One of most enjoyable novels I've read this year is Amara Lakhous's Clash of Civilizations Over An Elevator in the Piazza Vittorio. It is a superior mystery novel set in a contemporary Rome that is filled with immigrants, intellectuals, indigents, and the borderline insane. Eleven apartment building residents tell their side of the story as we slowly find out what happened to the Storm Front skinhead who has been found dead in the building's elevator. Suspicion falls upon the saintly Amedeo who has gone missing and who seems to be the only one keeping order among the fissiparous residents of the run down block of flats in the otherwise charming Piazza Vittorio. Amadeo has secrets of his own, many of which are revealed through the series of diverse narratives and vignettes that comprise the novel. Each narrator's truth is complimentary and we get a full picture of what life is like for the building's residents as well as short dissertations on Iranian cuisine, pizza, Italian manners and the tactics of the glorious Dutch football squad of the 1970's. According to my book jacket they are making a film of Clash of Civ. and although it's going to be very funny it would take a reborn Fellini to do justice to this hilarious and insightful book.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Rashomon With Pizza Jokes
One of most enjoyable novels I've read this year is Amara Lakhous's Clash of Civilizations Over An Elevator in the Piazza Vittorio. It is a superior mystery novel set in a contemporary Rome that is filled with immigrants, intellectuals, indigents, and the borderline insane. Eleven apartment building residents tell their side of the story as we slowly find out what happened to the Storm Front skinhead who has been found dead in the building's elevator. Suspicion falls upon the saintly Amedeo who has gone missing and who seems to be the only one keeping order among the fissiparous residents of the run down block of flats in the otherwise charming Piazza Vittorio. Amadeo has secrets of his own, many of which are revealed through the series of diverse narratives and vignettes that comprise the novel. Each narrator's truth is complimentary and we get a full picture of what life is like for the building's residents as well as short dissertations on Iranian cuisine, pizza, Italian manners and the tactics of the glorious Dutch football squad of the 1970's. According to my book jacket they are making a film of Clash of Civ. and although it's going to be very funny it would take a reborn Fellini to do justice to this hilarious and insightful book.
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23 comments:
Very nice review. And Marco is going to be so happy.
'Fissiparous', though? Dammit.
Very nice review. And Marco is going to be so happy. I am. Glad you liked it, and for the glowing review.
Seana
Its a good book isnt it?
Marco
Thanks for your rec. I otherwise wouldnt have heard of it until maybe when the movie came out.
Nice review. I want to add it to the list, but the list is so effing long anymore...
Speaking of which, I finally read The Road and just finished Empire of the Sun. Both great books.
There just isn't enough time in the day for everything I want to read.
Brian
I feel the same way. I dont have a commute to work but on mine I started listening to audio books a few years ago and its very pleasurable if you get the right narrator. Audible.com is a pretty good service even though I've had to jump through a few hoops to pay for books on an Australian CC.
Adrian,
That's a damned good idea for the commute. As much as I love the morning zoo radio shows, listening to a good book would probably do a lot more for me in the long run.
Brian
What I meant to say is that I dont have a LONG commute to work, but even fifteen minutes is pretty nice in audio land. The narrator is key though. Audible allow you to listen to a sample first and you should even if its a terrific book it could be ruined by a lousy narrator. The Road is an excellent eg. of when it all comes together beautifully - great novel and the perfect narrator.
It is a very good book, and I do think excellently translated or we would not know that it was good. I am so curious what Lakhous will come up with next.
Amara Lakhous owes you a meal, though, Marco. Or maybe it's his English language publisher, Europa, that does.
Adrian,
Clash of Civ. sounds like an interesting read. I'll try to pick it up before my trip to Hawaii next week. I'd like to read 50 Grand while I'm there, but it won't be released yet (I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon today though--can't wait).
I happened to be near Barnes & Noble in Cincinnati today. I stopped in, looked for Clash of Civ. and McGilloway's Bleed a River Deep, but they didn't have either. Might have to order both.
Take care,
Josh
Dutch football, Iranian food, odd surgery ... What a lot of wonderfully features of daily life Lakhous weaves into the book.
That's a nice call on the reborn Fellini.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Brian
It is a good book, a quick read, and rather different from everything else you may have on your list. Peter, Seana and Adrian all liked it.
I recommend it highly.*
* I still need to secure a shot of liqueur after the meal.
Josh
Clash of Civ might not last you the whole the plane ride from Cin City. Its only 150 pages. Did you ever read the book of From Here To Eternity, not the film but the actual book. Its a real eye opener about life in Hawaii pre 1941. Soldiers, cuckolds, rent boys, sociopaths, femmes fatale and that's just on the army base. Its a good book and long.
Marco
Yeah it was very enjoyable and I was relieved we didnt get the dead skinhead's story which would have been drearily postmodern.
Peter
Growing up a hockey fan you probably missed the Dutch side of the 70's. They resurfaced again in the 90's but still werent powerful enough to win the World Cup. Maybe if Belgium breaks up and they gain some Flem.
Seana
It is a nice translation. Very smooth (not that I would have a clue what the Italian is like) but nothing jarring anyway.
In the original the various Italian characters mix Italian with their own Regional dialect.
Nothing excessive, and I suppose each character's speech and mannerism is distinctive enough that this aspect can be overlooked. It would be interesting to compare the translation with the original though.
Probably not the most appropriate place to do this, but I thought I would say that that situation involving a child's welfare that greeted us in L.A. a week or so ago has been satisfactorily resolved, though none too soon. So grudgingly I admit that there will be no immediate need for kneecapping. Thanks, though.
Adrian, I was more a baseball fan, but during soccer's most recent World Cup, I did read Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer. I also caught some of the talk about total football when Rinus Michels died, so the soccer talk and meditation in Clash ... worked for me.
With respect to Marco's remarks about Clash ...'s language and the comments about translation, the translation was absolutely seemless. Whatever decisions the translator had to make, the result is brilliant.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Some highlights from an Associated Press story about the first game at the new Yankee Stadium:
NEW YORK — Down in the plush, teak-armed seats of the ultra-deluxe Legends Suite section, Rose Mattiello sighed in the glorious sunshine Thursday as she enjoyed the treat of a lifetime — a gift from her son of opening day tickets at the new Yankee Stadium.
Out in the bleachers, in a section with an obstructed view, Melanie Mugno was fuming. She couldn’t see left field from her $5 seat. She couldn’t see the flat-screen TVs placed too far below her, or the huge scoreboard just above.
“Look at this,” she said in exasperation — the benches didn’t even have seat backs.
…
The christening of spanking-new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, with its exquisite dining, private clubs, conference rooms, martini bar, farmer’s market and crazy prices for the best seats — $2,625! — had a decidedly “Upstairs, Downstairs” feel about it.
…
“I could care less about all that stuff,” said Mario Valente, of New Milford, N.J., sitting next to his awe-struck fourth grader, Michael, in $375 seats. “It’s opening day, and I’m here with my son.”
While you can still catch a game for as little as $5 — in an area obscured by the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar — attention has focused on the seats behind home plate, which go for as much as $2,625 for single games and north of $200,000 for a season ticket. Even Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner has acknowledged some may be overpriced.
…
Season ticket holder Lisa Curesky was fine with the ticket prices — well, not really, she said, but she could deal with it for now. What really annoyed her at the moment was the price of a beer: nine bucks.
…
Yankees officials have argued they need the high-rollers to subsidize everyone else. To that, longtime baseball fan and essayist Roger Rosenblatt merely laughs.
“On that basis, automakers should charge $300,000 for one car and $20 for another,” Rosenblatt said.
Final score: Indians 10, Yankees 2
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Peter
Yeah I listened on gameday audio, which BTW has a disastrous new player with no pause or FF buttons like the player they had for the last five years. No pause or FF means that if there's say a two hour rain delay you cant FF!!! And you have to listen to 1 hour of pregame crap everytime. I've been complaining like mad over at their boards but I'm going to have to start blogging about it because they're doing nothing but greedily taking my money. (I'm sure my blog post will change their mind)
Here's a few note I took from Peter Abraham's excellent LoHud Blog:
UPDATE, 1:56 p.m.: The crowd is dead quiet. Dead. But Opening Day, especially this one, figured to bring out a lot of pretenders.
UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: The crowd is just brutal. Yankees come to plate and there is barely a smattering of applause. I don’t know if the crowd is quiet or the design of the stadium is the reason, but it’s like being in church so far.
UPDATE, 3:59 p.m.: And Marte gives up a slam followed a long solo drive by Martinez. It’s 10-1.
The crowd is chanting, “We want Swisher.” {Swisher was the first position player to pitch in a game since Wade Boggs in 1997 - he pitched a scoreless inning]
Now they’re booing Marte as the inning finally ends.
UPDATE, 4:03 p.m.: God Bless America now comes with a musical accompaniment. It’s like a Disney song now.
Meanwhile, remember those West Point Cadets who unfurled the flag before the game? They got obstructed view seats in the bleachers. How to honor the troops.
I agree that the narrator can make a huge difference in your enjoyment of a book. The first book of yours that I encountered was "Hidden River" and the narrator was great - I've bought the rest of your books as a consequence.
Ger is pretty good. I think he won an award for that narration.
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