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A review by kimbofo
The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani
4.0
The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles, by Italian writer Giorgio Bassani (1916-2000), is the story of a platonic friendship between an older gay doctor and the Jewish university student he meets on the train. Both men’s lives become increasingly precarious as fascism takes hold during the 1930s — with heart-rending results.
Originally published in 1958, it is believed to be the first Italian work of fiction to feature “a homosexual figure as protagonist”, according to the translator, poet Jamie McKendrick.
The story is narrated in the first person by the unnamed student, who employs a staid, almost omnipresent, voice that takes a while to warm up.
He tells us about Dr Athos Fadigati, an ENT specialist, originally from Venice, who had his own house and clinic in the northern Italian city of Ferrara. He was widely respected and was destined to enjoy a comfortable and uneventful career but — as we are told on the very first page — his life “ended up so badly, poor man, so tragically”.
From this clever bit of foreshadowing, the narrative spools back to cover the doctor’s life from 1919 to the late 1930s, a time synonymous with shifting political tensions in Europe, the rise of fascism in Italy and the outbreak of World War Two.
Despite the brevity of this story — and the unexpectedly abrupt ending (you have been warned) — there is a lot going on here.
Bassani, who was himself Jewish and later imprisoned for anti-fascist activities, shows us how big political events of the time impacted people’s lives and livelihoods in often deeply personal ways.
By telling his tale through the lens of homosexuality, he shows how a gay man experienced ostracism, exclusion, violence and intimidation on a day-to-day basis, and that this was later mirrored by those Italians who experienced Nazi racism, railed against the Fascist state or took a different political stance to those in power.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.
Originally published in 1958, it is believed to be the first Italian work of fiction to feature “a homosexual figure as protagonist”, according to the translator, poet Jamie McKendrick.
The story is narrated in the first person by the unnamed student, who employs a staid, almost omnipresent, voice that takes a while to warm up.
He tells us about Dr Athos Fadigati, an ENT specialist, originally from Venice, who had his own house and clinic in the northern Italian city of Ferrara. He was widely respected and was destined to enjoy a comfortable and uneventful career but — as we are told on the very first page — his life “ended up so badly, poor man, so tragically”.
From this clever bit of foreshadowing, the narrative spools back to cover the doctor’s life from 1919 to the late 1930s, a time synonymous with shifting political tensions in Europe, the rise of fascism in Italy and the outbreak of World War Two.
Despite the brevity of this story — and the unexpectedly abrupt ending (you have been warned) — there is a lot going on here.
Bassani, who was himself Jewish and later imprisoned for anti-fascist activities, shows us how big political events of the time impacted people’s lives and livelihoods in often deeply personal ways.
By telling his tale through the lens of homosexuality, he shows how a gay man experienced ostracism, exclusion, violence and intimidation on a day-to-day basis, and that this was later mirrored by those Italians who experienced Nazi racism, railed against the Fascist state or took a different political stance to those in power.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.