Burglar breaks into 71-year-old's house to rob her but stops midway after spotting a book on bedside table
When you think of a burglar, you’d imagine someone scary who is out to steal valuables. Burglars don’t want something mundane and simple, their target is always something that can fetch a good price. That’s what a man in Italy set out to do until he was distracted, per BBC. A burglar surprised everyone by being caught under an unusual circumstance. The 38-year-old intended to rob a flat in Italy and entered the person’s home through the balcony. The occupant, a 71-year-old man, was asleep and had no idea about what was to unfold.
The burglar was deeply invested in his plan. However, his mind was diverted when his gaze stumbled upon something by a bedside table. The man noticed a book about “Homer’s Iliad,” per Neo Kosmos. The man got curious about the skilled contents of the book and sat down to read it. Forgetting his robbery, he was engrossed in the book when the occupant woke up to find a stranger in his home. The man was caught red-handed not robbing, but rather hysterically reading a book.
He attempted to catch the burglar, but the man immediately escaped via the balcony. He was shortly arrested by the police but he tried to cover up by claiming that he was there to meet a friend. However, a bag found on him, containing expensive items and clothing he stole before his literary adventures told another story.
To add more detail, the book the burglar was bafflingly caught reading was Giovanni Nucci's “The Gods at Six O’Clock,” which explains the Iliad from the perspective of the gods. The scenario was revealed to the author of the book. Nucci was shocked by the incident and one can only understand that he may have been a little proud that his work made a thief put down his robbery to pick up the book. He also noted that “it was fantastic.”
He mentioned that he’d like to meet the burglar and ensure he got a chance to finish the book he was caught reading. He said, "I'd like to find the person caught red-handed and give him the book because he was arrested halfway through reading it. I'd like him to be able to finish it. It's a surreal story, but also full of humanity."
Sharing another light-hearted moment at the end of the discussion, Nucci pointed out that his favorite deity in the book was Hermes, who is said to be the God of thieves. The author related the same to that of the burglar’s incident and pointed out a hysterical perspective. He joked, "He is also the God of literature. It is clear: everything fits.”