Lampedusa by Steven Price - Book Reviews

Book club rating - 4/5

Rating 3/5

I found this an exhausting, monotonous read -its oppressive atmosphere quite overwhelming and serving only to encapsulate one within a chasm of doom, bereft of passion and hope. However, such an impact upon the weary reader effectively echoes of course the state of mind of the protagonist Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, the “last Prince”. Consequently, one is compelled to process the relentless, melancholic projections of a man entangled within the tendrils of many deaths, not least his own impending physical death. Despite his aristocratic lineage, he is now deficient of power to influence social and political change, which naturally presents a myriad of additional complex losses. Tomasi’ s internal desolation portrays a perfect mirror image of the surrounding destruction; as he meanders through the remains of his once beautiful and beloved home, he begins a period of painful but essential reflection upon the true meaning of loss. The opening chapter is lifeless, without spirit, as cold and desolate as the destruction rained upon the area by allied bombs; it is as cold and bereft of feeling as the activistic stone remains. One is impelled to enter the labyrinth of his unconscious, discovering repressed and unresolved grief pertaining to personal status and an innate fear of the unknown. We journey with him as he struggles to disentangle his fascination of leaving a legacy with the diagnosis of emphysemia; together, we forge still deeper into the atmospheric obscurity of the Life-Death mystification. It is Tomasi’s desperation to hold back the enemy of obscurity pounding at his mortal door that entices him to utilise his remaining strength to pen an acclaimed classic, ‘The Leopard’. It is at this juncture that Price breathes life into Tomasi as his great grandfather's experiences inspire the creation of his protagonist Don Fabrizio, himself the last true Prince -the last ‘leopard’. Finally, the melancholic shroud of despair fades to permit the portrayal of a most human response to a terminal medical diagnosis; the horror and sense of desolation when forced to face the reality of his own mortality is tangible, and serves to create a restorative energy to the novel. The atmosphere is now transformed to one of purpose, endurance and an instinctive desire to truly live in the present, and beyond. Tomasi leaves a beautiful legacy, the core of himself, in his precious words. Reading Price’s fictionalised account of how Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa was inspired to write ‘The Leopard’, was a true test of resilience, despite his innate gift of the use of imagery, language and microscopic portrayal of both animate and inanimate material. I find his poetry anthologies, as uniquely complex and enigmatic as they are, much more accessible. I am left wondering whether reading ‘The Leopard’ either prior to or in conjunction with ‘Lampedusa’ may have enhanced the reading experience.

Rating 5/5

I enjoyed reading the book although it was full of sadness, loss and frustration. Couldn't put it down actually and it was easy to read. A man's longing to leave a legacy before he died. Something that mattered to him. Adopting Gio was an attempt to do that as he didn't have children of his own. He hoped his novel would be a legacy too. Unfortunately, nobody else thought the same. Not until his adopted son was older than he was when he died when he promoted it again was the novel successful. Goes to show the twists and turns of life that is full of surprises but only when it's ready to show it's hand in which we have no control.