A life against the grain. Roberto "RedSox" Mantovani in Messina (original) (raw)

Denunciation, irony, love for his job and varied humanity in «Night Taxi Driver – Adventures of a Life Against the Flow» (Garzanti), narrative debut of the Italy’s most famous driver, Roberto “RedSox” Mantovani, born in Bologna in 1969crazy about baseball (hence the nickname), whimsical inhabitant of the streets of the beloved city, tireless animator of solidarity campaigns (during the lockdown he delivered free groceries to those in need; he raises funds for the Casa della Donne), loved by the users who follow him on X, but disliked in his environment for having started, in May 2023, a campaign against colleagues refractory to the use of the POS, publishing on the famous social network, which he continues to call Twitter («I don’t like the current boss Elon Musk…» he underlines), his daily earnings. Roberto has also become a literary character: he appears, at the wheel of his «Bologna 5», in the novel «Lèon» by Carlo Lucarelli.
Now his book tells the dynamics of a world about which very little is known. «Taxi driver at night», however, is not only a frank “trial of the category”, but above all the attempt to convey the love for an always unpredictable profession.. The Emilian capital is the perfect backdrop for an endless series of anecdotes and stories collected by Roberto aboard his #Bologna5: encounters that changed his life, unexpected romantic scenes, races against time, undercover investigations. An unvarnished look at the chiaroscuro of a difficult profession full of twists and turns, which the author will present tonight (6 pm) at the Feltrinelli Point in Messina.

But how did the book, a continuation and extension of his social activity, come about? «Years ago, right on Twitter, I told customers’ nighttime stories, especially when something unusual happened to me – he tells us –. As my battle against the taxi lobby grew and there was so much more to say, I decided to write down my experiences. There was so much material to work with, both for the denunciation part and for the more fun and relaxed part dedicated to customers. Those who drive taxis even at night don’t need Netflix and TV series, because in a taxi you live serious life…».
The book alternates these two registers, held together by a direct and ironic narration from which the author’s Bolognese origins emerge strongly. “I wanted to keep it because I love my city and those who are outside recognize this Bologneseness in me. There is a lot of Bologna in the book, both on the cover and in the typical slang, a mix between the dialect and a new language of “us young people” of a certain generation. I also wanted to include it because university students from all over Italy, including Sicilians and Calabrians, learn this language once they come to us.”
A style also close to the “stand up” theatrical monologue. «After all, the inside of the taxi is a big theater, where sometimes you don’t know if the audience is me or the customer. There is an alternation, so sometimes I am the protagonist because the customer compares himself with me».
Another common thread in the narrative is the presence of Benito Catarro, a fictional character emblematic of those bad faith taxi drivers reported by Mantovani, who occasionally pops up in the story to challenge his statements: “He’s becoming a famous character, maybe they’ll make him the protagonist of a film, because he represents the worst of our category… He’s a type of man protected by everyone, even by good people. Instead, we should rebel and kick all the Benito Catarros out of the category and that’s what I continue to do with my reports. My colleagues hate me, but I don’t stop and I keep going.”
Despite everything, would you recommend this profession to a young person?
“It’s not the same everywhere, because for example in the South, unlike the North, there is no culture of calling a taxi for travel; but I highly recommend it because it’s the best job in the world.”

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