talk details, just rage.
I’ll be writing more posts as I continue reading, adding terms and historical facts that seem important for non-Italian readers to know.