Dos hombres, una mujer y la huella imborrable del tiempo.

(Narrativa Salamandra ) (Spanish Edition)

3.8 A pleasurable novella (really, just the longest short story I have ever read) about the limits of the Casanova legend. A bit long-winded and monologue-y, in the Borges-Calvino spectrum, but delightfully so. Worth it for the prices. ( )

Two years ago I was hunting a complete Memoirs of Casanova while in a Powell’s in Chicago. I asked the associate if there were any in stock. He pointed me to a Classics section where a Penguin single volume abridgement sat, lacking any immediate street cred. I asked if there weren’t any complete sets elsewhere in the store. You don’t need the set, the man snapped, all the good stuff is in there.

I was likewise looking for good stuff as I finished this novel this evening. My verdict: not so good. Maybe 2.5 stars. The difficulty is largely of my own origin. Marai’s novel is a maudlin minature revealing a certain resonance and discretion not normally associated w/ Casanova.

(am I accusing Marai of revisionism? I 'm not sure.)

That said, Casanova in Balzano is only a floating episode, lacking continuity and proving to be bereft of empathetic charcters. No reader should care about any one in this novel. The characters exist for a pair of conversations, each punctuated with a lengthy oration best forgotten.
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I liked it, nothing great, but an entertaining read in parts. Nothing much I want to say about it either. ( )