The novel created polemics, due to its merciless portrait of Italian politics, as did his novel Todo modo (1974; One Way or Another), due to its description of Italy's Catholic clergy.
Romanen skabte meget debat pga. dens nådesløse portræt af italiensk politik, det samme gjorde hans film Todo modo, 1974 (Med alle midler, 1976) pga. dens beskrivelse af den katolske præstestand i Italien.