Bruno Arpaia
Encyclopedia
Life
After his degree in Political Sciences and a specialisation in American History at the University of Naples, he taught there and then became a journalist with the Italian newspaper Il Mattino of NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, subsequently moving to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1989, where he worked for the daily La Repubblica.
In 1990 he published his first novel, I forestieri (The Foreigners), which won the Bagutta Prize the following year. Arpaia published another three novels, after leaving the newspaper La Repubblica in 1998, in order to dedicate himself solely to writing and freelance journalism.
L'Angelo della storia (Guanda, 2001) is his most successful novel, also being selected for the prestigious Campiello Prize in 2001. Translated into English in 2006 with the title The Angel of History by Minna Proctor, under the patronage of the Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Arts Council
The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
and the Italian Cultural Institute, it tells the partly fictional story of philosopher Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
and a young Spanish militant in 1940. Arpaia's twofold narrative retraces Benjamin's flight across Europe and the Spaniard's youthful activism, as both men battle to assert their beliefs in the face of ultimate extinction.
Arpaia lives in the region of Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
and currently alternates between translation, journalism and writing novels. He is also a publishing consultant for several Italian newspapers and publishing houses.
Review
Arpaia retells the BenjaminWalter BenjaminWalter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
story in alternate chapters, in the third person, with counterpoint chapters in the first person by Laureano Mahojo, an anti-Franco Loyalist who spent most of his life in exile in Mexico. In the novel, Laureano meets Benjamin on the refugee trail as the writer limps into Port-Bou, the Spanish village where he committed suicide to avoid being sent to France by the border guards. Benjamin knew that, as a Marxist and Jew, as well as an outspoken critic of fascism, he would not have been greeted warmly by the Gestapo.
Bruno Arpaia's new novel doesn't aim to be an analysis of Marxist philosophy (thank heavens). Rather, he has fictionalised the end of Benjamin's life, as the philosopher escaped the Nazis for a pre-war France that was little more accommodating than Germany. Charting the equally unpleasant adventures of Laureano, a communist rebel in flight from Franco's Spain, Arpaia prepares us from the off for the final crossing of their paths at the end of the novel.