Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Der letzte Sommer in der Stadt

An existential love story set in 1960s Rome.

The writing is beautiful, as we follow the damaged protagonist, Leo, who drifts through life aimlessly.

He meets the equally damaged Arianna, and they both fall in love but never seem to meet emotionally.

It's beautiful and sometimes brutal, but Leo's detachment from life makes this a story about the loneliness of city life.

There's a lot to examine in this short, beautifully written book.

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jordan21's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This quickly became one of my favorite books of all time. It’s easygoing, lighthearted and entertaining with a solid collection of memorable quotes (I’m at the end of my tether, truth be told). The plot was subtle yet compelling, and while the ending was shocking, it still felt satisfactory. I’m looking forward to challenging my Italian and reading the author’s other works.

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riminireads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Some beautiful writing. Other parts definitely showed their age and/or were lost in translation (the book was first published in Italian in 1970). My main takeaway from this is that people in their 20s don't get to do nothing anymore. I can't remember the last time I was genuinely bored (or had the luxury and time to do so). Walking around the city, heading to the local bar and knowing someone will be there, complicated love affairs, randomly deciding to drive to the coast, spending the day reading, zero care for work, no real responsibilities. This is the 20s I should be having!

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smellerbee93's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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awen_mair's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

On the whole I really liked this book. Considering this book was originally written in Italian, the translation retained a lot of the beauty and wit that made this book so enjoyable. I found this book quite theatrical and could easily see it as a contender for a Wes Anderson or call-me-by-your-name-esque film. You could tell Arianna’s character was written by a man lol and I thought the ending was a little unnecessary. I started writing down my favourite quoes but there were too many so here are the first few:

“Her whole demeanor exuded independence, an independence so absolute as to make you think she hadn’t come into the world like everybody else, in pain and blood, but had simply emerged, like a butterfly.”
“What a sad name,[…] it sounds like a lost battle.”
“It’s from three o’clock [am] onward that night rises from its own abyss, dripping with dreams.”
“Have you ever thought how many pleasures progress has deprived us of?”
(On favouring second hand books) “they cost less and because you can tell in advance, with a certain amount of certainty, if they’re worth reading.”
“Is there anything you feel a part of? No, […] because we belong to an extinct species. We happen to still be alive, that’s all.”

I also might move to italy lol

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mgbellm's review against another edition

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4.0

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

I can see why André Aciman wrote the foreword for Calligarich’s book— It’s not only because it’s set in Italy; it’s the writing style and atmosphere (along with all the literary references), the way the characters idly wander and sit with their loneliness that made me wonder to what extent Calligarich (and perhaps similar Italian authors) have influenced Aciman. In his foreword, Aciman writes:

Rome is the lingering, glamorous patina that blinds the characters of Last Summer in the City to the very real fact that they are seriously damaged and marooned.

I think this is a good sentence that makes clear what you’ll find in Calligarich’s novel. Which takes me to the actual novel—

I really did like the way Calligarich lingered, whether it be on moments, through the streets of Rome, or between characters. It almost felt as though you were watching a 1970s Italian film. Rome is a character, in a way, considering the way the characters reacted to the city throughout this novel. Early on in the novel, this is pretty well established, presenting Rome as a woman, with whom “[t]here can be no half measures with her, either she’s the love of your life or you have to leave her, because that’s what the tender beast demands, to be loved.”

It’s a novel in which you observe the protagonist drift and spiral. It’s honestly a rather depressing book, despite having somewhat of a lackadaisical air to it. The emotional delivery was well done, and the translator seems to have succeeded in getting this across.

It’s clear this book is dated in the way Calligarich approaches mental illness (flippantly), female characters (flattened and objectified), and male characters (boys’ club energy along with a dash of chauvinism). The world was very rose-tinted, certainly helped by the lyrical writing. It did get tiring though. Oh, and there was a good helping of blatant homophobia that was entirely unnecessary that really threw me off.

All-in-all, though, it was interesting to pick this book up, especially considering that I’ve barely touched Italian literature (specifically anything dated after the sixteenth century, welp). I’d be curious to read more modern literary works from Italy.

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