Arriverderci, Roma.........

This book, published in 1973 and only now translated, opens with an excellent and very earnest foreword by Andre Aciman that analyzes the novel and offers keen insight into the point and thrust of the story. It's worth reading, if only because it provides some nice context.


But the real treat here is the novel itself. Not to be too lowbrow about it, but the entire book feels like a decadent pub crawl, (caffe crawl?, trattoria crawl?, l'enoteca crawl?), with Marcello Mastroianni as we relive the best parts of "8 1/2", "La Notte", "La Dolce Vita", "Le Notti Bianche", and so on. Existential drift, lost love, too much alcohol, loneliness, melancholy, ruthless decadence, despair - need I go on?


This is one of the few novels I've read that feels like it was shot in black and white. And you could write your PhD dissertation on what all that rain means. Read this on a rainy night, (see what I did there?), with a scotch in one hand and a Negroni in the other, and a pack of cigarettes out on the balcony.


(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Pleased to include this compelling book in Hidden Gems, the re-discovered and re-issued themed list of my holiday gift books guides for Zoomer magazine. It appeared in the Books section in December. (The listicle is online at related link.)

I’m often very hesitant about translated fiction for books that rely heavily on atmospheric description and dialogue because the chance is so great that much will be literally lost in translation, but the English version of Last Summer in the City was a pleasant surprise in this regard. The translation was beautifully rendered and fairly true to the feel of the novel in its original Italian.

Though there are elements of this story that feel a little dated, much of the broader context still feels worth the attention of a 2021 reader, and it’s so beautifully written that it’s worth it for that fact alone.

The themes of going to the sea feel less important than the forward would like you to think, but the meditation on futility and mortality folded into a story about making one’s way alone in the world resonate strongly. Though the nihilism of it all can feel oppressive at times, it adds to the weight of the story in a good way as well, giving heft and gravitas to an account of one man’s ordinary life.

I didn’t love the despairingly tragic ending, but the writing is so gorgeous that the book is well worth a read either in the original Italian or in this new translation into English.

I received an electronic ARC via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book! While certain elements of it (particularly the characterization of Arianna, who frequently has unpredictability presented as her dominant personality trait) did grate on me a little, there are many scenes I suspect will stick with me--both humorous and sad. This alone made it worthwhile. For all that I didn't particularly care for Arianna's characterization, I liked Leo's a lot.

Incidentally, I ended up reading it the month of my 30th birthday, which turned out to be probably the most appropriate time possible to do so.

Being unfamiliar with the original Italian (a language I do not know), I can't speak to the accuracy of the translation--but as far as producing a readable, pleasant text in English that doesn't get in the way but holds my attention, it's very good.

It is a shame that it has taken this long for Last Summer in the City to be available to English language readers. What a familiar and yet completely culturally independent story. American readers of Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby will be captivated anew. Any specific details of the plot line would be spoilers, but rest assured that this protagonist will draw you in to Rome.

Howard Curtis’s translation is exceedingly successful. We can only hope that he will be translating more of Calligarich’s novels into English very soon.

Thank you to Gianfranco Calligarich, Howard Curtis, and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This short melancholy book is considered a classic of Italian literature and has been much acclaimed, but for the life of me I can’t see why. It concerns Leo Gazzara, a young man adrift in Rome in the 1960s, not unintelligent but unable to hold down a job and leading an aimless peripatetic life, drinking too much and generally being a waste of space. One night he meets Arianna and falls in love. She’s a bit crazy, a stereotypical glitzy bimbo, and is equally irritating. Nothing much happens except it always involves a lot of alcohol (various distasteful episodes are graphically described) and a mishmash of equally feckless characters. Are we supposed to admire Leo? Be impressed by his feckless lifestyle? Is he being held up as some sort of romantic hero? And what, actually, is his problem? The writing itself isn’t bad at all. The book is neatly constructed, the descriptions vivid and atmospheric, and the author expertly evokes the Rome of that era. But I had no interest in any of the characters, who are all superficial, and the love interest was simply a male fantasy. Easy to read, but essentially a banal little tale, probably based on the author’s own life as it certainly feels as though he knows of what he speaks, but overall I wasn’t impressed.

First published in Italy in 1973; published in translation by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on August 10, 2021

Last Summer in the City was rejected by several publishers before it found a home and earned excellent reviews in the Italian press. Then it dropped out of sight until it was republished in Italy in 2016. It’s easy to understand why so many publishers initially rejected it. The first half tells a story that seems mundane. I’m guessing editors stopped reading and moved on to the next submission before they understood the book’s value. By the second half, the story gains significance from the cumulative weight of small events. The ending is something of a shock.

Last Summer in the City tells the story of a 29-year-old man who, finally realizing that he needs to be an adult, understands that he isn’t equipped for adulthood. Leo Gazzara narrates an empty year in his life. Leo is in Rome. He reads constantly and tries without success to write fiction. He scrapes by without a job, moving from hotel to hotel until he arranges to stay in the apartment of a couple who will be working in Mexico. He moves from woman to woman until he meets Arianna, an infuriating woman with whom he falls in love. Arianna entices him and pushes him away, always appearing to want the opposite of whatever Leo wants.

Leo drinks away raucous evenings with his friend Graziano, following a lifestyle that seems likely to doom them both. Graziano drinks even more than Leo, can’t satisfy his wealthy wife, and like all men, has a crush on Arianna. Leo and Graziano set out to write a screenplay about a man who kills his father, thinking that Graziano’s wife will finance the film. The only virtue of their plan is that they drink a bit less while they’re writing.

Leo eventually finds and loses a job before taking a position at a newspaper, transcribing stories without doing any reporting of his own, earning Arianna’s disappointment and adding to his own sense of frustration about a life that seems to be going nowhere. Arianna’s continued flirtation and occasional declarations of love only add to Leo’s gloom, coupled with the knowledge that Arianna is sleeping with a wealthy but untalented painter.

As a writer, Leo comments frequently upon writers. As an avid reader, he also comments upon readers, quoting Borges’ remark that good readers are even more rare than good writers. I was more taken by Leo’s observation that a reader’s perception of a book depends upon the reader’s mood during the reading process — a mood that is external to the act of reading and influenced by current experience. “A book that struck you as banal on a first reading may dazzle you on a second simply because in the meantime you suffered some kind of heartbreak, or you took a journey, or you fell in love.”

Leo has a love/hate relationship with Rome. “She’s not so much a city as a wild beast hidden in some secret part of you. There can be no half measures with her, either she’s the love of your life or you have to leave her, because that’s what the tender beast demands, to be loved.” The same description might apply to Arianna.

None of the characters in Last Summer in the City are happy. The novel might signal that we live in an unhappy world, that nothing can make us happy because the things we desire are all superficial, that we are alone “in the middle of this vast, terrible world” with no idea how to give our lives meaning. These are not happy thoughts, but they set up a surprising ending that in retrospect seems inevitable given the gloom that precedes it.

As it nears the end, Last Summer in the City seems like a belated coming-of-age novel, the story of a man entering the middle stage of life who is accepting the challenge to find a purpose. It is, at least, the story of a man who finds the courage to make a decision about his future. The book is depressing and might not appeal to readers who want books to be upbeat and life-affirming. Not all people view life from an optimistic perspective. Last Summer in the City illustrates how an intelligent individual might come to embrace a view of life that most people reject. Gianfranco Calligarich’s ability to put the reader inside the head of such a person explains the novel’s literary value, while the depressing tone explains why the story did not earn lasting popularity after its initial publication.

RECOMMENDED

Throughout the pandemic I have been dreaming of returning to Rome, so when I saw this book I jumped at it. It is very atmospheric and the characters are richly drawn, I would highly recommend it.

It wasn't for me. DNF'd at 10% It really feels like the worst parts of the seventies all in one novel.

“Last Summer in the City” by Gianfranco Calligarich is many things: a wistful look at restless youth, an exploration of love, an end of an era … but mostly it’s about the love of a city and a time, both of which are captured lyrically by Mr. Calligarich.

This is Rome in the early 1970s. “La dolce vita” is coming to an end, but we still see Leo Gazarra bouncing around Rome in an alcoholic hedonistic cloud. Not really gainfully employed, sabotaging his job prospects, his friends, his love with Arianna, who comes with her own set of issues. From rundown hotels to the homes of the rich, from seaside jaunts to endless parties with assorted artists, Leo is trying to put his life in order as those around him seem to grow up and move forward. This is his last summer in the city, and Rome can be harsh under the Mediterranean sun.

A beautiful book, cinematic in scope. Not much happens, but that’s the point of this short novel. This is all about atmosphere, about a time and place that no longer exist. It’s about the restlessness we all feel before we become the adults we now are, in the lives we have chosen. Remember and enjoy.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
via NetGalley. Thank you!

I liked when it was set and the feel of the book. I could almost see it all.
But, unfortunately, this book was not for me.
There were too many clichés and the main character is not interesting. It may be up to the translation, but the book is pretty poorly written. It seemed a bit like reading a grocery list. I have the impression that the book has not aged well.

That being said, thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This is Calligarich's first novel, originally published in 1973, and it's deftly written for the work of a young man. Like Gazzara, Calligarich also came down to Rome from Milan as a young man and decided the city was worth staying it. The novel has beautiful observations of Rome and its literary milieu in the seventies. I loved this book’s youthfulness, its fresh view of Rome in the seventies, its precocious wisdom, especially about people. Overall, a great read that feels like a time-capsule Rome in the early seventies.

This book has so beautiful writing, some clever word play, and thoughtful reflection on the value of reading. Unfortunately, this title did not ultimately work for me. I found the themes to romanticize mental illness, flatten female characters, and at times be homophobic.

The writing in this book was absolutely stunning. It was interesting to read a novel that had been translated from Italian to English, you could tell that the words were just as rich as they would have been in the native language. While the story itself wasn't entirely happy, it was cinematic. There was so much going on, and I felt myself wanting more on top of it. The story may have had flaws in the actual plot of it, but at the end of the day, I found that this work was highly credible and beautiful. In less than 200 pages, I thought that it was great, and I am glad that it is being republished for a new set of eyes in the 21st century. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Reading Last Summer in the City is like watching an old French New Wave movie, but instead of Paris we find ourselves in Rome. This makes sense, considering that Calligarich was a filmmaker and wrote this book in 1970. I just loved it, even if, and occasionally because, it's existentially bleak. Its really atmospheric -- like I really felt like I was alongside the protagonist getting drunk at trattoria and driving around the city in an old Alfa Romeo. I'm looking forward to recommending this book in my shop.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. This is a little gem, first published in Italy in 1973 and finally getting an English translation. At 30, Leo Gazarra seems to just be lazily floating around Rome as everyone else hustles to make a family and further their careers. Leo drifts from one hotel to another, one job to another. When we first meet him, he seems like a hopeless drunk, but Leo decides to stop drinking and maybe give life one my try, cracking sardonic jokes wherever he goes. When he meets the beautiful Arianna, you feel maybe he’ll even give love a chance, but they can’t seem to get in any sort of sync. We he finally loves her, she gets mad and disappears. When she loves him, he does the same. This is such a wonderful book, that acts like it’s written with a dark heart, but it may be written by a romantic who sees the world as it really is.

I love love love this book I’m glad that they transcribed it to English. Beautiful Gatsbyesque summer to end all summers. This book should come with a complimentary bottle of suntan lotion. However it’s not just a book it’s an experience. I cannot recommend men this book strongly enough.