Voyeur B (Abacus Books) [Paperback]

Moravia Alberto (Author)

Book Description

Series: Abacus Books | Publication Date: September 19, 1991

Edoardo, ex-left-wing militant turned professor of French, is a voyeur of life and love. Family and other problems haunt him, and he discovers that he has been unable to see for looking. By the Italian author of "Erotic Tales", whose books were banned during the years of fascism.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Restricted in scale and with a limited cast, Moravia's old preserve of sexual obsession is occupied in this latest novel by a 35-year-old intellectual, a professor of French literature locked in oedipal combat with his aged but still-vital father, a famous physicist and academic "baron." The father is upheld by the bourgeois establishment, the son a one-time student activist who surrenders, as a protest against private property, all claim to the handsome flat bequeathed to him by his mother. His wife seems to desire the flat; she also desires an extramarital arrangement with the father. The son, for his part, envisions the nuclear explosion of the dome of St. Peter's and the imminent end of the world. When Moravia confines himself to his restless characters, the novel progresses fluidly enough, but he yields far too often to his weakness for conceptual trappings. The father-son disagreements are tiresome, and differing views about the nuclear bomb are not presented with any new drama. But it's gratifying to observe that Moravia, at age 80, has lost none of his engergy and agility.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The narrator of Moravia's latest novel, a 35-year-old professor of French literature, is walking down the streets of Rome, thinking of an erotic poem by Mallarme, when he sees a young black woman gazing out of her apartment window. At that moment, he becomes fascinated with the woman, with his own fascination, and with the concept of voyeurism literary and literal. His obsession with the subject and with this aspect of his own character leads him (not without irony) to suspect that his wife Silvia is having an affair with his father, a distinguished physics professor who is bedridden from a car accident and in whose apartment the couple lives. This story of love, obsession, and self-discovery is so skillfully wrought and so absolutely absorbing that it may make reading itself seem fraught with voyeuristic implications. Highly recommended. Marcia G. Fuchs, Guilford Free Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown); New edition edition (September 19, 1991)
• ISBN-10: 0349102139
• ISBN-13: 978-0349102139
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,549,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The True Catalyst and Heroine of The Voyeur is as unexpected as the conclusion of the Story, June 11, 2011

By 

tru - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voyeur B (Abacus Books) (Paperback)

The best description that expresses my first impression of The Voyeur was given by Sean Simpson. He writes, "Extremely uncomfortable dark comedy. I enjoyed most of it, yet the story leaves on a very sour note, so I was confused on my opinions of the characters. Overall it's a good book."

I thought it was a good read; however, the unanticipated and uncomfortable ending left me and Dodo confused; perhaps, because it deals with serious issues in a bizarre ironic way. The ending led me to thoroughly read and research "The Voyeur" (and other works of fiction by Alberto Moravia) to try to comprehend the meaning behind the irony. If the ending of this ambiguous storyline was based on first impressions, it would make the story pointlessly empty and brainless. The main narratve is found in every inkling, twist and turn of irony. This summary was inspired by the ending of this novel.

A common synopsis of the novel would read something like this: Dodo is a 35-year-old Italian professor, who teaches French literature at the local university in Rome. He has been living a passive life trying to figure out why his newlywed wife left him... This summary could also pertain to many other novels written by Moravia, such as in, "Contempt", or in a traditional Italian piece by Pirandello were odd stories are filled with satire.

Irony exists in true fashion throughout the Voyeur storyline: Dodo's father was a social climber, who didn't marry for love, but for wealth. He is a professor and is now part of the powerful bourgeois wealthy ruling class, who loves power, control, competition, and is very materialistic. He views his son as a rival. Dodo on the other hand is also a professor, who married for love. Comes from a wealthy family, but has no money, he rejects everything about his dad, the "great man" and everything bourgeois. Fausta the nurse complains to Dodo about how lewd she is being treated by his dad, but gives into his lascivious behavior and groping. The voyeur states that he seems to get blinded by the truth. Dodo likes to watch and Silvia loves to be seen. Silvia likes it from behind and Dodo likes it from the front; Dodo wants Silvia to be the Madonna and Silvia wants to be a pig. Later, Dodo wants her from behind, but Silvia wants it from the front. Silvia is in true love with her husband, but had an affair with a man that she didn't love. She hated it and felt ashamed every time she gave into the other man, yet she thought the way it was done was irresistible. She wanted Dodo to know about the affair, but really didn't want to tell him... she wanted him to guess.

Anyway, Moravia also wants the reader to know what Dodo is feeling, thinking, and experiencing by giving his firsthand account of the narrative. The reader senses Dodo's distress and participates in the story, noticing that he is at his weakest and most vulnerable moments when telling his story... It seems as though Alberto Moravia and Dodo's father take pleasure in throwing "monkey wrenches" into Dodo's existence.

Nevertheless, the most overlooked and yet the most significant strand of The Voyeur storyline seems to go unnoticed. It also explains and justifies the conclusion of the narrative. Silvia becomes empowered when she escapes from her unnaturally strange situation of infidelity, to become the catalyst of responsible change. Her departure forces Dodo to soul-search and realizes his short comings of being: self-centered by way of irresponsible decision making, appalling listening skills, selfish emotional and sexual intimacy. At first, Dodo felt uncomfortable and then surprised that he wanted to hear more, when Silvia openly discussed their lives together and about her affair with the other man.

As a result, Dodo listens intently and hangs on to every word spoken by Silvia. In the end, he listens and allows Silvia to share in making major decisions that affect both of their lives. He realizes that Sylvia is truly the best thing (or choice) of his life.
He listens and learns about his selfish sexual intimacy, he recognizes that he can't be a "one-trick-pony" and gains knowledge of how to please Silvia sexually.

Before the father was in a car accident, Dodo did not communicate or recognize his father's existence. Silvia did everything to avoid the father. Not to mention, Dodo brought a lot of childish baggage into his marriage when he chose to live with his father just to spite him, to reject the bourgeois class that his father represented. After the accident, Dodo and his father initiated a relative father-son relationship. Dodo finally realizes why he lost his future independence by giving up his inheritance to protest against owning property (at least until his father dies). Now, Dodo understands how his past self-serving decisions have negatively affected his and his wife's present life. Silvia told Dodo that if his father had given them Dodo's inherited flat as a wedding gift, a lot of things would not have happened. Dodo may now recognize that an affair would not have taken place, if he had never chose to live with his father.

Silvia tries to end the affair as soon as possible, when Dodo threatens to end their relationship. However, she keeps Fausta awake, when she gives into the other man for the last time.
When Silvia went to live with her aunt, she never intended to leave her husband; she left to end the affair and to stay away from the father-in-law. She left to get Dodo's attention, because he was totally oblivous about her infidelity. She always wanted him to be aware of what was going on, ever since they got married. He remembers how Sylvia frequently showed hints of hostility, distress, and resentment towards his father. Eventually He wanted to ask Silvia what was the source of her continual sadness. He didn't want to address these issues, until his father got well. She tells Dodo, "I tried to make you see, but it was as if you were blind, and then maybe I was ashamed of admitting it." She finally took action to escape the continuous immoral situation that brought on guilt, shame, and distress due to her unfaithfulness. She wanted to return to Dodo when she set things right. She constantly tells him that she didn't want to live in his father's flat. Later, she would say, "Dodo you ruined everything, forcing me to live in your father's place. I tried every way I knew to make you realize I didn't want to go there, but you seemed deaf and blind and you threw me into somebody else's arms". The affair was initiated by the act of her being raped on her wedding day.

Ultimately, Silvia takes the "bull by the horns" and reminds Dodo that they can't afford the new expensive flat that he originally inherited. She had to let him know that they had to stop the folly of making bad decisions. The "crush" is over and done with. She is ready to come back to Dodo, and live in the same flat that she left, until they find another one that they can afford, without the financial help from Dodo's father.
During the end of the story, Dodo was in a fragile frame of mind and he kept the readers of the story in the same state as he was. So any common sense that was mentioned by Silvia to move back seemed suspicious. He was glad to see Silvia come back, but wasn't sure if his wife was over her crush. She finally accomplished what she set out to do. She forced Dodo to see (to know) what was going on. Finally removing the tryst that would put their marriage in jeopardy. As a result, she came back as the responsible adult and true heroine of the story. Now Silvia and Dodo are ready to move on - to enhance their lives together.