From Publishers Weekly
Bonaviri, a Sicilian novelist and poet, is known for sending his characters on metaphysical quests that transcend time and mortality. The translator chose this novel, published in Italian in 1978, as the work most representative of Bonaviri's themes. More a meditation than a story, the novel follows Ariete on a search through his birthplace of Zebulonia, where he is investigating the disappearance of many of the town's natives. To find the answers, Ariete must revisit Zebulonia's ancient origins and encounter its past inhabitants, including the mystical peasant Dolcissimo. Ariete frequently describes natural and scientific phenomena as he seeks a higher consciousness that is neither strictly religious nor rationalistic. One sage, Friar Onorio, offers him a definition of this immortal condition: "The One that incorporates the fleeting essences of the dead bodies is the vortex that tends towards immobility, that is, towards immortality, where there are no spinning atoms, no memory." Bonaviri's rarefied spiritual poetics are best appreciated by those who enjoy undertaking inexplicable journeys.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Dolcissimo is probably Bonaviri's most complex, rich, and characteristic work." -- Le Monde
"Bonaviri treats some of the most pressing issues of our age. Bonaviri is a candidate for the Nobel Prize for literature, which he richly deserves." -- L'Italo-Americano, April 16, 1992
"Mariani brings to life that special lyricism that makes Bonaviri one of the most interesting figures in our contemporary literature." -- America Oggi, December 9, 1990
"Bonaviri treats some of the most pressing issues of our age. Bonaviri is a candidate for the Nobel Prize for literature, which he richly deserves." -- L'Italo-Americano, April 16, 1992
"Mariani brings to life that special lyricism that makes Bonaviri one of the most interesting figures in our contemporary literature." -- America Oggi, December 9, 1990
