My favorite Rome Novels - series announced
Ever since we left Rome, I devouer romances that are taking place in Rome. I read them in Italian to keep up my language skills. It is great. It gives me a real kick to read these books and know exactly where people are in the novels when certain streets and places in Roma are mentioned. It feels even better when there are unexplained insider statements, that you cannot really understand fully, if you do not know Rome. Like when they talk about a certain street (via Nomentana) that is famous for its horrible traffic situation. I can tell you I have been on this street with my bike and it is freaking dangerous!
So let me think what is my list of Rome novels? I will give you an overview of my best-of list and than dig deeper into the more important books and authors by dedicating a separate post to them.
My very first Roman novel was recommended to my by my lovely Italian teacher and friend Marzia:
"Non di muovre" by Margret Mazzantini. Marzia thought that the Italien language level was not too difficult. I thought it was very difficult! And I actually did not like the story. I found it weird that a father, who is sitting by his unconsious daughter in the hospital after she had a scooter accident (very Roman accident!), would tell her the story of his passionate love affaire with a prostitute.
Today I love the Mazzantini. Also her other novels are tough stuff: unhappy love, shattered lives, civil war, complicated relationships, illness, death, divorce. She forms the contemporary creative power couple of Italy. Her husband Sergio Castellitto is an actor and director and he always transforms his wife's novels into movies. Always starring Penelope Cruz. I have not yet found out how Penelope entered this creative circle, but I will find out as soon as I will kick off the Mzzantini book/movies series. Key titles are:
- "Nessuno si salva da solo": a brutal and heartbreaking divorce story.
- "Splendore": a gay love story that will leave you in tears.
- "Venuto al Mondo": a super complicated story about an amour fou, infertility and the war in Ex-Yugoslavia.
Mazzantini's novels are all very unusual and gripping. A must read. Not great in creating good feelings about Rome, but I still love them, because they are fascinating.
So quick we need something more light-hearted!
"Il primo Caffé de Mattino" by Diego Caldino is the perfect beach book. A romantic love story with lots of nice Roman stories about fountains, Trastevere and coffee culture. Ok, I admit, it is also a bit kitsch, but you cannot read heavy stuff all the time.
I also liked "100 giorni di felicità" by Fausto Grizzi. Fausto is actually a director for Italian comedies. So even though the book is about an average Roman family father that finds out that he has cancer and only about 100 days to live left, the book is really quite funny and it has lot's of very nice Roman moments in it.
The quintessential historic Roman novel "Il Piacere" comes from Gabriele D'Annunzio and is the story of well-to do Roman dandy and womanizer. This is the very first story about the Roman decadent hero that became wildly popular with "La Dolce Vita" or "La Grande Bellezza". Though to read because the Italian is old, but fun and enlightening.
Sabine Gruber's Roman Elegy gives you a good feel about Rome during the Nazi occupation and after the war (Stillbach oder Die Sehnsucht)
And after all of this came my most loved Roman novel: Sangue Giusto by Francesco Melandri. This is a very personal book for me and I even had the pleasure to meet the author. So this will be a special blog post.
So far the first list for beginners...as you can check out at this link there are tons of novels that play in Rome:
http://europaeculturaelettronica.blogspot.ch/2013/06/narrativa-i-romanzi-ambientati-roma.html
So let me kick off this challange for me. I am not a literary expert (I had quit my American literature course in the first semester...) and I have never written about book. Looking forward!
So let me think what is my list of Rome novels? I will give you an overview of my best-of list and than dig deeper into the more important books and authors by dedicating a separate post to them.
My very first Roman novel was recommended to my by my lovely Italian teacher and friend Marzia:
"Non di muovre" by Margret Mazzantini. Marzia thought that the Italien language level was not too difficult. I thought it was very difficult! And I actually did not like the story. I found it weird that a father, who is sitting by his unconsious daughter in the hospital after she had a scooter accident (very Roman accident!), would tell her the story of his passionate love affaire with a prostitute.
Today I love the Mazzantini. Also her other novels are tough stuff: unhappy love, shattered lives, civil war, complicated relationships, illness, death, divorce. She forms the contemporary creative power couple of Italy. Her husband Sergio Castellitto is an actor and director and he always transforms his wife's novels into movies. Always starring Penelope Cruz. I have not yet found out how Penelope entered this creative circle, but I will find out as soon as I will kick off the Mzzantini book/movies series. Key titles are:
- "Nessuno si salva da solo": a brutal and heartbreaking divorce story.
- "Splendore": a gay love story that will leave you in tears.
- "Venuto al Mondo": a super complicated story about an amour fou, infertility and the war in Ex-Yugoslavia.
Mazzantini's novels are all very unusual and gripping. A must read. Not great in creating good feelings about Rome, but I still love them, because they are fascinating.
So quick we need something more light-hearted!
"Il primo Caffé de Mattino" by Diego Caldino is the perfect beach book. A romantic love story with lots of nice Roman stories about fountains, Trastevere and coffee culture. Ok, I admit, it is also a bit kitsch, but you cannot read heavy stuff all the time.
I also liked "100 giorni di felicità" by Fausto Grizzi. Fausto is actually a director for Italian comedies. So even though the book is about an average Roman family father that finds out that he has cancer and only about 100 days to live left, the book is really quite funny and it has lot's of very nice Roman moments in it.
The quintessential historic Roman novel "Il Piacere" comes from Gabriele D'Annunzio and is the story of well-to do Roman dandy and womanizer. This is the very first story about the Roman decadent hero that became wildly popular with "La Dolce Vita" or "La Grande Bellezza". Though to read because the Italian is old, but fun and enlightening.
Sabine Gruber's Roman Elegy gives you a good feel about Rome during the Nazi occupation and after the war (Stillbach oder Die Sehnsucht)
And after all of this came my most loved Roman novel: Sangue Giusto by Francesco Melandri. This is a very personal book for me and I even had the pleasure to meet the author. So this will be a special blog post.
So far the first list for beginners...as you can check out at this link there are tons of novels that play in Rome:
http://europaeculturaelettronica.blogspot.ch/2013/06/narrativa-i-romanzi-ambientati-roma.html
So let me kick off this challange for me. I am not a literary expert (I had quit my American literature course in the first semester...) and I have never written about book. Looking forward!
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