Petrolio: A novel [Hardcover]

Pier Paolo Pasolini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 1997

An unfinished novel by the murdered Italian author and filmmaker focuses on Carlo, a left-wing Italian Catholic working for the state-controlled oil company, a man who becomes obsessed with satisfying his perverse, insatiable sexual passions.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although Pier Paolo Pasolini is internationally renowned as a filmmaker, his poetry and novels are canonical works of modern Italian writing. Petrolio, a novel unfinished at the time of his murder in 1977, is Pasolini's last major work. All of Pasolini's major themes are here--the homoeroticism of working-class males, the reemergence of ancient myth in the modern city, and the exploitation of the underclass by capitalism. Pasolini blends these disparate themes together in a dense, but satisfying tale of social corruption, political intrigue, and personal sexual salvation. Deeply intellectual and at times mystifying--often because it was partially reconstructed from notes--Pasolini's final work is a tribute to both his power and endurance as an artist.

From Library Journal

Left unfinished at his untimely death in 1975 and published only now, this meta-literary excursion into the life of left-wing Italian Catholic Carlo (who in fact has a split personality) was to have been the multitalented Pasolini's crowning achievement.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 470 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; First edition. edition (March 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679429905
• ISBN-13: 978-0679429906
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #699,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Italian

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.