The incredible story of the man with three legs
Three legs, four feet, sixteen fingers and two genitals: the story – in the form of a fictionalized biography – of Frank Lentini, immigrated from Sicily at the end of the nineteenth century in the USA, where he becomes part of the freak shows.
A biography in the form of a novel and a hymn, of fascinating lightness, to the retort and marginal lives that have the power of giving us a new perspective of the world, precisely because they are always pushed towards the margins.
Frank Lentini was born and grew as an an outcast in the Sicily of the end of the nineteenth century. As a child he moved to the USA where he became part of the freak shows and got rich and successful.
The incredible story of the man with three legs is his fictionalized biography. An extraordinary life narrated through interviews, original documents and researches in the archives of the American newspapers of the last 130 years.
It’s a story of immigration and redemption – Lentini is one of the millions of Italians that moved to the USA in search of fortune – but it’s also a story of diversity, that is intertwined with the rise and fall of the freak shows, controversial shows the protagonists of which were exhibitionists and disabled people.
In the background half a century of American stories runs, crossing big towns and the province, the world of entertainment and the criminal one.
Press reviews
Federico Vergari - Wired
Una storia pazzesca e reale che parte da un’approfondita ricerca tra gli archivi dei giornali americani dell’ultimo secolo e mezzo. Una storia sui generis, ma centratissima, che ci parla di immigrazio...Leggi
Sky TG 24
«Storia incredibile dell’uomo con tre gambe è una biografia sotto forma di romanzo e un inno di leggerezza alle vite storte e laterali».Leggi
Lucio Luca - La Repubblica
Sullo sfondo, tra le grandi città e l’immensa provincia, scorre mezzo secolo di storia americana. Una biografia, certo, ma soprattutto un romanzo e un inno di affascinante leggerezza alle vite storte ...Leggi
Manfredi Lamartina - Esquire Italia
Intervista ad Alberto Giuffrè: «Il mondo dei freak show è una parte importante della storia, ma volevo che rimanesse sullo sfondo per quanto possibile: è stata più che altro una scusa per raccontare i...Leggi