Paolo Maurensig (1943–2021)

Multiple bookends (much like Heart of Darkness) bring the reader to the core story of a young inexperienced priest in the 1980s(?) who is sent to a remote village in Switzerland (Graubünden region, I think). He's an outsider in this town where everyone knows everything about everyone else, and weirdly, they are all writing books. Memoirs, novels, non-fiction, everyone has a manuscript in the works. When their village comes to notice, a mysterious publishing representative from Luzern in a big black car shows up looking for the next Swiss literature masterpiece. Havoc ensues, and our young priest finds himself caught in the middle of it.

How I Discovered This: In 2021 I came across TripFiction.com (a fun website), and this was the first entry for Switzerland. As someone who has been trying to explore current Swiss fiction, this was a find. However, it's written by an Italian author who just happened to set his book in Switzerland.

Why I Read This Now: I was on a trip to Luzern, Switzerland to see Fasnacht (Carnival). This was a bucket list event since the 1980s when I saw a friend's pictures from Fasching somewhere in Germany. The stars aligned for me to take this perfect trip. I thought this was the best book to take along. I read most of it relaxing on a waterbed in the quiet room at my daughter's spa in Luzern on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I will keep this to read again in the future, as I'm interested in depictions of the devil in literature and art.

Rating: 4 stars. After I bought this in 2021, I saw reader reviews weren't great, despite the published accolades. I don't know why readers don't like this because I thought it was terrific.

Recommended for: a wide audience, actually.… (mere)

Ci sarebbero da dire tante cose..non mi aspettavo uno svolgimento del genere..mai più sarei andata a pensare ad un risvolto così.."forte" del tutto..solitamente i libri che coinvolgono del tutto o in parte fasi di guerra e/o i loro risvolti non mi hanno mai attirata per niente..questo qui è una cosa a parte..cioè..è come riuscirne a toccare le emozioni..le sensazioni..ed in alcuni punti ti senti sprofondare in quella che dovrebbe essere la mente umana..quella cosa che può toccare livelli assurdi tanto in senso positivo quanto in negativo..però come se fosse un'immensità che ci racchiude e decide cosa farsene di noi..
Riuscire anche solo a pensare per un secondo, concretamente, a determinate situazioni storiche finisce per creare e suscitare sentimenti devastanti.… (mere)