Review “As bitter and aggressive as a glass of Fernet Branca....Plainly the work of a forceful and ambitious writer...it features a strong and authentic voice, and is like little else I’ve read in recent years.” —Dwight Garner, THE NEW YORK TIMES“The more I thought about this novel and its dark concerns, I began to realize how Pacifico’s look so beautifully matches his writing’s contradictions...In his novels...the apparently comical surface will suddenly rupture, revealing its ethical precision, its melancholy soul.” —Adam Thirlwell, PARIS REVIEW DAILY“[In Class,] Francesco Pacifico turns his attention to Italy’s other major religion: ‘Cool.’ On the trail of Italian hipsters from Rome to Williamsburg, Class is both savage and tender, like Antonioni’s camera…” —Marco Roth, author of The Scientists"Pacifico’s ability to slyly resuscitate the comedy of manners while deploying a Faulknerian multiple-consciousness narrator—all while thoroughly inhabiting the present moment of conspicuous consumption—has expanded the bounds of contemporary fiction." —PASTE MAGAZINEPraise for The Story of My Purity   “Francesco Pacifico is a brilliantly funny and weirdly subversive writer. The Story of My Purity manages to be both absurd and sincere...A joy to read.” —Dana Spiotta, author of Innocents and Others   “Insanely funny and terrifically offensive, Francesco Pacifico’s novel fell on my head like a bowling ball and knocked me the hell out. Among many other things, it’s a great updating of Roman life . . . A modern Italian classic.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story   “Francesco Pacifico revives the Italian comic novel. The writing is ribald but never vulgar, extremely smart about friendship and sex but without pretension. You’ll laugh aloud, want to hide your blushing face in the pillow, and argue with the author, all at once.” —Marco Roth, author of The Scientists Read more About the Author Francesco Pacifico was born in Rome in 1977. He is the author of The Story of My Purity and has translated Will Eisner, Dave Eggers, Henry Miller, Ray Charles, and Dana Spiotta. His work has appeared in n+1, McSweeney's, and the White Review, among other publications. Read more
A**R
I'm a great fan of post modern attempts to break down the ...
This is a novel about the irrelevance of a group of young hip and infinitely wealthy Milanese running between NY and Italy. But the novel struck me as irrelevant itself; the characters are largely uninteresting, the plot is thin. the representation of NY is laughable. I'm a great fan of post modern attempts to break down the structures of the novel, but Pacifico hasn't succeeded here. Too bad as I really like to follow what's going on in contemporary Italian lit.
T**S
Upper class Italians in protracted adolescence
I keep wishing there was a three and a half star rating. This was better than OK, but not really worth four stars. The story concerns upper class Italians in their twenties to around forty interacting with each other in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Rome. There is some excellent writing and the characters are interesting and convincing. The structure of the novel is not straightforward: is the narrator a ghost? How did she get this perspective? At some point the narrator and point of view change. Near the end we get a section composed of notes taken by another character. Some of it works and some of it doesn't. It's difficult to have a lot of sympathy for any of the spoiled, self-involved posers that most of these characters represent, but their interactions are amusing and some of the sex is comical if a little pathetic. A very mixed bag.
C**E
Very Poor
Superficial, nihilistic, totally uninteresting novel. I could not finish it.
M**N
Mediocre
A disappointing and twee read about stultifyingly boring people.
A**R
Surreal and observant, this book was a pleasant surprise ...
Surreal and observant, this book was a pleasant surprise. The end creeped me out a bit but all in all a solid novel.
E**S
Don't judge me cuz I'm too poor to buy all the books I read
Got this from the library. Don't judge me cuz I'm too poor to buy all the books I read.First off: DO NOT READ THE NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW.Further, "F" Dwight Garner for giving away such a large piece of the novel so early in his review. I understand that this is a literary novel, so the quality of the book has little to do with the plot or the devices thereof, but giving THAT away was dirty pool.I liked this book. The language is superb, the characters are easy to hate but difficult to dismiss. You'd loathe them and everything about them, if you didn't kinda sorta identify with them. This novel shines as a polyphonic novel, with shifting perspectives, motives and fist sized steam. The sex seems real, more a desperate cry of the achingly lonely than conquest or pleasure. These characters see sex as acceptance that they so desperately need, not pelt collection.
W**M
Unlikeable, boring characters
Maybe that was the point, but the novel wasn't enjoyable to read.
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2 weeks ago
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