Novecento

Have you ever heard of Novecento by Alessandro Baricco? No? Then, it's time to let you know what it is and why it's worth reading. 

It's a novel which tells us a story of a man called Teddy Budman T.D. Lemon Novecento, a man born on the naval ship. The curiosity is that he never got down on the mainland: he lived all his life on the board. A part of one unsuccessful attempt to leave the ship, Novecento does not even think to put his feet on the still ground.

The story begins with a baby left on the piano in the lounge room of the first class of Virginian, an Italian naval ship sailing from Italy to America and back. Found by a naval workman, who decides to grow the baby by himself, little Novecento is growing up among thousands of people running through the ship.

Old workman teaches him everything he knows, and then gets hurt and dies during a terrible storm. Novecento becomes an orphan for the second time.

Finally, the most important thing that changes his life, is the music. To the utter astonishment of everybody, Novecento improves to play piano in the completely mysterious way and he turns out to be the best pianist in the world.

The end is absolutely beautiful and tragic, in some way. Reflections of Novecento included in his last monologue, make the reader stop and rethink his approach to the world. Life of a man who has never left the ship appeals to be even more interesting and full of magic than the life of an average resident of the continent.

One of the most interesting things that we see just from the beginning is a deep contrast between the perspective of the narrator and the one of Novecento. The pianist’s best friend understands him only in the last days of his life, when our protagonist decides to stay on the ship till the end.

If you ask me, Novecento made me think about the hurry and eternal luck of time which are the characteristics of my everyday life. I have understood, in some way, that speaking 5 languages and being qualified in 3 different fields will not make me feel happier.