Malaparte: A House Like Me [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Michael McDonough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 1999

Of this special limited edition, one hundred copies have been produced, numbered 1 to 100, and signed by the author, Michael McDonough. Malaparte: A House Like Me (Limited Edition) offers an extraordinary look at Malaparte, the man and the house. Often called the most beautiful house in the world, Casa Malaparte in Capri, Italy, is dramatically sited on a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was home to Curzio Malaparte (1898-1957), the Italian writer who designed the building. A perpetual enigma, he still confounds nearly all who care to look. Actor, novelist, poet, filmmaker, soldier, playwright, journalist, political figure, prisoner, composer, charmer - inventor and revealer of truths - Malaparte associated with Mussolini and Stalin, vilified Hitler, and admired Mao. He was a journalist in London, a collaborator with the Surrealists in Paris, and a war correspondent in Berlin and on the Russian front. Casa come me, he called the building - house like me - inviting endless speculation as to what meaning lay within. Much as Picasso, Breton, Pound, Eliot and Godard discovered the house and its legendary owner earlier in the century, such international personalities as Robert Venturi, Emilio Ambasz, Willem Dafoe, Steven Holl, Michael Graves, Peter Eisenman, Arata Isozaki, Louis Cha, Carla Fendi, James Wines, and Karl Lagerfeld have created this special portfolio embodying unique insights into the controversial artist and his provocative home. A work of art in itself, Malaparte: A House Like Me includes a series of photographs produced especially by the renowned Italian photographer Mimmo Jodice, archival materials and documents, poetry, original art, letters, memoirs, commentaries, and an original musical score. Organized and edited by noted architect, designer, and writer Michael McDonough, this remarkable book ultimately celebrates Casa Malaparte's enigmatic contradictions, seeing it as a living literary work, an autobiography, and a mysterious tabula rasa: a house that lives in myth.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

One of the most controversial Italian journalists and writers during the fascist and post-World War II periods, Curzio Malaparte, fell in love with the secluded coast of Naples Bay while exiled there by Mussolini in 1933. He later purchased a rocky peninsula on the remote eastern coast of Capri and built the surrealistic Casa Malaparte. This somewhat surreal book, with a foreword by Tom Wolfe, is a portfolio of essays, photographs, drawings, and paintings from 38 contributors (including writer Colman Andrews, actor Willem Dafoe, designer Philippe Starck, architects Robert Venturi and Michael Graves, photographer Mimo Jodice, and cartoonist Ed Koren). Intended to boost the development of Casa Malaparte as a center for international art, literature, and ideas, the assorted content assesses both the house and the man who lived there. The book may develop a following in the design community and is recommended for large academic and specialized library collections.AJay Schafer, Bay Path Coll. Lib., Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The book itself is a stunning artistic presentation.... A compelling evocation of the spirit a house can command." -- Booklist, September 1999

"Top Choices: From Michael McDonough comes Malaparte: A House like Me, a virtual scrapbook that brings together essays, sketches, photos and drawings about Capri's mysterious Casa Malaparte." -- Metropolitan Home, November/December 1999

The book itself is a stunning artistic presentation.... A compelling evocation of the spirit a house can command. Booklist, September 1999. Top Choices: From Michael McDonough comes Malaparte: A House like Me, a virtual scrapbook that brings together essays, sketches, photos and drawings about Capri's mysterious Casa Malaparte. --Metropolitan Home, November/December 1999

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (November 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609603787
• ISBN-13: 978-0609603789
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,176,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BOOK AS EXTRORDINARY AS THE HOUSE ITSELF!, December 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Malaparte: A House Like Me (Hardcover)

The book is amazing. It captures the dialogue of the house and Mr. Malaparte! The play of form, thought, nature, and politics. The graphic collection is presented is a collage of layers and frames.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The unseen Capri, July 7, 2003

By 

C. Christophe "gould" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Malaparte: A House Like Me (Hardcover)

If you go Napoli's gulf you should visit Capri. Don't make the mistake i made by following herds of tourists to Capri. All that you'll be able to see is a kind of disney village and a lot of postcard shops and eat unbelievably expensive ice cream.
And you'll probably miss a landmark of architecture which is Malaparte's house.
The book is not only a great bargain, it is an intelligent tribute to Malaparte. You should also read Malaparte's The Skin.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, November 29, 1999

By 

Alexis rzewski - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malaparte: A House Like Me (Hardcover)

more like a scrapbook, this art book was most enjoyable, voyering into a fascinating life