Requiem per zia Domenica

by Plinio Martini

203 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Ocean G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was oddly disappointing. Maybe it was just odd. It is obviously an ode to his hometown Cavergno, and to the people from his youth. However, he decided not to make it a memoir or autobiographical, but rather a novel, changing the names of the main towns, and even the name of the canton (Vedasca). I think this is usually done with memoirs in order to make them more interesting, because they can be woven around a fictitious story. However, there is no story here. It is a collection of memories and reminiscences during a funeral. The fictitious names just detracted from the story (I had to keep referring to the footnotes, which broke up the momentum), and I don't understand what was gained from using them, especially since many of the names of real people and things (the author's uncle, various priests and organizations) were kept. I must be missing something, but regardless, aside from it being quite slow (nothing really happens besides memories), and being broken up due to the fictitious names, it had some interesting points and insights into life in the middle of Valle Maggia during the early 20th century. Also some interesting terms in the local dialect.

2.5 stars.


alcuni termini:
paterare: italianizzazione del termine dial. paterá (pregare il pater noster di continuo)

forcola: stretto valico di montagna (dal lat. FURCULA, diminutivo di FURCA)

San Nicolao della Flüe: santo e patrono della Svizzera

Servisol: Self-service

Buzza: dal dial. büza. Burrasca

[Dora Viazzo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Preliminary remark: I couldn’t finish the book. I was at 65% but would rather hang myself than finishing it

Read it if:
* You would like to read about Ticino 100 years ago

Don’t read it if:
* See my notes below.. they speak for themselves

Why 1 star:
- [ ] Characters: 1 (the main character is not well described and the other 2 are basically ghosts in the story)
- [ ] Plot: 1 (there’s none. The first half of the book is only religious stuff)
- [ ] Fun/adventure/surprise: 1 (it’s endless agony)
- [ ] Length of the book: 1 (the book is only 200 pages but without a story they look 1000)
- [ ] Theme: 2 (A Ticino guy goes back to the town where he grew up to bury his auntie. The story of those valleys could be interesting if only there was one: the protagonist gets lost between past and present and his mind wanders 🙈)
- [ ] Language and style of writing: 1 (the book is unbelievably prosaic. I myself was amazed at how you can just fill pages of jabber)
- [ ] Profoundness: 1 (the 130 pages I read were just full of babble)

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi ha colpito molto lo stile letterario di Plinio Martini, che ricorda molto quello di Gadda. Non ho particolarmente apprezzato il cinismo religioso di cui è impregnata la narrazione. L'intero romanzo, scritto in tono drammatico, si distingue per il suo sarcasmo e cinismo rivolto all'intera società, oltre che alla religione. In sottofondo, tra le righe, è posta una profonda domanda sulla ricerca del senso della vita.