A book lover’s misadventure: Robber in Rome gets distracted by interesting book and ends up behind bars!

In a bizarre twist of fate, a man in Rome found himself engrossed in a book during what was allegedly supposed to be an attempted robbery.

What happened?

The 38-year-old suspect, who is yet to be identified, as per reports, broke into an apartment through a balcony in the Italian capital. However, upon entering the house, he spotted a book on Homer's Iliad. He became so captivated by the book that he lost track of time and his alleged criminal intentions.

The owner of the house, a 71-year-old man, was present in the house during the robbery attempt. When he confronted the to-be robber, the literary fan was so absorbed in his reading that he seemingly ignored the interruption.

The suspect eventually tried to flee through the same balcony he used to enter the house, and he was quickly apprehended by the authorities.

It's fantastic, says the book's author

The book that distracted the would-be thief as per NBC15 was "The Gods at Six O'Clock" by Giovanni Nucci.

Giovanni Nucci, the book's author, was nothing short of amused by the incident.

Speaking to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Nucci expressed his amusement and surprise at the unusual turn of events and remarked, "It's fantastic. I'd like to find the person caught red-handed and give him the book, because he'll have been arrested halfway through reading it. I'd like him to be able to finish it."

Target for thievery of B&B?

The alleged almost thief, as per the report, gave a different explanation for his actions. He claimed he was merely trying to visit a friend in the same building. He said he got confused and mistakenly thought he had arrived at a B&B.

"I thought I had ended up in a B&B, saw the book and started to read it," the suspect claimed, according to BBC.

(With inputs from agencies)