I'm a Bookworm

image: digilander.libero.it

I read this book a few years ago, and it definitely deserves a place on this blog. It’s called Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band (in an obvious reference to John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and was written by Enrico Brizzi.

The novel examines Alex, an Italian teenager named who feels he is different from his peers, and experiences intense angst during his journey of self discovery. In general, the book  follows Alex in his daily life at school, with friends, and in his free time, recording what he does, where he goes and what he thinks.

In terms of the writing style, I love the way Brizzi gives the novel a definite sense of time and place through his descriptions of exactly what Alex is wearing. Alex is Italian, and dressing is of tantamount importance to Italian men.  In addition, the type of clothes described gives the reader an exact sense of the time period in which the novel was written (the 1990s).

The main theme of Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band is one that is an undercurrent for many of the novels treated in this blog. It’s the boredom with modern existence and the dissatisfaction with a comfortable, middle class, western-style existence. These books make it almost seem as if our current capistalist, democratic lifestyle satisfies  material and physical needs, but leaves spiritual and emotional ones unfulfilled.  Alex understands these principles, and tries to escape the inevitable cycle his parents and elders have experienced through various methods like: making friends that feel the same way,  romantic feelings, art, etc.

Alex and the protagonists inmany other books I’ve read, whether youth, young adults or middle aged professionals, seem to share a feeling of unfulfillment and disengagement with their lifestyle and society. Another thing these characters  have in common is the lack of resolution of this essential dilemma. It might just be the biggest unanswered question of our age.

–The Reader