Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Quer Pasticciaccio Brutto de Via Merulana – Carlo Emilio Gadda



This book was a Christmas gift from a friend – a gift that stupidly remained unread for a couple of years too many. Reading it was undeniably hard work (something best done with a good dictionary next to you), but it was also definitely worth it. Again, a book set in the Fascist era, although one that isn’t really about Fascism. Again, a book about Rome and the city’s unique people. Again, a mysteriously intricate story and a pretty cool investigator to try to make sense of it all.

I have already mentioned my love for unfinished works of art – even better if they are left intentionally unfinished (which actually raises all kinds of questions about whether they are actually finished or not, I know) – and Gadda’s book is definitely no exception. And the different registers and styles that Gadda uses show a kind of virtuosity that I have never seen in any other novel and, even if just because of that, everyone should read this book.

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