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Cargando... Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (2006 original; edición 2008)por Amara Lakhous, Ann Goldstein (Traductor)
Información de la obraClash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio por Amara Lakhous (2006)
Italian Literature (116) Books Set in Rome (75) Cargando...
Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Each of several residents of an apartment reveal themselves in statements to the police interspersed with journal entries about them by the primary suspect in a murder investigation. The immigrant experience to Rome of various Mediterranean people, where someone from Naples can be viewed as foreign. ( ) This is an odd little book but one I really enjoyed. Europa Editions rarely steers me wrong. The novella is a series of monologues from various residents and neighbors of a building in Rome, telling of their experiences and relationship with one character, Amedeo, who has disappeared after another resident is found murdered. The murder is not really the point; rather, Lakhous is painting a portrait of a multinational community, one in conflict with itself between Italians (and even they are not a unified lot) and immigrants. Sly humor is woven throughout the book, which helps to balance the more serious themes of racism, xenophonia, and Islamaphobia. As an Algerian-born writer now living in Italy, he knows of what he speaks. 4 stars Lorenzo Manfredini, a thug who goes by the moniker The Gladiator, is found dead in the elevator of an apartment building on Piazza Vittorio in Rome. On the same day, a man called Amedeo goes missing, a fact which, in the police’s books, makes him the prime – if not the obvious suspect. Amara Lakhous’ novel – winner of the prestigious Premio Flaiano when it was first published in Italian in 2006 – consists of transcripts of brief police interviews with people who knew Manfredini and Amedeo, interspersed with diary-like entries by the mysterious, elusive Amedeo himself. The interviews provide an insight into the kaleidoscope of cultures which collides in central Rome. Indeed, the subject of the novel is not primarily the fairly tame whodunnit which propels the narrative forward, but the theme of immigration, race and multiculturalism. We learn of the tribulations of foreign immigrants, but also of the inherent racism of such individuals as the Neapolitan concierge Benedetta, even while she is herself looked down upon by Northerners who have settled in the city. Eventually, we discover that Amedeo – taken for an Italian by most of the “witnesses” – is also an immigrant with a poignant past. Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio is an enjoyable, often humorous, sometimes moving novel, well rendered in Ann Goldstein’s translation. That said, considering the depth of the themes it addresses, I found it rather superficial. The interrogations are not long enough to really allow us to delve into the character of the interviewees, who are often portrayed as something of a caricature – the Romanista bar owner, the Milanese snob, the racist Neapolitan. The solution to the mystery is underwhelming, if not downright silly. However, this bittersweet novel doesn’t outstay its welcome, and provides an authentic (and, for some, possibly surprising) view on contemporary Italy. https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/06/Clash-of-Civilizations-Elevator-Piazz... Lorenzo Manfredini, a thug who goes by the moniker The Gladiator, is found dead in the elevator of an apartment building on Piazza Vittorio in Rome. On the same day, a man called Amedeo goes missing, a fact which, in the police’s books, makes him the prime – if not the obvious suspect. Amara Lakhous’ novel – winner of the prestigious Premio Flaiano when it was first published in Italian in 2006 – consists of transcripts of brief police interviews with people who knew Manfredini and Amedeo, interspersed with diary-like entries by the mysterious, elusive Amedeo himself. The interviews provide an insight into the kaleidoscope of cultures which collides in central Rome. Indeed, the subject of the novel is not primarily the fairly tame whodunnit which propels the narrative forward, but the theme of immigration, race and multiculturalism. We learn of the tribulations of foreign immigrants, but also of the inherent racism of such individuals as the Neapolitan concierge Benedetta, even while she is herself looked down upon by Northerners who have settled in the city. Eventually, we discover that Amedeo – taken for an Italian by most of the “witnesses” – is also an immigrant with a poignant past. Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio is an enjoyable, often humorous, sometimes moving novel, well rendered in Ann Goldstein’s translation. That said, considering the depth of the themes it addresses, I found it rather superficial. The interrogations are not long enough to really allow us to delve into the character of the interviewees, who are often portrayed as something of a caricature – the Romanista bar owner, the Milanese snob, the racist Neapolitan. The solution to the mystery is underwhelming, if not downright silly. However, this bittersweet novel doesn’t outstay its welcome, and provides an authentic (and, for some, possibly surprising) view on contemporary Italy. https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/06/Clash-of-Civilizations-Elevator-Piazz... The plot of this novella revolves around a murder--"the Gladiator" is found murdered in his apartment building elevator. Amedeo, another resident of the building, has been accused. In alternating chapters Lakhous presents narration from different residents, a store owner on the square, the hotel concierge, and the accused himself. A cast of unreliable narrators! As each person narrates we learn all about the residents, their activities--and the elevator. Through Amedeo's musings we learn more details about stories the others tell. The various immigrants--from Iran, the Netherlands, Bangladesh--are all looked down on by the Italians who largely don't know where they are from (the northerners and southerners also look down on each other). Names are mispronounced and friendly words misunderstood. The satire and humor is strong here. It is both funny yet completely believable and sad. All of these people mean well (maybe not the Gladiator), but through cultural and language barriers they misunderstand so much. The only thing they agree on is that Amedeo was a wonderful man and cannot be guilty. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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The immigrant tenants of a building in Rome offer skewed accounts of a murder in this prize-winning satire by the Algerian-born Italian author (Publishers Weekly). Piazza Vittorio is home to a polyglot community of immigrants who have come to Rome from all over the world. But when a tenant is murdered in the building's elevator, the delicate balance is thrown into disarray. As each of the victim's neighbors is questioned by the police, readers are offered an all-access pass into the most colorful neighborhood in contemporary Rome. With language as colorful as the neighborhood it describes, each character takes his or her turn "giving evidence." Their various stories reveal much about the drama of racial identity and the anxieties of a life spent on society's margins, but also bring to life the hilarious imbroglios of this melting pot Italian culture. "Their frequently wild testimony teases out intriguing psychological and social insight alongside a playful whodunit plot."--Publishers Weekly No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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