Review by New York Times Review
It's difficult not to think of Elena Ferrante when reading Starnone's new novel, and not just because Starnone is married to Anita Raja, the translator reputedly writing under the Ferrante pseudonym. Both authors brilliantly probe the complexity of society in Naples and the unsettling psychology of a creative mind that wants to make something beautiful out of life's mess and can crave public affirmation at great cost. But 1 confess that while 1 cared deeply for Ferrante's leading women in her Neapolitan novels, Starnone's protagonist, Daniele Mallarico, left me cold. Ferrante's Elena and Lila are often victims of a brutal patriarchy that ignores their bodies' needs and thwarts their souls' aspirations; Mallarico suffers principally out of selfinvolvement. His plight is merely to spend a few fraught days looking after his 4-year-old grandchild in Naples while the boy's parents are away at an academic conference. "Trick" does contain some resonant passages on the chaos of family dynamics, the challenge of aging and the difficulty of leaving behind a hometown as overwhelming as Naples. But the writing doesn't go far enough beyond Mallarico's inner strife, his misgivings about his work as an illustrator and his fear that the rage of his childhood will never dissipate. Even a thought-provoking appendix that includes sketches purportedly by Mallarico and reflections on Henry James's "The Jolly Corner" leaves the links between this fabled ghost story and Mallarico's life too loose. "A yen for lucid self-denigration mounted bit by bit. All at once 1 saw an old man without qualities," reads one of Lahiri's masterly translations, as she nails the inward, neurotic tone of Starnone's source and spears an allusion to Robert Musil's "The Man Without Qualities." The novel ends with Mallarico admitting, "This morning 1 don't know if I'm scared for the child or scared of the child." His world is indeed frightening, home to the restless ghosts of his past and the restless emotions of adults who still haven't found themselves. You have to feel for a child stuck with caregivers like this. As the ancient Romans used to say, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who will watch the guardians themselves?
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [May 20, 2018]
Review by Booklist Review
Already behind schedule on his illustrations for a new edition of Henry James' short story The Jolly Corner, narrator Daniele arrives in Naples to watch his grandson while the boy's parents attend a conference. Reluctant doesn't nearly cover the aging artist's feelings about staying in the childhood home his daughter's family now occupies, being in the city he desperately shed all vestiges of as a young man, or catering to the whims of fearless and befuddling four-year-old Mario. An often-comical battle of wits and words wages as Daniele sees his own ghosts everywhere while trying to illustrate James', and Mario breaks down his grandfather's defenses with the skill of the tiny genius everyone but Daniele says he is. While Mario requires that everything be turned into a fun game, Daniele experiences revelations, most of them devastating, about his art, his success, and his entire life. (An appendix shares his notes and drawings.) Lahiri, who also translated Starnone's Ties (2016), once again treats English-language readers to the boldly entertaining work of the celebrated Italian novelist.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Starnone's astute and emotionally precise novel (after Ties) follows famed illustrator Daniele Mallarico as he returns to his childhood home in Naples at the request of his daughter, Betta. Daniele is reluctantly tasked with watching his four-year-old grandson, Mario, while Betta and her husband, Saverio, head to Milan for an academic conference and a chance to discuss their failing marriage. Daniele's three-day visit to the apartment where he was raised prompts him to reflect on the course of his life, and he begins to see apparitions from his past. Struggling to complete a project for a book publisher while sparring with the thoughtful and rebellious Mario, Daniele confronts his mortality and the ephemeral nature of art. Lahiri's translation preserves the poignancy and humor of the first-person narration, which balances compassion and repressed irritation. The book is packed with endearing moments and clever observations about familial relationships (both Betta and Saverio confide in Daniele right off the bat, forcing him into the thick of their tension). This remarkably layered work encourages rereading to unearth subtle and new interpretations. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In this follow-up to his bitingly insightful Ties, Premio Strega winner Starnone again explores complex familial relationships. A famous illustrator losing his predominance, 70-plus Daniele -Mallarico winds up tending his preternaturally smart four-year-old grandson Mario when Mario's at-odds parents head to a mathematics conference. As a grandfather, Daniele is no sweetheart, often tetchy and dismissive of his young charge; Mario gives as good as he gets, and their dialog snaps, crackles, and pops deliciously. As Lahiri's introduction explains, the Italian title Scherzetto derives from the verb scherzare, to joke or play, and there's certainly playfulness here, but with an edge. The novel takes place during four cold November days at the Naples apartment Daniele inherited from his parents and where his daughter's family now lives; for Daniele, aching memories thus vie with present awareness of his waning powers and his concern for Mario-"I don't know if I'm scared for the child or scared of the child"-to create a palpable sense of urgency. VERDICT A superb, sometimes unsettling inter-generational portrait hitting on basic truths. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Starnone's latest novel describes a man's visit with his grandson.A new book from Starnone (Ties, 2017, etc.) is an event to celebrate. An exquisite Italian writer believed to be Elena Ferrante's husband, he writes slim, elegant, meticulously crafted novelsand this is his best yet. An older man, an illustrator, comes from Milan, where he is currently living, to Naples, where he grew up, to look after his grandson while his daughter and son-in-law attend an academic conference. Mario, the 4-year-old, knows all kinds of things, like how to turn on the stove, how to set the table, and how to change channels on the TV. He's annoying, in the way that 4-year-old know-it-alls are annoying. Meanwhile, his grandfather, whose health is no longer great and who no longer remembers exactly where he put the phone or whether he closed the balcony door, is struggling to complete the illustrations for "The Jolly Corner," a Henry James story. In that story, a man returns to his childhood home after a long period of time away and becomes obsessed with the idea of who he might have been, what life he might have led, if he'd stayed. He's desperate to catch sight of his own ghost. Starnone's novel echoes James' story but it also works entirely independently. Mario's grandpa has ghosts of his own to confront. All the novel's action occurs over the course of a few days. During that time, our elderly illustrator comes to doubt himself, his life, his achievements. He argues with Mario, and he tries to draw. Deceptively simple, the novel is also witty to the point of hilarity (see Mario's argument with his grandpa about cartoons) and achingly moving.A gorgeous account of a man's struggle to reckon with the life he's lived and the lives he hasn't. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
