Agostino

Hey everyone!

Moravia’s Agostino is a coming-of-age type book that focuses on our main character, Agostino’s thoughts, and experiences during his summer at the beach. We are engrossed in two contrasting settings in this book, the rich backgrounds of our main character Agostino accompanied by his initially elegant views of his mother and the poorer Vespucci beach with a rougher gang of boys. 

One of the strongest themes I kept noticing in this book is the self-absorbed mindset of most of the characters in this book. This could be strongly indicative of the age of the boys. Agostino in a lot of ways parallels his mother. Initially, the boys teased his mother for going on a boat with a man but eventually, he too gets teased by the boys for going on a boat with Saro Agostino’s views of his mother are heavily bound by his perceptions of her and anything beyond that seems to anger and aggravate him. 

Agostino’s mother, similar to Agostino lived a simple and elegant life until she began spending time with the young man. At this point, she began to become more joyful. This parallels Agostino who lived a quiet life but began to experience a more thrilling life when he met the boys. Both of them seek enjoyment by engaging with the everyday life of regular people. It is also suggested that both of them are trying harder to maintain the relationship. As Agostino observes his mother was trying hard while the young man put in minimal effort. Agostino also tried very hard to impress and fit in with his new friend. 

One of the biggest questions I had while I was reading the book was what drove Agostino to keep coming back to his friends? In the beginning, he enjoyed their shaming of his mother and we are loosely told that he enjoyed their thrilling lifestyle but nonetheless the boys were abusive and he recognized himself that he would never be accepted by them. The book really questions the dynamics of relationships. 

Agostino’s view of people and women especially, his mother seems to be very derogatory and harmful. He has a very conditional love for his mother and despises her once she moves from his expectations. He is transfixed with her roles and begins to objectify her when his view of her changes.

Overall, this book really dwells into the dynamics of relationships, the harmful thoughts of a growing boy. It really dives into the views a person can hold of people and how that can further diminish. This book also really captures the tumultuous feelings of young adolescents, the needs individuals experience to fit in, and the different ways in which people can influence their behavior.