Umberto Brindani graduated in philosophy from the University of Bologna, a professional journalist since 1985, he began his career at the monthly Espansione and later moved on to the financial newspaper Italia Oggi. In 1986 he joined Panorama, where he was the main collaborator of the director Carlo Rossella, holding the position of co-director. In 2004 he moved to the Hachette-Rusconi Publishing Group where he took over the editorship of Gente. In 2005 he returned to Mondadori, directing the weekly Chi for a year flanked by deputy director Alfonso Signorini.
On 16 October 2006 he moved to the direction of TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, replacing Massimo Donelli (who moved to the direction of Canale 5).
At the end of 2007 he participated in a long-distance controversy with the actor and satirical author Daniele Luttazzi, which arose following a response given by Brindani in a column of the weekly, in which the journalist criticized the comedian approving his departure from the screens of La7.
On 19 June 2008 he left the direction of Tv sorrisi e canzoni (Alfonso Signorini will take his place) and Mondadori to join RCS, where he became co-director of Oggi and director of Tv Oggi. In February 2010 he also became editor of the weekly. Since June 2015 he has been Editor in Chief of the new weekly “Chain Reaction”. In January 2022 he left the editorship of Oggi after 12 years, replaced by Carlo Verdelli. Since February 2023 he has been the editor-in-chief of the weekly Gente, currently published by Hearst Magazine Italia.
His latest literary effort “Imperfect Suicide” published by Armando Curcio editore.
A journalist from Nera, passionate about investigations and investigations into news cases, tired and bored by a profession now in decline, finds himself unwillingly entangled in the death of his publisher’s young daughter. A tragedy that affects the whole newspaper and public opinion.
Thus he began his investigations, questioned his sources, did research on the internet and thanks above all to the nose of an old-fashioned reporter he managed to put together various clues. He discovers a scenario made up of prostitution, drugs, easy money. Animated by the sacred fire of truth, he dares and approaches dubious characters, follows the trail of Serbian criminals… The woman magistrate who leads the investigation appreciates his work but apparently does not support it. What is behind it, what do they want to hide? A metropolitan thriller that can be read in one breath and opens unexpected scenarios on a certain way of doing journalism and administering justice.
It can be broadly summarized in this way, but between stalking, sentimental yearnings in the odor of melodrama, suicide attempts, it leads to a revealing ending of an unexpected intrigue.
In short, we are in the presence of the most complete and complex thrill: the novel that ideally closes it is a distillation of dark suggestions – a story of love fou that is also a detective story that is also a thriller, which is a possible story of and/or madness – interwoven with thematic-formal symbolisms functional to the themes of the double and vertigo, in the vertigo from which the “detective” suffers.
One of the most evocative functional encroachments of the novel is in fact affected by the climi stylistic features, here loaded with added, psychoanalytic and thriller connotations.
The author appropriately frames the “imperfect thriller”, “full of holes (but perhaps it would be more accurate to say black holes, not all of them involuntary”).
Strengthened by a consolidated competence over the years, Brindani analyzes the formal and content traces of the story, digressing functionally, in support of a further reading to the consolidated one.
The novel plumbs again, scene by scene, anticipations and derivations, effectively framed as a crossover of fear and desire, love and death, search for meaning and bewilderment.
The case involves the protagonist in a profound and direct way on several fronts,
The only person able to provide some information about the killer is the protagonist himself.
The protagonist is an imperfect and vulnerable character, who is doing his best to maintain the precarious balance between private life and work.
He feels guilty, but he feels that his commitment is necessary for the world – which sometimes seems to conspire against him – to be a better place. Precisely because he occupies an important position, and he has to fight against mistrust.
Another of the strengths of this novel is undoubtedly the detailed description of the detective work. The identity of the characters is strengthened, the action is supported and empathy is created, even if there is no shortage of unforeseen events, obstacles and errors – some quite gross – in the evaluation of the facts, with devastating consequences for the investigation.
In the end, then, a consideration is expressed as lucid as it is strong, which leads us to reflect on the concept of law.
You understand well that in this work, there is so much to be passionate about, renewing with pleasure the moment of encounter with the book and the story it contains.