“I was left with faith in the causes of those revolutionary years that I shared with many comrades. I knew the broadest political application of the pronoun we.”
My first introduction to Erri De Luca’s work was with a novel of his, “The Impossible”, which is published, like many of his other novels, by Kelefthos Publications, translated by Anna Papastavrou.
“The Impossible”, in the form of a detective novel, is directly related to the past of the author himself, who was one of the founders of the Lotta Continua organisation.
An alpinist, a former member of an unnamed organisation, has served many years in prison as a “terrorist”. On one of his climbs, he finds that ahead of him, following a similar route, is climbing the same mountain, his former friend and comrade in the organisation, who had turned him in.
When he is found dead from a fall, suspicion understandably falls on him. Is this a criminal act? Is it revenge?
He is taken into custody and begins a real duel with the investigating magistrate, who gives him the opportunity to have a flashback, supplemented by letters to his beloved…
This book, fascinating in its writing, with twists and turns and suspense, touches on many of the issues that concern the left and beyond.
However, for me it was the occasion to go back to his other books, discovering a top writer who touches the times we live in as much as anyone and with an incredible richness of approaches.
