Astoria

by Robert Viscusi

An experiment in what the author terms “speculative history,” this novel tracks the movements of a man haunted by the spirit of his deceased mother and dogged by the notion that Astoria—the Italian neighborhood in Queens where his mother grew up in the 1920s—is the true capital of the world. In 1986, two years after his mother's death, the narrator travels from Paris to New York to Rome, unable to escape the shadow of Napoleon, the historical figure he now associates with his mother. Weaving theory upon theory in an attempt to break the hold of these visions, he finds that she represents the fury, rage, and unappeased desire of migration and the displaced people left in its wake.

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Philiprafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Viscusi was a treasure. My wife and I met in his class at Brooklyn College. He was a funny, quirky, and a brilliant mind. This book captures him well. An avoidant tale about his dead mother, Italian heritage, professorial stints in Paris and Italy; the book is challenging but makes sense coming from a man who told me he once took just Stein's "The Making of Americans" on a family vacation as his poolside read.

The books was a comfort to me as my dad is in his last days of life as he is dying of cancer, and I know Viscusi died six years ago (my dad and Viscusi both were born in 1941.)

I appreciated the moment of clarity in this book, the grasping and grappling with the past and the notion that life as long as you can live it is "in motion." Helped me think about my father impending death. Meditative and a salve.

Good to catch up with you Viscusi and good to know I can find your quirkiness here for the rest of my life.

Wish I would have read this in your lifetime to flatter you with asking about it and then get a long and rambling story about its construction. You were a gem and your classroom was a pivotal and life changing place for me. Thanks and miss you!