54 is a complex novel about popular culture, the shattered dreams of the Italian Resistance, and the relationship between Europe and America.
Background research began in 1999, after the publication of the group's previous novel Q. Plots were outlined in the aftermath of the Kosovo War. Actual writing work ended ten days after September 11, on the eve of the war in Afghanistan. These two wars are explicitly referred to in the novel's End Titles: "Begun in May 1999, during the Nato bombings of Belgrade. Delivered to the Italian publishers on September 21, 2001, awaiting the escalation". The events leading to (and following) September 11 are also allegorically described in the book's forenote.
54 was published in Italy in the springtime of 2002. In the following months, Wu Ming collaborated with Italian folk-rock band Yo Yo Mundi, whose ensuing concept album 54 (2004) was directly inspired from the novel.
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