Blurb
Giorgio de Maria – ‘Twenty Days of Turin.’ This work by de Maria follows a man in Turin who chooses to investigate a series of unexplained, violent events that occurred a decade before the setting of the novel. The killings, all done with the same bloody modus operandi, happened in some of the city’s best-known spots, often in full view of hundreds of people, yet no one could really remember anything except for vague hints of shadows sliding among the almost catatonic crowds and the echoes of metallic, grey, and threatening cries. The horror in this novel has been cited as an allegory for the fascist violence that plagued Italy during the Years of Lead from the 1960s to the 1980s.
About the Author:
Giorgio De Maria was a pianist, critic, playwright, and novelist. He wrote four novels, the best remembered of which is Twenty Days. It has a cult following in Italy and in leftist circles.
Uh…not bragging, this book consumed my entire weekend and I pretty much read all of it already but I’ll maintain my comments to Chapters 1 and 3.
I think this will be cool when it starts to make a little more sense. Like, I’m not sure what this monster is that’s batting people against trees or why the statues switched places. So either I’m a bad reader or it’s still pretty mysterious. I’d be curious what background events in Italy the author might have seen around him. Idk much about what Italian society was like before and during the rise of fascism. Like if there are historical incidents being alluded to I wouldn’t know. The nice boys who start the library are a funny touch.
This was published in 1970s in the midst of the years of lead. And his own kids argued it was about terrorism. And a lot of the neo-fascists arrested for committing heinous terrorist attacks ended up free.
Got it thanks. When I referred to the “rise of fascism” think I confused myself because I’m also reading a book called Mephisto by Klaus Mann that is set in and was written during mid 30s in Germany and I thought a similar thing was going on. I’ll have to read about the Years of Lead. I’ve never heard of it.
Chapter 1 deals with the first victim of what soon would become twenty days of bloodshed. He was an insomniac that had gotten involved with the Library. Chapter 2. We are introduced to Attorney Serge and what information he can give us. And Chapter 3, deals with the Library and the horrors it unleashed on the population of Turin.
What are your thoughts and impressions of the first three chapters? Can we seriously talk about the library?!
I’m intrigued by the library! I totally get why people would be interested in it and want to read and “publish” things in it. The old man creeping on the 18 year old was gross as was the woman who wants a man to help her shit but what can you expect from a mostly anonymous library?
Really enjoying my time with this one, and trying very hard to pace myself! I like @marxisthayaca would have happily read this whole thing this weekend but I stopped myself, if only so I have a little treat throughout the week.
Anyway, I think the first two chapters were a bit too much dialogue and not even other stuff for my taste, but I suppose it was necessary to begin setting things up. There’s a hushed, dreadful mood throughout that I’m liking a lot. Feels like a group of people leaning on my shoulder just telling me to sshhh, don’t talk about that! All the people dying from covid? All the violence and brutality necessary to uphold a society where I can post on Hexbear? No no ssshhhhh, just go about your day. Don’t talk about the killings, just consume. That kind of mods is (obviously) applicable to real life and seems to permeate the book thus far.
Chapter 3 is where it really picks up for me. The Library is just a wonderful, Borges-esque addition to this story that I love. Pretty obviously an unintentional allegory for the internet as it exists today, with its flame wars and mad, rambling blog posts about nothing but the internal monologue of the unhinged desperately trying to be heard. Sharing personal shit like that, amidst a general atmosphere of malaise, is probably not great for anybody’s mental wellbeing!
I was pretty hooked by Chapter 3. I am fascinated how De Maria uses smiling teens as the recruiters for the Library. And funny enough, i had never considered losing sleep from my postings on social media. I hope not to now that the idea has been planted into my head — I already worry that one day someone will report my social media accounts to my employers so I’ve tried to not post anything work-related.
![[Book Club Discussion | Part 1: Chapters 1 – 3] Giorgio De Maria - 'Twenty Days of Turin'(hexbear.net)](https://hexbear.net/pictrs/image/AVN2oxHYg9.png){kind=link}