Holiday reading recommendation: Uncovering the captivating aspects of Chiara Valerio's Blind Spots
In the intriguing world of literature, Italian author Chiara Valerio's latest offering, "Blind Spots" (originally titled "L'imperfetta meraviglia"), has captivated readers with its unique blend of genres - crime, love story, and societal portrait.
Set on an elegant provincial stage, the novel unfolds in the small town of Scauri, a seaside resort nestled between Rome and Naples. The story begins with a shocking event: Vittoria, a central character, is found dead in her bathtub. Despite the mystery surrounding her death, the house with its paradise-like garden becomes a meeting point for all social strata, reflecting Vittoria's popularity in the community.
Vittoria, who moves to Scauri in the 1970s, is a woman of intrigue. She is excellent with medicinal plants, prefers Kir Royal, and finds solace in the quiet coastal town over the pulsating metropolis. The novel delves into her life piece by piece, reconstructing the story of an unusual woman who captivates the investigating lawyer, Lea.
Lea, a lawyer from a lower-middle-class family, lives with her husband and two daughters in the same town where she grew up. Although loosely acquainted with the deceased, Lea does not believe in an accident and begins to investigate. As the story unfolds, Lea's investigation intertwines with her own personal experiences and reflections on her fascination with Vittoria.
The novel is rich in dialogue and atmospheric, with a plot that develops more slowly. It offers a glimpse into a small-town kaleidoscope with abysses, as described by the author who grew up in Scauri. Other characters appear on this stage: teenage boys, a progressive priest, an anti-fascist and homosexual station master, a shady yet jovial lawyer, and a previously unknown, wealthy family of the deceased.
While some dialogues in the novel sound somewhat formulaic, the expanded view over the flat roofs to the Tyrrhenian Sea, all the way to Ischia and Ponza, is an important aspect of the novel. The novel is now being published in German, and the mathematician Chiara Valerio made it onto the shortlist of the Premio Strega with this book in Italy.
However, the exact cause or circumstances of Vittoria's drowning remain tied to the novel’s narrative and its exploration of identity and perception rather than a simple accident. For a precise explanation of why Vittoria drowns, consulting the novel directly or literary analyses focused on this work would be necessary.
In a separate note, "No Heart, Nowhere" was first published in 2024 by the small, fine Nonsolo Verlag. Some of the characters in the novel are fictional, while some might be based on real people.
