01-10-2008, 06:21 PM
Amazon link The Mysterious Flame of Queen Leona
Cream rises to the top.
In popular literature this means the good stuff eventually makes it to the bargain rack of the large-chain bookstores. I had read a previous novel by Umberto Eco and found it dry and difficult, but strangely compelling. One reviewer compares his writing to having a 'textbook-like feel' and I have to agree. His novels are filled with such meticulously researched content that you are forced to learn as the story progresses.
I now know more about the rise of 'Il Duce' and the Partisan movement in WW2 Italy than I ever got out of High School. I now know about the Black Shirts and the death of Mickey Mouse in Italian comic books.
The story follows an elderly man who awakes from a coma with no memory of his life. He can speak, read and operate machinery but cannot recognize the faces of his wife and children.
In a combined effort to convalesce and regain his memory, he returns to his family's summer home and combs the attic for clues. He discovers books, newspapers, comics, records and even package labels that maddeningly jog his memory and create larger gaps.
The book is filled with reprints of these items as well as lyrics from fascist propaganda songs and popular tunes of the era(s). It is a somewhat difficult read given Umberto's dry writing style (could it be the translation?) but ultimately thought provoking.
I won't reveal the end, mainly because it's confusing as hell (think 2001:A Space Odyssey meets David Lynch) but well worth the $5.99 price tag.
Cream rises to the top.
In popular literature this means the good stuff eventually makes it to the bargain rack of the large-chain bookstores. I had read a previous novel by Umberto Eco and found it dry and difficult, but strangely compelling. One reviewer compares his writing to having a 'textbook-like feel' and I have to agree. His novels are filled with such meticulously researched content that you are forced to learn as the story progresses.
I now know more about the rise of 'Il Duce' and the Partisan movement in WW2 Italy than I ever got out of High School. I now know about the Black Shirts and the death of Mickey Mouse in Italian comic books.
The story follows an elderly man who awakes from a coma with no memory of his life. He can speak, read and operate machinery but cannot recognize the faces of his wife and children.
In a combined effort to convalesce and regain his memory, he returns to his family's summer home and combs the attic for clues. He discovers books, newspapers, comics, records and even package labels that maddeningly jog his memory and create larger gaps.
The book is filled with reprints of these items as well as lyrics from fascist propaganda songs and popular tunes of the era(s). It is a somewhat difficult read given Umberto's dry writing style (could it be the translation?) but ultimately thought provoking.
I won't reveal the end, mainly because it's confusing as hell (think 2001:A Space Odyssey meets David Lynch) but well worth the $5.99 price tag.
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