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Trilogi #1
The Castrati: A Romantic Tale
English, Swedish (translation)
151 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Sven Delblanc
79 books5 followersSwedish author and professor of literature, buried in Hammarby kyrkogård in Uppsala, Sweden.
'In Sweden Delblanc is considered one of the foremost Swedish authors of the later half of the twentieth century, yet in English-speaking countries he is almost unknown.' (from: Wikipedia)
'In Sweden Delblanc is considered one of the foremost Swedish authors of the later half of the twentieth century, yet in English-speaking countries he is almost unknown.' (from: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 20, 2013
The fuck did I just read.
...
I decided to come back and write a real review with a plot summary as Goodreads does not have a blurb for it. Buckle up, this is about to get weird.
It is Dec 1783. Gustav III, king of Sweden, is travelling with his lackey Armfelt to go have dinner with Bonnie Prince Charlie who is exile in Italy. Bonnie Prince Charlie is not Bonnie, he is old and icky. Whatever.
For some reason, Marchesi, famous castrati of the era, is there at Bonnie Prince Charlie's house for dinner, along with a mysterious "Commodore Broschi" (sigh.) Rudes are exchanged, but Armfelt and the King of Sweden agree to eat dinner with 'an evirate.' Okay, dinner is on.
Prior to dinner Marchesi is asked to sing. Carlo Broschi plays the harpsichord for him. Bad coin purse jokes are made, Marchesi gets pissed, the elderly "Commodore Broschi" threatens to sing in his place, Marchesi obliges him.
Broschi sings, and of course it is HELLA AMAZEBALLS, for he is really... Farinelli! And not dead, that was just a rumor. Farinelli entertains them for the rest of the dinner time with tales of his life that would be best filed under thingsthatneverhappened.txt, including the time he was hanging out with Caffarelli and they got drunk and he decided to go incognito and sing at a performance of Orfeo and Euridice, and then he got booed. Because the art of the castrati is dead. Bonnie Prince Charlie drinks heavily the whole time and falls asleep.
All the while he is talking, Farinelli drinks "a mysterious liquid" that revives him when he is tired. This turns out of course to be the Elixir of Life.
Armfelt gets tired of the dinner amusements and goes to shit, then graphically rapes a maid on the way back to the sitting room.
Prince Charlie wakes up and decides it is time to get down to business. He produces a mandrake out of nowhere and they perform a seance. A gross-out spirit appears and disgusting visions ensue. I seriously can't even describe them. Farinelli, in the meanwhile, quietly turns into dust leaving only his old-timey clothes.
The maid commits suicide, her dad tries to kill Armfelt, then Prince Charlie has him flogged to death.
Prince Charlie begs some money off of the King, then the King and Armfelt just go home. Marchesi meets an old castrato beggar in the street and gives him dead Farinelli's cloak and diamond ring.
Utterly random, disgusting, and as far as I can tell, completely without meaning.
...
I decided to come back and write a real review with a plot summary as Goodreads does not have a blurb for it. Buckle up, this is about to get weird.
It is Dec 1783. Gustav III, king of Sweden, is travelling with his lackey Armfelt to go have dinner with Bonnie Prince Charlie who is exile in Italy. Bonnie Prince Charlie is not Bonnie, he is old and icky. Whatever.
For some reason, Marchesi, famous castrati of the era, is there at Bonnie Prince Charlie's house for dinner, along with a mysterious "Commodore Broschi" (sigh.) Rudes are exchanged, but Armfelt and the King of Sweden agree to eat dinner with 'an evirate.' Okay, dinner is on.
Prior to dinner Marchesi is asked to sing. Carlo Broschi plays the harpsichord for him. Bad coin purse jokes are made, Marchesi gets pissed, the elderly "Commodore Broschi" threatens to sing in his place, Marchesi obliges him.
Broschi sings, and of course it is HELLA AMAZEBALLS, for he is really... Farinelli! And not dead, that was just a rumor. Farinelli entertains them for the rest of the dinner time with tales of his life that would be best filed under thingsthatneverhappened.txt, including the time he was hanging out with Caffarelli and they got drunk and he decided to go incognito and sing at a performance of Orfeo and Euridice, and then he got booed. Because the art of the castrati is dead. Bonnie Prince Charlie drinks heavily the whole time and falls asleep.
All the while he is talking, Farinelli drinks "a mysterious liquid" that revives him when he is tired. This turns out of course to be the Elixir of Life.
Armfelt gets tired of the dinner amusements and goes to shit, then graphically rapes a maid on the way back to the sitting room.
Prince Charlie wakes up and decides it is time to get down to business. He produces a mandrake out of nowhere and they perform a seance. A gross-out spirit appears and disgusting visions ensue. I seriously can't even describe them. Farinelli, in the meanwhile, quietly turns into dust leaving only his old-timey clothes.
The maid commits suicide, her dad tries to kill Armfelt, then Prince Charlie has him flogged to death.
Prince Charlie begs some money off of the King, then the King and Armfelt just go home. Marchesi meets an old castrato beggar in the street and gives him dead Farinelli's cloak and diamond ring.
Utterly random, disgusting, and as far as I can tell, completely without meaning.
August 20, 2021
En idéroman? Lär vara det, men kring vad? Annat än Delblancs förkärlek för 1700-talet, i synnerhet att vältra sig i dess mörka sidor. Tilldrar sig 1782, Farinellis dödsår, två år före Delblancs tidiga ambitiösa verk 'Prästkappan' (1963), som tilldrog sig 1784. Det sista årtiondet inför Franska revolutionen.
Har nyligen läst Hedeby-sviten och noterar att adelsnamn som Kyhle och Urse dyker upp både här och där. Lång-Hans syns i slutet av denna bok, skall hem till Waldstein, men ser inte namnet på den grymme länsherre han rymmer från i 'Prästkappan'. Så nog finns det trådar i landskapet.
Men undertiteln, 'En romantisk berättelse', är helt klart ironi/satir.
Har nyligen läst Hedeby-sviten och noterar att adelsnamn som Kyhle och Urse dyker upp både här och där. Lång-Hans syns i slutet av denna bok, skall hem till Waldstein, men ser inte namnet på den grymme länsherre han rymmer från i 'Prästkappan'. Så nog finns det trådar i landskapet.
Men undertiteln, 'En romantisk berättelse', är helt klart ironi/satir.
July 1, 2022
Magyar cím: Heréltek
Igazi wtf élmény. Nem, nem a jó értelemben. A könyvet a rövidsége ellenére is nehéz olvasni, de talán pont ezért olvastatja is magát a nehogy már kifogjon rajtam egy 130 oldalas könyv felkiáltás miatt. Zavaros, túlrészletezett, mondanivaló nélküli. Számomra legalábbis. Néhány oldalon keresztül igazi korhű bepillantást nyerhetünk a 19. századi franciaország lecsúszott nemességének az életébe. Az ember szinte érzi a szagokat, hallja a dalokat. Összességébe viszont a végtelenségig untatott és örülök, hogy vége van.
Igazi wtf élmény. Nem, nem a jó értelemben. A könyvet a rövidsége ellenére is nehéz olvasni, de talán pont ezért olvastatja is magát a nehogy már kifogjon rajtam egy 130 oldalas könyv felkiáltás miatt. Zavaros, túlrészletezett, mondanivaló nélküli. Számomra legalábbis. Néhány oldalon keresztül igazi korhű bepillantást nyerhetünk a 19. századi franciaország lecsúszott nemességének az életébe. Az ember szinte érzi a szagokat, hallja a dalokat. Összességébe viszont a végtelenségig untatott és örülök, hogy vége van.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews