This was the third leg of my Italian List trifecta, after reading the two books from Elena Ferrante. And this was by far the best of the three. While Ferrante felt more like an enumeration of events with a bit of insight on the characters, Don't Move focuses on the turmoil consuming the main protagonist, Timoteo, a surgeon, whose daughter waddles between life and death after a scooter accident. The novel is writing mostly as an interior monolog that Timoteo addresses to his daughter to explain certain circumstances which occurred at the time of her birth. Timoteo then had an affair with a poor prostitute which developed well beyond the satisfaction of physical needs. Tragedy hovers throughout the novel, probably not exactly how you would expect it at the beginning. Just like Iris Murdoch, Mazzantini demonstrates a genuine talent at displaying a man can flawfully think at times. It is a bit raw and gory at times, but I think it was necessary to maintain the tragic tension required at key points in the novel.
This was the third leg of my Italian List trifecta, after reading the two books from Elena Ferrante. And this was by far the best of the three. While Ferrante felt more like an enumeration of events with a bit of insight on the characters, Don't Move focuses on the turmoil consuming the main protagonist, Timoteo, a surgeon, whose daughter waddles between life and death after a scooter accident. The novel is writing mostly as an interior monolog that Timoteo addresses to his daughter to explain certain circumstances which occurred at the time of her birth. Timoteo then had an affair with a poor prostitute which developed well beyond the satisfaction of physical needs. Tragedy hovers throughout the novel, probably not exactly how you would expect it at the beginning. Just like Iris Murdoch, Mazzantini demonstrates a genuine talent at displaying a man can flawfully think at times. It is a bit raw and gory at times, but I think it was necessary to maintain the tragic tension required at key points in the novel.