rulapeep reviewed Le guépard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
I must be stupid
3 stars
I’m aware that it’s simply my TikTok fuelled brain rot, and my tendency towards more contemporary fiction, but this book completely flew over my head. I read it as I went to Palermo and was like omg a classic set there, and it’s about the unification of Italy? Sign me up! However, I feel like at the core of my problem with this book is I’m incapable of giving a flying fuck about rich people. I’m aware that one of the readings of the book is using the inane nature of aristocratic life and relegating the ‘revolution’ to the background as a critique of said existence. Sure, the book can kind of be read in any way you want to make whatever point you want. But that doesn’t deny the fact that I don’t care about which heir is important. I’m sure if I had a bigger brain and a …
I’m aware that it’s simply my TikTok fuelled brain rot, and my tendency towards more contemporary fiction, but this book completely flew over my head. I read it as I went to Palermo and was like omg a classic set there, and it’s about the unification of Italy? Sign me up! However, I feel like at the core of my problem with this book is I’m incapable of giving a flying fuck about rich people. I’m aware that one of the readings of the book is using the inane nature of aristocratic life and relegating the ‘revolution’ to the background as a critique of said existence. Sure, the book can kind of be read in any way you want to make whatever point you want. But that doesn’t deny the fact that I don’t care about which heir is important. I’m sure if I had a bigger brain and a more comprehensive knowledge of (soon-to-be) Italian history, I would have loved some of the descriptions of buildings or clothes or vibes. I did appreciate some of the hornier moments, but even they were a flash in the pan. My favourite scene was the prince getting out of the bath in front of a Jesuit priest and the priest not being used to seeing someone naked and the prince saying well maybe you should take more baths. That was funny. He was quite a funny guy! But my simple brain couldn’t dwell on the funnier bits as I was just eager to get it done with.