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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This Italian novel is the original My Year of Rest and Relaxation with a little less rest and more alcohol. A sad boy summer, if you will. I knew this read was going to be beautifully written after reading the blurb on the cover…
“Everyone he knows wants to graduate, get married, get rich―but not him. He has no ambitions whatsoever. Rather than toil and spin, isn’t it better to submit to the alienation of the Eternal City, Rome, sometimes a cruel and indifferent mistress, sometimes sweet and sublime? There can be no half measures with her, either she’s the love of your life or you have to
leave her.”
leave her.”
Written in the 1970s and translated to English the novel gives off the air of classic literature, probably most similar to The Great Gatsby if Gatsby was a poor and morose fellow. You can feel the loneliness of our main character and how he has relationships with several characters but we never really feel a connection with them. For example, with Leo’s love interest he doesn’t learn that she loves him until the relationship is long over and she is with another man. But even their love story felt shallow and fleeting, contributing to the overall sense of loneliness and lack of purpose this novel radiates. This was a short read and read almost like a play. We do get some nice atmospheric summer qualities of summer time in Rome and beautifully worded reflections. If you are looking for a moody summer read that is a change of pace from your usual reads pick this one up.
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loved the ending. Very quotable.
Everything not quotable is a pass from me tho
Everything not quotable is a pass from me tho
"What people! All they did was try to leave each other, but they were terrified of succeeding."
"A voice different for each one of us if or souls are different, identical if identical, but in every case perfect with no false notes, the untrained voice we perhaps have before we come screaming into the world."
"A voice different for each one of us if or souls are different, identical if identical, but in every case perfect with no false notes, the untrained voice we perhaps have before we come screaming into the world."
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an Italian classic, finally translated into English. The blurb compared to The Great Gatsby, and honestly - I see it. Leo has come to Rome for a job, but after the job ends, he stays on, not really doing much of anything. At a party, he meets Arianna, and they have a passionate, confusing love affair over a series of summer months in Rome.
The contrasts: ambition versus aimlessness, wealth versus poverty, the sober mornings versus the booze soaked evenings. Last Summer in the City felt at once familiar, likely because it feels so timeless and iconic, and also frustrating to follow Leo and his drifting. I expect to return to this many times in the coming years.
The contrasts: ambition versus aimlessness, wealth versus poverty, the sober mornings versus the booze soaked evenings. Last Summer in the City felt at once familiar, likely because it feels so timeless and iconic, and also frustrating to follow Leo and his drifting. I expect to return to this many times in the coming years.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character