This is a book about how absurd existence is and how men are deemed to deal with the fissure they find between life and its meaning. The question of whether this meaning must come from within man himself or from an event which is external to him lies beneath the whole novel.
Sharing this sense of absurdity with Kafka and Camus, Buzatti creates an atmosphere within which not only the main character gets trapped, but also the reader. They both expect something that never actually occurs, and the tension this anticipation generates page after page makes the novel a compelling read.
The story of Giovanni Drogo, a simple man who attempts to make of his destiny something grand… Read more
The scenario is settled at the beginning of the XXth century, right before the outburst of WW I with the murder of the prince of Austria, an event subtly knitted to the action taking place in the novel.
25 years old lieutenant Hofmiller, protagonist and narrator, is the prototype of the young man who has never cared much about anything but his own career and who has taken everything for granted during his whole life. Being good hearted, he hasn't yet experienced a strong attachment to a woman, nor he had even been deeply loved by any.
He describes himself as a not very thoughtful or introspective person, whose only worries were related to his horses and his position in the army… Read more
"A man has been through an experience, now he is looking for the story of his experience"
That is the starting point of this breathtaking pseudo novel. And here I am not trying to debase the book by using the word pseudo: it is just that I have the sensation that Frisch has been writing down notes aimed at something else that is supposed to be a novel. He's got the man; he's got the experiences; now he must build the story. And with this purpose, he explores every feasible event that may occur to the character.
He proposes for example: "Let's say my name is Gantenbein." and goes on, "Let's pretend I am blind". And he deals with all the possible consequences that may be derived from his… Read more
