Thanks to a good read, a would-be burglar was caught at the scene of the crime in Rome.
Whether it was your current read keeping you up past your bedtime, the bookshelves of a local, charming bookstore that captivated you for hours, or a particularly cozy day spent perusing the bookshelves at your local library, if you love to read, there’s a good chance that you have found yourself distracted by books before.
But have you ever been so distracted by books that the crime you’re in the process of committing seemingly slipped your mind? We would venture to guess that probably hasn’t happened to most of us, however, that is precisely what happened to a burglar in Rome recently.
Breaking News
The BBC reported that via the balcony, a 38-year-old gained access to a flat in the Prati district of Italy. With a bag of stolen, expensive clothing in hand, the perpetrator quickly became consumed by a copy of The Gods at Six O’Clock by Giovanni Nucci. So consumed in fact he totally gave up trying to flee the scent of the crime. Assuming the house was empty and he had a few minutes to spare, the alleged burglar decided to cozy up with the book. Meanwhile, the 71-year-old homeowner awoke and confronted the alleged burglar who was still heavily absorbed in his reading.
We Interrupt This Broadcast
We know you must be wondering about the book that this alleged burglar just couldn’t put down.
In short, The Gods at Six O’Clock by Giovanni Nucci explains The Iliad from the perspective of the gods.
Acknowledgments
As if this story wasn’t chaotic enough, word got out to author Giovanni Nucci and he had some thoughts on the matter.
“It’s fantastic,” Nucci told Il Messaggero, an Italian newspaper. “I’d like to find the person caught red-handed and give him the book because he’ll have been arrested halfway through reading it. I’d like him to be able to finish it.” The author also took to Instagram to recap the story. Now, whether you’re a fan of the fantasy genre or not, if a book is captivating enough to stop a crime, that must be worth something.
How it Ended
Ultimately the alleged thief was caught off-guard and attempted to make a quick getaway via the balcony he came in on, but was arrested soon after. At one point he told police that he had climbed the building to visit someone he knew, “I thought I had ended up in a B&B, saw the book, and started to read it.”
There is no doubt that this instance was nothing if not bizarre, but admittedly our number one question is, did he get to finish the book? We’ll continue to follow this story in hopes of answers to all of our questions.
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Migz
Victoria Lewis
Victoria is a freelance writer, dog lover, and coffee enthusiast living with her husband and dog in a small town in Kansas. Surrounded by an expansive to-be-read pile, she spends her time either deeply engrossed in a book or listening to one. As a fervent supporter of both bookstores and public libraries, Victoria enjoys sharing her latest reads on social media, connecting with fellow bibliophiles, and diligently updating her Goodreads profile.
