Synopses & Reviews
A portrait of the sun-drenched volcanic city from an American who has lost his heart to the place and to a beguiling Neapolitan woman.
In Falling Palace Dan Hofstadter brilliantly reveals Naples, from the dilapidated architectural beauty to the irrepressible theater of everyday life. We witness the centuries-old festivals that regularly crowd the city’s jumbled streets, and eavesdrop on conversations that continue deep into the night. We browse the countless curio shops where treasures mingle with kitsch, and meet the locals he befriends. In and out of these encounters slips Benedetta, the object of the author’s affections, at once inviting and unfathomable. Weaving the tale of an elusive love together with a vivid portrayal of a legendary metropolis, this is a startling evocation of a magical place.
Review:
“Beautiful . . . Outstanding . . . Hofstadter’s book–free of knowingness, charged with experience–is written with the ease of affection and discovery . . . It is a story of love–for an arcane city and for a girl, Benedetta, who embodies the Neapolitan enigma. The city prevails on every page . . . Hofstadter has penetrated the extended labyrinth, and his account of his explorations, literally breathtaking, is lyrical in the Neapolitan tradition.”
Shirley Hazzard, The New York Times Book Review
Review:
“Beautiful . . . Outstanding . . . Hofstadter’s book–free of knowingness, charged with experience–is written with the ease of affection and discovery . . . It is a story of love–for an arcane city and for a girl, Benedetta, who embodies the Neapolitan enigma. The city prevails on every page . . . Hofstadter has penetrated the extended labyrinth, and his account of his explorations, literally breathtaking, is lyrical in the Neapolitan tradition.”
Shirley Hazzard, The New York Times Book Review
Review:
“Chilometri away from those sun-kissed, espresso-soaked travelogues . . . Hofstadter paints a warts-and-all portrait of both Benedetta and Naples, and the two are all the more alluring for their imperfections.”
Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis:
Weaving the intrigue of an elusive romance with the vivid and haunting evocation of a legendary metropolis, the author brilliantly reveals Naples in this sun-drenched and lyrical book.
About the Author
Dan Hofstadter has written four books. His last,
The Love Affair as a Work of Art, was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written for most national magazines and was for eight years a regular contributor to
The New Yorker.
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