Requiem per zia Domenica by Plinio MartiniMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was oddly disappointing. Maybe it was just odd. It is obviously an ode to his hometown Cavergno, and to the people from his youth. However, he decided not to make it a memoir or autobiographical, but rather a novel, changing the names of the main towns, and even the name of the canton (Vedasca). I think this is usually done with memoirs in order to make them more interesting, because they can be woven around a fictitious story. However, there is no story here. It is a collection of memories and reminiscences during a funeral. The fictitious names just detracted from the story (I had to keep referring to the footnotes, which broke up the momentum), and I don't understand what was gained from using them, especially since many of the names of real people and things (the author's uncle, various priests and organizations) were kept. I must be missing something, but regardless, aside from it being quite slow (nothing really happens besides memories), and being broken up due to the fictitious names, it had some interesting points and insights into life in the middle of Valle Maggia during the early 20th century. Also some interesting terms in the local dialect.
2.5 stars.
alcuni termini:
paterare: italianizzazione del termine dial. paterá (pregare il pater noster di continuo)
forcola: stretto valico di montagna (dal lat. FURCULA, diminutivo di FURCA)
San Nicolao della Flüe: santo e patrono della Svizzera
Servisol: Self-service
Buzza: dal dial. büza. Burrasca
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