“I’m going to read this book” (92)
This is a line I muttered to myself often while reading this book, almost as a chant to regain the energy to continue on even after cringing from disturbing line after disturbing line. That said, this was still one of the most enjoyable reads in my opinion… oddly enough.
I appreciate the more straightforward writing style, a stark difference to the previous surrealist texts of Proust and Breton. Further I enjoyed the more obvious alluding (as compared to the style of Bombal, which had me guessing about Ana-Maria’s pregnancy throughout). That said, perhaps this prose would have been less disturbing if I had not known the extent of the troubling acts within.
I am sure many other students will discuss Freud and the Oedipus complex, as I too jotted this down (on the first page after just reading a few sentences)! Additionally I am sure there will be extensive discussion on the long list of questionable topics brought up (I too have much to say, but I’ll save it for class!)
Anyways, I wanted to touch on what this book reminded me of throughout, as my mind jumped from place to place of what this reminded me of. Of course at the beginning, this tale reminded me of that of Oedipus. The odd sexualization of his own mother made me feel quite weirdly towards Agostino. But then by the time we were introduced to Renzo, I almost felt bad for the boy—having to be in such an awkward situation with his mother. Then as we are introduced to Berto, I couldn’t help but connect the story to that of Disney’s “Luca” (a coming of age story about two Italian boys/sea monsters). However, this line was quickly erased after Berto revealed his cruelty. Then when Agostino is introduced to the group of boys, it reminded me of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan—but again, only for a minute (before the cruelty began). My mind then jumped to “Lord of the Flies,” especially when they are in Rio.
Towards the end of the book though, as Agostino lost “his original identity without acquiring through his loss another” (78), I settled on a connection to the movie “Mid90s.” This movie follows the life of a 13 year old boy who joins a group of skaters in California. He tries to escape his troubled home life to be with these older teens, alike to how Agostino wishes to escape his mother. Honestly, I don’t remember this movie too well, as it has been years since I’ve last watched it, but I am sure this is a decent comparison. There is also a scene in that movie where the main boy goes to a party and has sexual relations with an older teen girl, which is comparable to Agostino attempting to pay for sex.
My question is: what came to your mind as you were reading? And by the end, which tale was this most reminiscent of for you?
I think that the reference to mid 90s feels very apt, and when I was reading it the image of Agostino was similar to that of the main character of that movie. A lot of what else came to my mind was images of coming to age movies like Call Me By Your Name, which might also be because of the Italian setting. Something about young boys and Italy just makes you lose your innocence.
For some reason I also remembered “Call me by your name” as Jack says, but the story is quite different. Although in one of the narratives there is a game of seduction, Agostino’s fascination with what he does not yet know leads him to enter into a game of masks. The protagonist finally learns to lie, to use a language that has lost the innocence of mere referentiality.