The unreliable narrator is at his best in this book. First Execution presents a few questions and leaves you to answer them yourself. What is it like to write and rewrite a story until it is part of you? And more importantly - many of us complain about the "state of the world" and the "great injustices," but how many of us would actually step up and do something about it?

The blurb in the back of the book described it as being about terrorism. I think it's more about searching ourselves for what we really, truly believe. A very interesting read for anyone who is trying to find a place in our confusing world. ( )

In this novel, a retired high school teacher from Naples, now living in Rome discovers that a former pupil was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. After her release, he visits her and she makes an odd request -- that he retrieve a specific book from an apartment.

In this novel, author Domenico Starnone considers abandoning a new novel he's just begun, then decides to continue it, with a few changes. Later, a contentious encounter inspires him with a different way to proceed with the story.

This is an odd and utterly fantastic book. Starnone alternates between a novel and the author's difficulties in writing that novel. Which should make Stasi's tale feel less real, but despite the way the author alters the plot as he goes along, it all works. I've read books that go meta, but none as effective and interesting as this one. ( )

When it comes to intelligent, metaphysical books, I am probably not the best person to weigh in with an opinion. I tend to get bogged down in the logical weeds and at some point, become a frustrated reader. I am also not usually a huge fan of books written as a “story about a story” where we have an author agonizing about the story he is trying to write, so I wasn’t sure how I would take to this one. For such a short story – clocking in at a mere 160 pages – Starnone packs a lot of action, suspense, and intriguing monologues into this slim volume. If you are looking for a straightforward story, this isn’t it. In fact, it is easy to get confused. It does not help that both the character Stasi and the author Starnone have the same first name (thankfully, last names seem to predominate) and that the POV shifts are not always easy to spot(hence, some of the confusion while reading). The re-writes of the “story within a story” lend to some deja-vu experiences, which further blur the lines. Within all this “mess”, Starnone surprisingly manages to pull of a compelling psychological thriller, tapping into such interesting topics such as interpersonal relations, family, aging and the all important question of personal responsibility. Suffice to say, the philosophical dilemma taking shape is a layered effect.

Like I said, I am probably not the best person to review this type of story and my comments are probably not very helpful. How about I just say that overall, I found this to be an intelligent, page-turning meta-fiction thriller read, and a better than I was expecting going in. ( )

"A narrator/author, Domenico Stasi, is writing a story about events from his own life while adapting these events to the needs of his fiction, telling his story and then backing up and rewriting his plot, while also experimenting with characters." -- Amazon customer review

I've just started this, am finding it intriguing so far. ...however, I couldn't finish it (highly unusual for me.) The skipping back & forth between the story itself & the segments where the author is rewriting the story got too confusing. I thought I would be able to get through it -- it's only 171 pages long --but once I stopped forcing myself to read one more section, I couldn't make myself pick it up again! I think maybe someone who is actively involved in their own writing might enjoy it for the "insider" point of view ( )

Per questo autore ho un'antica predilezione, legata a tante cose. Di lui ho letto tutto, credo. La storia è sofferta e verosimile, impietosa come spesso l'ultimo Starnone. Mi ha letteralmente fulminata la capacità di gestire il dialogo alternando con una logica che non fa una grinza discorso indiretto e battute di dialogo. Io che ho da sempre la convinzione che il dialogo sia la cosa più artificiosa e difficile da rendere della scrittura sono rimasta senza fiato per l'ammirazione.