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The Lights of Alborada
When Nino, an Italian World War II POW in a Texan camp, receives word that his love, Zita, is set to marry another man in just 40 days, he vows to escape from the camp and return home before the marriage can take place. Idealistic and ambitious, Nino sets off on a breathless chase across the U.S. and is soon joined on his odyssey by an enigmatic Army lieutenant and a young prostitute. Together they face a series of extraordinary dangers, from wild forest animals to unexploded mines, and, as their journey progresses, Nino finds himself assailed by doubts and questioning his own motives—as well as those of the people around him. At once a romantic adventure and a thrilling wartime escape story, with a colorful cast of characters, this is also the story of a spiritual quest and a heartrending exercise in nostalgia.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 14, 2022
After People from Bloomington I got a taste for books written by non-English speakers for non-English speakers about or set in the United States and then translated into English. If these books exist in any quantity I can't find them. What I'm after is like a spaghetti western, only it's a novel.
Naturally, my sophisticated, bought-and-paid for database search revealed ... an Italian book.
Here we have one man's preposterous adventure across assorted American landscapes. Every detail of every circumstance leads one to scratch one's head and wonder, but there's no time for that when you're (probably) on the run. Though, there is quite a lot of time to debate the nature of mortality and human relationships sort of in between and also during the scurrying. American roads are long and boring and American army bases are . . . well, neither of those things. Watch your step and also what even is love?
Needless to say, the book had me all the way the through and not just because all the characters know more about soccer than you would expect of Americans or because we keep running into pockets of Italians (whose role in WWII I've never been clear on) all over the countryside. Though, I think I did kind of lose the point of getting to know the American military officers on the hunt. We learn a lot about who they are and what motivates them, but they are kind of this dangling thread on the sweater of the plot. But I have a poor memory so who knows what they were up to. Anyway, if you'd like to spend like 300 pages constantly wondering who among this cast of characters is actually a Nazi, you could certainly do worse.
Naturally, my sophisticated, bought-and-paid for database search revealed ... an Italian book.
Here we have one man's preposterous adventure across assorted American landscapes. Every detail of every circumstance leads one to scratch one's head and wonder, but there's no time for that when you're (probably) on the run. Though, there is quite a lot of time to debate the nature of mortality and human relationships sort of in between and also during the scurrying. American roads are long and boring and American army bases are . . . well, neither of those things. Watch your step and also what even is love?
Needless to say, the book had me all the way the through and not just because all the characters know more about soccer than you would expect of Americans or because we keep running into pockets of Italians (whose role in WWII I've never been clear on) all over the countryside. Though, I think I did kind of lose the point of getting to know the American military officers on the hunt. We learn a lot about who they are and what motivates them, but they are kind of this dangling thread on the sweater of the plot. But I have a poor memory so who knows what they were up to. Anyway, if you'd like to spend like 300 pages constantly wondering who among this cast of characters is actually a Nazi, you could certainly do worse.
October 31, 2019
Nino is an Italian POW held in a concentration camp in Texas towards the end of WW2 when he receives a letter from his intended bride back on a small Italian island. Zita announces that she is breaking off their engagement and instead plans to marry their old Maths teacher in 40 days time. Without thinking about it, Nino escapes from the camp, intending to cross the USA, take ship to Europe and prevent the wedding.
So far, so romantic.
Almost immediately he leaves the camp, however, he meets and accompanies a mysterious American lieutenant, who appears to have reason not to expose Nino. Thereafter the story diverts off into quite unexpected directions. Who is the half-Japanese prostitute they meet? Is the lieutenant in fact an undercover German agent? How powerful a force is fate? Are human attempts to do good pointless if they fail?
This is a remarkable novel, very difficult to categorise, in turn a romance, a journey filled with danger and revelation, a meditation on religion, its comforts and limitations, on Odysseus and his unfulfilled homecoming, a melancholic study of times past and opportunities lost. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely.
So far, so romantic.
Almost immediately he leaves the camp, however, he meets and accompanies a mysterious American lieutenant, who appears to have reason not to expose Nino. Thereafter the story diverts off into quite unexpected directions. Who is the half-Japanese prostitute they meet? Is the lieutenant in fact an undercover German agent? How powerful a force is fate? Are human attempts to do good pointless if they fail?
This is a remarkable novel, very difficult to categorise, in turn a romance, a journey filled with danger and revelation, a meditation on religion, its comforts and limitations, on Odysseus and his unfulfilled homecoming, a melancholic study of times past and opportunities lost. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews