I am raving about this book, primarily because it combines originality with great writing skill and sharply drawn characters -- and because I picked it up to divert myself for five minutes only to put it down again after I'd read the whole book four hours later (with tears rolling down my cheeks because I was very moved by the love of Oliver Ott for his dog). To me, this book has it all - brevity, great style, great characters - and, it's set in Rome!
A group of colorful characters put out an American-language newspaper in Rome. The book deals with each character in turn, giving each one their own chapter. You don't realize that you're interested in a character until you've read their chapter, after which you feel you could not do without it.
Two folks have told me that their favorite character was the Italian woman who is the paper's most passionate reader. Reading the paper is, for her, an elaborate and carefully observed ritual. She alone gives the paper the respect it really deserves.
Women do not come off well in this novel. (I know the author will do a better job, next time.) I felt entirely rewarded for my devotion by Oliver Ott's devotion to his Schopenhauer.
SPOILER ALERT: If you love dogs, even other people's dogs, you might prefer to skip the second half of the chapter about Oliver Ott.
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