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A review by damianmurphy
The Iguana (Revised) (Revised) by Anna Maria Ortese
5.0
This is so much more than magical realism, of which I'm generally not a fan. The narrative never quite allows itself to settle, shifting from one mode to another and back again before the reader can quite identify it. In other hands, this could be irritating to read, yet Ortese manages to compel the attention through short chapter after short chapter. As another reviewer put it, "It's not neatly any one thing, which is its strength." There's something essential hiding behind every scene, every digression, every nervous exhortation on the part of every character, yet it's impossible to put one's finger on exactly what it is.
Also worth noting—the narrative voice itself is a chief character and has a personality every bit as distinct and mysterious as any of the figures that appear in the book.
I distinctly remember, upon reading the last several chapters, thinking that the story had fragmented and lost its thread, and having a difficult time following the text and imagery. The ending itself was satisfying enough, yet the book seemed to lose coherence in the latter part. Come the next morning, I woke with a crystal clear conception of the final sequence(s) in my mind. The imagery had somehow come together as I slept to form a very compelling and unified whole. Further, this seems perfectly in line the themes and motifs of the story, as if its clarification through the passage of the night is part and parcel of the narrative itself.
Also worth noting—the narrative voice itself is a chief character and has a personality every bit as distinct and mysterious as any of the figures that appear in the book.
I distinctly remember, upon reading the last several chapters, thinking that the story had fragmented and lost its thread, and having a difficult time following the text and imagery. The ending itself was satisfying enough, yet the book seemed to lose coherence in the latter part. Come the next morning, I woke with a crystal clear conception of the final sequence(s) in my mind. The imagery had somehow come together as I slept to form a very compelling and unified whole. Further, this seems perfectly in line the themes and motifs of the story, as if its clarification through the passage of the night is part and parcel of the narrative itself.