LINKS

Homepage
Chi Siamo
Abbonamenti per istituzioni
Registrati
Scarica un Articolo
Ricerca Avanzata
FAQ
Contattaci
Privacy
Contributori
Notizie

Modern Italy
Journal of Modern Italian Studies
RIVISTA DI STUDI ITALIANI
Anno XXII , n° 2, Dicembre 2004 ( Contributi ) pag. 141-163
FROM THE BEGINNINGS TO THE END:
GIOSE RIMANELLI'S IL VIAGGIO
SHERYL LYNN POSTMAN
University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
There is no simple or easy reading of Giose Rimanelli's latest book, Il viaggio1. It is an extremely complicated and multifaceted text that, from the start, thrusts the reader into a labyrinthine pathway that curves, twists, and vacillates between various and distinct worlds: the real / the fantastic; the "old" / the "new"; the sacred / the profane. Moreover, the complexity of these separate and idiosyncratic universes is manifested, at the same time, by the presence of three dissimilar narrators, each of whom has a unique cultural background: a first generation Italian male; a second generation Italian Canadian male; and a multi-generation Jewish American female. The presence of hese distinct voices is, according to Luigi Fontanella, "messaggeri di se stesso", a variation on the many author's alter egos working separately and together, in this narrative, to "articolare la storia
narrata, e, al contempo, raccontano l'autore stesso che l'ha creata"2. Yet, these three voices actually assist in creating a type of artistic triptych, reminiscent of the portable religious art of the early Renaissance era and exemplified by the classical work of the Florentine master Giotto and, as such, each part of the work, accordingly, may stand alone or together. This type of artistic production (the central panel is twice the size of the side panels, and ultimately, the two sides mirror each other in details large and small) folds easily and is circulated carefully throughout the parishes. In a similar fashion, the reader of Rimanelli's saga is confronted with a title, Il viaggio, whose subtitle suggests an identical type of movement, a journey through Un paese chiamato Molise, that Franco Borrelli claims is "'circolare', oltre che 'totale'"3.
Leggi l'articolo (free!) Scarica il File PDF!