Marco Bosonetto

Giallo di ambientazione piacentina scritto da uno che viene da Cuneo: è fin troppo facile pensare che molti dei borbottii del protagonisti nei confronti della nebbia, dell'umidità, della scontrosità e via dicendo vengano dall'autore. Però è scritto bene, il racconto scorre, i personaggi indovinati - anche se alcuni forse sono superflui, ma in generale la carne al fuoco pare troppa - e il Po la fa da protagonista magari in compagnia della Caorsana... Il risultato è una lettura piacevole con in più la sensazione (per il sottoscritto) di sentirsi a casa.… (meer)

Synopsys:
The book tells the story of Simon Rosenstein, a deported Jewish through the eyes of his nephew.
Summary:
We find the main character drunk at the door of the little apartment of Valerio, his nephew, helped by Sergio, a common friend; Sergio and Simon become acquaintances on a cruise liner where both work as musicians.
The story follows with the arrival of Viola, Valerio’s fiancé, to discuss her previous denial to Valerio’s request to live with her; tricked by the old man’s fascinating stories and personality she invites him to the family’s mansion outside the city. In the mansion Simon begin to write a memory of his year in the Nazi’s death camp where he denies the Shoah. Viola found those papers; at first she copy, read and pass them to Valerio without be discovered, but one evening Simon sees a copy of his latest notes in the kitchen and left the house. Simon goes to a park to vent his anger and he began to talk to a man, this man is a member of a Holocaust revisionist group, a group made up more of people that don’t want to be alone with their own misery then of people who really believe in the cause.
Thinking of having found an eyewitness of the ideas of the group they try to convince Simon to be a member, to publish his memories and to make a conference, Simon is not sure but in a moment of anger against his nephew he accepts, he is transferred to Paris, receives a lot of people interested in his story and, a few moments before the beginning of his conference speech, Valerio, Viola and some other minor character find their way in and manage to change his idea.
There are some other little troubles before they can return to their home were finally Simon reveals to Valerio that he invented his memories because sometimes it’s really hard to live with all those live left behind, so he prefers to believe another truth, one were all his old friends were relocated and the Holocaust is a lie made up to humiliate the Germans.
Analysis:
The story can be of some interest and somewhat entertaining, while the style can be an obstacle to a more enjoyable read. The point of view is mainly that of Valerio or Simon, a few time is used an omniscient third-person and sometime the writer jump through the third-person and Valerio’s POV in situations where Valerio is not present. The major obstacle to reading is the habit of the author to make up unnecessary new and unusual figures of speech, metaphors and hyperboles, mostly half a page long, where a more direct and dry description could have the same impact without diverting the reader from the story.
Some of the inventions in the latest chapter are amusing only for the near impossibility and the extravagance of the result; the only addition to the story is the resolution of the conflict of a not needed secondary character.… (meer)