As the outsider observer in Liguria, Italy, we are shown snippets of life lived in rural communities. The narrator/author does great work in using imagery to set the scene, making the reader feel as though they are a part of each chapter.

Structurally, there is very little linear progression in Commedia Mortale. We bounce between location and time without much of a hint of context to place yourself, or any sort of conclusion. I personally enjoyed going from the Italian restaurant owner, to 1970’s America, and back to Italy reminiscing on WWII antifascist resistance, not to mention the cameo of a certain famous chef (known as Tony). 

Honesty time though:

It took me almost a month to read Commedia Mortale. It was easy to put aside and pick up another book. Very easy to ignore. Unfortunately. 

Auto-fiction can be super hit or miss, and in my opinion this is a miss. While there were snippets of brilliance smattered throughout, it was bogged down by the uninteresting, mostly the foodie talk.  

There was also a lot of Tell and not enough Show, which as a reflection on conversions and observations collected by a person makes sense, but having characters deaths just dropped in as minor information was jarring. We didn’t spend enough time with any one person to care either. Perhaps as an outsider myself, I like to seek books with characters that i feel a connection to and without that, there no satisfaction in the reading. 

Full disclosure, I skim read most of the second 50% because it had already lost me. 

Thanks to Influx Press for the advance gifted copy.