A review by afi_whatafireads
Valentino by Natalia Ginzburg

mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This ran deeper than the surface of the story but damn, Ginzburg is such a storyteller.
This was such an entertaining read but also when reflected - will leave you going through the notions that seemed subtle but was thrown from the very start of the story.


"Valentino seemed devoid of any ambition to become a man of consequence; in the house, he usually spent his time playing with a kitten or making toys for the caretaker's children out of scraps of old material stuffed with sawdust, fashioning cats and dogs and monsters too, with big heads and long, lumpy bodies.


For such a short and straightforward read, Valentino has many things to unpack. Not only on the society's disparations and expectations to women but also to men and how they forgive them easily for certain things that has led them to be blinded from what was deeper; inside of a person.

Its funny, how when the story ended, I went through the pages again and gasped. Ginzburg is such an amazing storyteller. The story seemed simple, following the POV of Valentino's sister, and her views of him, his marriage, his life and hers that had intertwined as well with her sister-in-law that was not accepted by their parents. Valentino, spoilt and vain marrying to a wealthy but seemingly 'ugly' woman had led the society to view their relationship as such.

Ginzburg's writing will always leave you gobsmacked at the end. When you see tell-tale signs of what's about to happen and can't pinpoint exactly when it will happen, but when it finally blew up? Its really like reading a telenovela of sorts - but in a form that criticizes the society in such a subtle way that you'll have to dig deeper to look at the roots of the problem.

In some ways, Ginzburg has portrayed a concept of almost fluid, in the gender roles that has been implied in this book, of Valentino and his wife and how the roles were reversed - in due to what will happen at the end. (view spoiler) The malfunction of the family roles at the time, the class system as well as how Ginzburg had brilliantly and quietly panned out the story was one that I was definitely in awe off.

In short, Valentino is an intriguing story, one that you might not expect what will happen but for some, can be foreseen. Can't wait to read more of Ginzburg's works!