Persecuzione. Il fuoco amico dei ricordi

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Persecuzione. Il fuoco amico dei ricordi

by Alessandro Piperno, Werther Dell'Edera (Illustrator)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 61 ratings · 15 reviews

Luglio 1986. Una villa immersa nel verde, alle porte di Roma. Raccolta intorno alla cena, una bellissima famiglia: Leo è un quarantaottenne oncologo infantile di fama internazionale, Rachel un medico e una madre dedita e rigorosa, Filippo e Samuel due figli alle soglie dell'adolescenza. Il tg delle otto lambisce in sottofondo questo momento di intimità quasi perfetta, fino...more

Hardcover, Scrittori italiani e stranieri, 417 pages

Published October 1st 2010 by Mondadori

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May 18, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 3.9* of five

The Publisher Says: In a sprawling villa on the outskirts of Rome, the members of the Pontecorvo family have gathered for dinner. Leo Pontecorvo, an internationally revered pediatric oncologist, is forty-eight. His wife, Rachel, is a physician and the loving mother to Filippo and Samuel, two amiable pre-teens. The evening news is on in the living room but nobody pays it any attention until Dr. Pontecorvo's name surfaces from the background noise and a news item airs that will...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Bertrand Brasil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perseguição, de Alessandro Piperno, apresenta como protagonista Leo Pontecorvo, um oncologista pediátrico de 48 anos e de fama internacional. Quando acusado de um crime, a honestidade de professor e médico e os detalhes de sua vida íntima passam a ser questionados por todos, incluindo sua família. Assim, da noite para o dia, Leo se vê transformado no objeto preferido da censura pública: vítima de ódio, intriga, delação, calúnias e intimidações.

A história começa quando, numa viagem com a família...more Perseguição, de Alessandro Piperno, apresenta como protagonista Leo Pontecorvo, um oncologista pediátrico de 48 anos e de fama internacional. Quando acusado de um crime, a honestidade de professor e médico e os detalhes de sua vida íntima passam a ser questionados por todos, incluindo sua família. Assim, da noite para o dia, Leo se vê transformado no objeto preferido da censura pública: vítima de ódio, intriga, delação, calúnias e intimidações.

A história começa quando, numa viagem com a família, ele recebe uma carta estranha da namorada de 12 anos de seu filho. Em vez de deixar para lá e esquecer, talvez devido à sua soberba e à necessidade de ser amado, o protagonista não só responde como troca muitas outras mensagens com a menina.

Lendo assim pode parecer apelativo e surreal. Impressão. Perseguição possui uma história complexa, um lado psicológico denso e um debate importante de temas atuais.

Inicialmente, todos podem pensar que será mais um thriller de aventura, uma história de perseguição ou a já batida tentativa do protagonista em provar sua inocência. Ao invés da linearidade, Piperno lança mão de intercalações de fatos e épocas, mesclando o presente – o sofrimento de Leo ante o desenrolar dos fatos – com o passado – eventos que culminaram no episódio central e que ajudam o leitor a compreender o porquê de certas atitudes do médico. Dada a destreza do autor, em nenhum momento o leitor fica confuso; é como se tudo se complementasse. Outra mistura realizada por Piperno ocorre entre texto e imagem, relação que só será compreendida no terço final da história.

Todos os erros cometidos pelo protagonista têm origem no jovem mimado que desconfia sempre que está sendo contrariado. Apesar de ser um médico famoso e ultradedicado que lida com crianças diariamente, ele é imaturo, carente e bastante ausente em casa. Muito provavelmente, Leo encontrou nessas crianças do hospital pessoas emocionalmente parecidas com ele. E talvez por isso tenha aceitado a situação criada pela namorada do filho.

Ao final do livro o leitor perguntará: será que vivemos sempre à mercê do inconsciente? Mesmo que racionalmente neguemos, seria possível? Quanto aos personagens, estaria certa a esposa em nem ao menos duvidar da história? Estaria certo o marido em achar a postura da esposa injusta?
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Aug 21, 2012 Andre rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Inicialmente, todos podem pensar que será mais um thriller de aventura, uma história de perseguição ou a já batida tentativa do protagonista de provar sua inocência. Em vez da linearidade, Piperno lança mão de intercalações de fatos e épocas, mesclando o presente – o sofrimento de Leo ante o desenrolar dos fatos – com o passado – eventos que culminaram no episódio central e que ajudam o leitor a compreender o porquê de certas atitudes do médico. Dada a destreza do autor, em nenhum momento o leit...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Dani GR Motherfuqqer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-won-this-yay, arc

This book was amazingly translated and written. It's also one that's going to be extremely difficult to review for the mere fact that it is very advanced and mature as far as literature goes. This book isn't written for the young at heart and mind. It's not an insult to the reader, it's just that you have to have a certain mindset to read this particular type of novel. This book is one you have to be ready to consume as it takes one with a strong mind to read and understand the mind of the tort...more This book was amazingly translated and written. It's also one that's going to be extremely difficult to review for the mere fact that it is very advanced and mature as far as literature goes. This book isn't written for the young at heart and mind. It's not an insult to the reader, it's just that you have to have a certain mindset to read this particular type of novel. This book is one you have to be ready to consume as it takes one with a strong mind to read and understand the mind of the tortured souls point of view that the majority of the novel is written in.
The book feels tedious at first to read as it goes off on a tandem often to other thoughts that seem to not have anything at all to do with the original thought. It takes a while to realize that its how the human mind thinks, going from thought to thought and not making much sense, except for whose mind the thoughts are inside of. The thought does come back to the original thought eventually, but then you realize that the memory that didn't seem to fit does in fact relate to the original thought and creates the basis for the feeling or emotion that is being evoked in Leo, the main character.
Leo is a wealthy, well educated middle aged man who is an oncologist and is married to a wife who is also a doctor and they both have 2 sons. The book begins with Leo living a seemingly innocent life, not having strayed one bit to the dark side. He's never cheated on his wife, and never done anything illegal and is easy going even though he is a bit of a snob and something of an elitist with high minded views on life and class in society. He's a good looking man whom most of the nurses he works with would like to have an affair. He's never crossed the line into doing anything to jeopardize his marriage and never will. His oldest son one day unknowingly sets a course of events that will end in his Father's ruin. He invites his girlfriend along on a family vacation at Christmas to Switzerland.
His son Samuel is 12 years old and wants his girlfriend to come with the family on their annual Christmas vacation to Switzerland where they have a vacation home. Semi, Samuel's nickname, begs his parents and tells them that her parents have already said ok to her going with them on vacation. Eventually Leo and Rachel give in and allow her to come with them to Switzerland to ski and enjoy the snow. When they get to Switzerland they find out that Camilla, Semi's girlfriend, has asthma and won't go skiing for fear that it would cause an attack. Rachel has to watch Camilla all day and is annoyed with the girl and finds ways to leave the house and leave Camilla alone with Leo so he can take care of her. He avoids being in the same room with Camilla and awkardly tries to make very little conversation with her.
The awkardness one day changes when Leo defends Camilla because both of his sons are being rude and demeaning to Camilla at the dinner table. She also has an asthma attack in which Leo saves her life by giving her the injection of her medication that opens her airways so she can breathe. Leo wonders if she faked the asthma attack but writes it off as his imagination and moves on as she's now fine and doesn't want to dwell on it. One day he's alone at his home and as Camilla is listening to music in the living room, he gets into the shower in his master suite. As he walks out he notices a used panty liner on his dresser and is dumbfounded as to whether it belongs to his wife or for some extremely strange reason to Camilla. He throws it in the garbage and opens his underwear drawer and in the drawer is a letter, from Camilla. He fights with whether or not he should read the letter or wait until his wife gets home and let her handle it. He gives in eventually and talks himself into being a man who can handle the situation whatever it may be. In the letter Camilla thanks him for saving her and for defending her to his sons. He realizes it was simply a thank you note and doesn't read too much into the situation.
Leo soon finds another note from Camilla claiming her love for him and swearing to do what she can to split him and his wife apart. The situation soon gets out of control. Leo attempts to write letters back to Camilla dissuading her from her idealized love of Leo and also her plan to split up him and his wife. Things go from bad to worse when Camilla's father finds the letters and releases them to the press. Soon Leo is all over the news as the Doctor who's having an affair with a 12 year old girl and writes her love letters. His reputation as a pediatric oncologist, professor, and medical writer are all ruined. He spirals into a deep depression and he is now only a shell of a man who's been broken by a 12 year old red headed psychopath.
He relives all the things he's done wrong in his life and dwells on everything that could have been different between him and his family. He goes into seclusion in his home's basement as the trial goes on, he never leaves the basement but to get a nightly meal at midnight that's left in the oven, though he doesn't know who leaves it for him. His mind takes him to many dark places and he misses spending time with his family but is too ashamed of how he's just been removed from their lives.
This book has many other details that have obviously been left out that give a sad and grand relevance to the story. The last few pages are from the point of view of his wife, and the short and sweet version of my assessment of her short take on Leo's final ruination just goes to show that she's a cold, cruel, twisted woman who helped in her husbands depression by her rejection of him
This book is well written and quite a long story at just short of 400 pages. Remember to keep a dictionary handy as it has a lot of huge words that you don't see even in medical dictionary's sometimes. This book will take you into the mind of a man who thinks life is perfect and one who is utterly broken and lost. It is a good read. I recommend it for those who want to go deep into a character and understand how different people think. It is fascinating with all the twists and turns and this book is one that could easily be debatable in a college classroom. The book was originally written in Italian and was translated into English so understand there are some things you have to take into consideration while reading it, such as the different customs and words being used, but over it is a great read. This book will take up a lot of use of your mind while reading, meaning you will think and think and think some more. So get to reading!

Review is also posted on my blog:
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Dec 29, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: italy

Disturbing, well written book. An well-known, highly respected child oncologist accused of being sexually "involved" with 12 year old girl,friend of his son's. Much of the book is spent exploring his marriage and relationships to explain why, when these accusations (supposedly unfounded) are made, Leo falls apart, does not defend himself, totally cuts himself off from his family. His reaction is - supposedly - understandable if you understand his dependent relationship on his mother and, later,...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Alta added it · review of another edition

Piperno’s Persecution has a masterful way of keeping the reader on edge. The novel is a contemporary family drama about a highly successful doctor, Leo Pontecorvo, who has it all: looks; a beautiful, devoted wife; two teenage boys; a great career and, of course, money. A man who’d always been watched over by Providence, Leo has made many enemies but nonchalantly ignored them until one summer day in 1986 when a TV news anchor accuses him of having tried to seduce his thirteen-year-old son’s girlf...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-century-literature, italian, literature, europa-editions, read-fall-2012, first-reads

I received a copy of this novel through the GoodReads First Reads program, and greatly appreciate the opportunity to review this book.

Persecution, aptly subtitled "The Friendly Fire of Memories", by Alessandro Piperno, starts of with a major revelation. Leo Pontecorvo is accused of having an affair with his young son's girlfriend. The age of girlfriend: 12. Pontecorvo is strung up in the media as the narration recounts his memories of events leading up to the alleged incident and afterwords.

Th...more I received a copy of this novel through the GoodReads First Reads program, and greatly appreciate the opportunity to review this book.

Persecution, aptly subtitled "The Friendly Fire of Memories", by Alessandro Piperno, starts of with a major revelation. Leo Pontecorvo is accused of having an affair with his young son's girlfriend. The age of girlfriend: 12. Pontecorvo is strung up in the media as the narration recounts his memories of events leading up to the alleged incident and afterwords.

The reader does not get a definitive answer in this volume (first in a slated two novel pairing according to the front cover flap) as to whether or not Pontecorvo is a child molester, but we are given insight into a fairly unhealthy individual. Pontecorvo's need for acceptance, importance of self image, and inability to deal with confrontation could be attributed to one of the many reasons the narrator recalls throughout Pontecorvo's consideration of what brought him to this point in his life. Pontecorvo suffers from an overbearing and manipulative mother, though his parents also made the move to Switzerland during the beginning of World War II. Pontecorvo is a pediatric oncologist but can't deal effectively with his own children. He immediately goes into hiding in the basement of his house when he hears news of the rape accusation on TV, and does not leave except to hire a lawyer (with his own unique set of insecurities) and for a short stay in jail. When the reader finally learns of Pontecorvo's hallucinations of his mother and father that comfort him in jail, the reader becomes fairly certain that this man is certifiable.

What makes this novel stand out from other novels centered around the recounting of a crime (ie Atonement) is that the narrator both can recall Pontecorvo's inner most thoughts, as well as Pontecorvo's wife and to some extent their sons, while also maintaining the impression that the narrator knows something that he or she is not sharing. The novel's ending is followed by a "To be continued" (and in Comic Sans, the only fault in an otherwise beautifully designed book) indicating that we will one day find out what exactly happened with the 12-year-old girl and caused the implosion of an outwardly successful man. (less)

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May 10, 2013 Foreword Reviews added it · review of another edition

Shelves: foreword-reviews-fall-2012

"Persecution is the first in a diptych for Alessandro Piperno, whose debut novel won the Campiello Prize for First Novel. It’s evident that themes of economic and social disparity are key to his voice as a writer, as is his penchant for challenging prose." --Monica Carter

ForeWord Reviews reviewed this book on our website. Read the complete review at www.forewordreviews.com.

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Apr 09, 2011 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: letture-2011

Non mi ha convinta. Lo stile non mi fa impazzire e i salti temporali a volte annoiano. I personaggi sono antipatici, dal primo all'ultimo, soprattutto il protagonista. Ma l'antipatia suscitata da Leo Pontecorvo è niente in confronto alla rabbia per il comportamento, per me agghiacciante, della moglie e dei figli.
Non mi sono affezionata a nessuno. Ho letto poco amore, per la famiglia e per la giustizia.
Il narratore, che inizialmente non mi convinceva perché lo sentivo troppo "protagonista", alla...more

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Feb 12, 2011 61pat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Il libro mi è piaciuto. Forse la trama o forse il risentimento nei confronti dell'immagine che viene proposta della moglie e dei figli del protagonista fa si che alla fine io dica così cosi

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Jul 07, 2012 Monica rated it 2 of 5 stars

La parte migliore di questo romanzo e' il suo titolo, molto Rothiano certo, ma senza dubbio suggestivo.

Dopo aver apprezzato "Con le peggiori intenzioni", ho trovato questo secondo romanzo ingenuo e abbastanza scontato. Certo la scrittura di Piperno e' sempre fluida, morbida e affascinante, ma la storia manca di originalita' e non riesce a convincere il lettore.
La galleria di personaggi che fanno da contorno al dramma di Leo Pontecorvo e' al limite del banale, oppure degenera nella macchietta.

So...more

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Mar 10, 2013 !Tæmbuŝu marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook-available, contemporary-fiction, italy

KOBOBOOKS

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Jul 18, 2012 Oonagh marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I think Ann Goldstein is an amazing translator and always enjoy her work!

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May 18, 2013 Lisa is currently reading it · review of another edition

Com a voz narrativa irônica, às vezes lacônica, o narrador é uma cifra, a conto cria uma tentadora ainda ameaçador ar

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Oct 04, 2012 Andy Stegner rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this book from Goodreads as a First Reads book which I was thankful for. now on to the book.

I really was not so much a fan. I think the premise and ideas behind the book were interesting but I think it went on way too long and it became stale. I am all for long books and I love literature but I felt that this was just a very OK book.

I think if the writer cut out 100 pages that the book would read better without diluting the storyline

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Feb 03, 2013 Danielle Joy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I believed it to be well written. A very interesting read :)

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May 18, 2013 Jill marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 18, 2013 Roel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: europa-2012

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Shelves: narrativa-italiana

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About Alessandro Piperno

Alessandro Piperno (Roma, 25 marzo 1972) è uno scrittore italiano.
Nato da padre ebreo e madre cattolica si è laureato in letteratura francese presso l'Università degli studi di Roma Tor Vergata, dove ha insegnato a contratto la medesima materia ed è divenuto ricercatore dal 1º ottobre 2008. Nel 2000 ha pubblicato il controverso saggio critico "Proust antiebreo" sulla figura di Marcel Proust.
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