Kolibřík – Veronesi Sandro (2021)

Is it harder to stay in one place or to be constantly on the move? Does misfortune have designated lanes, or does it hit us randomly? The latest novel by acclaimed Italian author Sandro Veronesi, Kolibřík (Premio Strega 2020), poses a series of questions to the reader, all touching on the mysteries and ironies of human fate, the transience of our lives, and the effort to prevent the moments we have experienced from 'disappearing in time like tears in the rain.' The unassuming hero of the story of one family, which the reader must piece together from fragments of life conveyed by an empathetically ironic omniscient narrator, letters, emails, text messages, and records of phone conversations, lists, and inventories – for things have their significance and role in people's lives – is eye doctor Marco Carrera, nicknamed Kolibřík: initially for his short stature, later for his relentless effort to stay in one place despite the calamities that come crashing down on him. Reading Kolibřík, a melancholic novel whose thematic constant is death and dying, yet radiates faith in life and humanity, is like flipping through a photo album, sifting through a dusty archive, watching old films, listening to old records. Sandro Veronesi confirmed...