This was a really complex book. I get why other users on here have called this the Ulysses of Italian literature - it was really dense and obscure in its references. I made the dumb mistake of getting a copy of this in Italian to improve my language skills, realized I didn't understand anything, then picked up an English copy and realized I still don't understand what the hell is going on. I feel really satisfied that this book is in the rearview but I don't really know what I've gained from reading this because through a lot of it, I had my blinders on (it was the only way to survive a read-through?). Maybe someone a little more learned can get what I didn't.