When this title was published, I had promised myself not to read it. I admit it: I had heard the opinions of some readers whom I highly respect and often share opinions with, and they spoke poorly of it. Furthermore, when it won the Campiello Prize, my hopes of reading it plummeted even further. Since I started catching up on the opinions – and winners – of this award, most of the time I found myself in disagreement.
Yet this year, I decided to pick it up. And I was thrilled, here’s why.
First of all, Zanoni constructs a story in the style of a fable. From Aesop onwards, fables have always fascinated and allowed the transmission of various messages. Well, ‘My Foolish Intentions’ forcefully enters this system, drawing plentiful materials and inspiration to tell its own story. Just like in all fables, animals speak, but here they have a peculiarity. They are not only anthropomorphized but also aspire to be “human” even in the realm of personal reflection.
Our protagonist is a pine marten who, by chance, learns to read – or rather, more than by chance, at the behest of others. His mother abandons him to a usurer, and over time, he becomes attached to him, leading him to consider that pine marten, initially skilled and useful only as a scullery maid, as his disciple. An heir to whom to pass on his knowledge.
However, knowledge is not only seen in a positive light. Zanoni knows well that knowledge brings with it a heavy burden of responsibility: one understands meanings otherwise hidden and often feels uncomfortable, and disoriented. What disorients the protagonist is death. Knowing what death is, what happens, and what it entails completely robs him of the innocence that otherwise characterizes every animal. Not knowing is no longer a sign of foolishness but of innocence. It is a virtue.
Thus, a circular story unfolds where the knowledge of one’s master becomes the knowledge of the disciple who integrates the predecessor’s knowledge and can transmit it in turn to his future disciple. This chain of events revolves around knowledge and, in particular, writing.
A novel that is not just a coming-of-age story but also a renewal of the fundamental and primary didactic power of writing, reading, and knowledge. Knowledge is expressed as a beneficial and at the same time evil influence. Once learned, once you start looking beyond the veil, it is no longer possible to go back, and therefore one is condemned to be different, to live differently, and to look at the world with different eyes.
As for me, it is a novel that should be read, and known. It is a text that teaches a lot to anyone and can gently lead its reader to a different level of knowledge, to a broader understanding of what knowledge is. Have you ever thought about knowledge, about studying, as a step that, as exciting and necessary as it may be in our human existence, entails the loss of innocence? Do you think it is so?
I admit I have never thought about knowledge in these terms; for me, it has always been an action and an opportunity that could only give me something more, and earn me something that would allow me to understand better. I have never thought about the negative side of this knowledge. It is an interesting perspective that has certainly enriched me and which I admit to often pondering. So far, however, I have not been able to find a definitive position on the matter.
by inabookhole