Synopses & Reviews
Though it is set in sixteenth-century Venice, Federico Andahazi's The Anatomist could not be more contemporary in its wit, its ironic turns, and its themes of hypocrisy, censorship, and the nature of sexuality--so much so, in fact, that it was denounced by the wealthy sponsor of Argentina's prestigious Fortabat Prize, sparking a literary scandal and charges of modern-day censorship that eerily echoed the book's major themes.
As the novel opens, Mateo Colombo, the most famous physician in Renaissance Italy, finds himself behind bars at the behest of Church authorities. He has been charged with heresy, but not for organizing a clumsy team of body snatchers to feed his anatomical research, nor for his obsessive pursuit of Mona Sofia, Venice's most beautiful prostitute. His crime is even more heinous, not only heretical in the Church's eyes, but equally subversive of the whole secular order of Renaissance society. Like his namesake Christopher Columbus, he has made a discovery of enormous significance for mankind. But whereas Christopher voyaged outward to explore the world and found America, Mateo looked inward, across the mons veneris, and uncovered the clitoris.
Based on historical fact, The Anatomist is an utterly fascinating excursion into Renaissance Italy, as evocative of time and place as the work of Umberto Eco. Above all, it is an audacious novel, exposing not only the social hypocrisies of the day, but also the prejudices and sexual taboos that may still be with us four hundred years later. Brilliantly translated from the Spanish by Alberto Manguel, The Anatomist introduces American readers to a new writer of consummate wit and subversive flair.
Synopsis
In sixteenth-century Venice, celebrated physician Mateo Colombo finds himself behind bars at the behest of the Church authorities. His is a crime of disclosure, heinous and heretical in the Church's eyes, in that his research threatens to subvert the whole secular order of Renaissance society. Like his namesake Christopher Columbus, he has made a discovery of enormous significance for humankind. Whereas Columbus voyaged outward to explore the world and found the Americas, Mateo Colombo looked inward, across the mons veneris, and uncovered the clitoris. Based on historical fact, The Anatomist is an utterly fascinating excursion into Renaissance Italy, as evocative of time and place as the work of Umberto Eco, and reminiscent of the earthy sensuality of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Perceptive and stirring, it ironically exposes not only the social hypocrises of the day, but also the prejudices and sexual taboos that may still be with us four hundred years later.
About the Author
A bestselling author in his native Argentina, Federico Andahazi lives in Buenos Aires, where he is a practicing psychiatrist. His short stories have received many awards. The Anatomist is his first novel.