After Hannibal

by Barry Unsworth

“A brilliant novel, exquisitely precise in its analysis of evil twisting its way through ordinary lives.” ―Claire Hopley, Boston Globe From the Booker Prize-winning author of Sacred Hunger, "a vivid, sinuous, profound, and entirely beguiling venture." ―Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times. Set in the beautiful landscape and rich history of Umbria, Italy, Booker Prize-winning author Barry Unsworth has written a witty and illuminating work of contemporary manners and morals. The region where Hannibal defeated the Romans is now prey to a different type of invasion: outsiders buying villas with innocent and not so innocent dreams. Among those clustered along one hillside road are the Greens, a retired American couple seeking serenity; the Chapmans, whose dispute over a wall escalates into a feud of operatic proportions; and Fabio and Arturo, a gay couple who, searching for peace and self-sufficiency, find treachery instead. Add to this mix a wily and corrupt British "building expert," and a lawyer who practices subterfuge and plans his client's actions like military strategy, and you have a sharp, entertaining, and satisfyingly bittersweet work.

Genres: Fiction, Italy, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, British Literature, Travel, Literary Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Barry Unsworth was an English writer known for his historical fiction. He published 17 novels, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times, winning once for the 1992 novel Sacred Hunger.

Reviews

[Stef Smulders · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fictional account (based on real observations of the author, no doubt) of a few families living along the same strada vicinale in the Umbrian countryside. Very well written and entertaining. The parts about the German Ritter have more depth than you would expect to find in a light read as this. The same holds for the Cecilia character. Only a writer who has lived in Italy for years could give such a chillingly cynical account of the Italian way of behaving as Unsworth has put in the mouth of the lawyer Mancini, a character you will not easily forget after finishing this book. Some of his one-liners have the quality of the Gattopardo prince of De Lampedusa. It is only just, then, that the last words of this great novel are Mancini’s.

[RJ Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

AFTER HANNIBAL by Barry Unsworth. My son recommended this book: "I think you'll like it," or something, he said. I ordered it online and it arrived as promised, and so it sat, waiting, on my desk, maybe a couple of weeks, I don't know. I picked it up yesterday, and finished it today, delighted. I knew nothing of Unsworth until this book crossed the transom, and now I've ordered the novel that won for him the Booker award, SACRED HUNGER. We'll see how it stands up, in my mind, to this intriguing AFTER HANNIBAL novel set in Umbria in the 1990s. A high bar, because I very much liked this novel. I confess part of my pleasure derives from the fact that I've spent some time in that region, even researched a bit of the history of the valley to the west of Lago Trasimene, Val D'Orcia. It was at this gigantic lake, fourth largest in Italy, that Hannibal defeated Gaius Flaminus in 217 B.C., and from this event Unsworth derives his novel's name. The region's principal city, Perugia, has an especially colorful history, an area known for its treachery, greed, and violence. Against this backdrop, modern characters have arrived, a couple from America, a couple from the United Kingdom, a gay couple, a German translator who was a boy during the war, a British "business man" who angles for advantage. To say much more would be to spoil. Suffice to say that Unsworth's ability as a supreme storyteller is on display is this beguiling book of intelligence, intrigue, and human insight.

[Old Man JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years my wife and I toyed with the idea of buying a house in either Tuscany or Umbria and fixing it up for a vacation home. Boy!, am I glad we didn't after reading this book. This follows an American couple, the Greens, and a British couple, the Chapmans, who have done just that and are each in the process of fixing up houses on the same hillside road. The Greens have hired a building developer who in turn hires a builder to make the renovations to the property. Both men are completely corrupt, and the Greens end up losing most of their savings to the two swindlers. Meanwhile, the Chapmans are accused of causing a stone fence to collapse by some shady neighbors, who are demanding compensation. The neighbors are saying it was caused by trucks that have been using the road to bring in equipment. Throw into this mix a reclusive German neighbor and a totally corrupt lawyer and you've got yourself a great read.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from thefirst sentence - "They are called strade vicinali, neighborhood roads. They are not intended to join places, only to give access to scattered houses...there are thousands of miles of them wandering over the face of rural Italy" As my friend who lent me the book knew I would be, I was instantly back in Tuscany - sans GPS, and lost. An elegantly written, tragic/comic opera kind of book, and a real departure from the only other book of Unger's I have read - Sacred Hunger. Loved that one too.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of a " piece of candy" type book-3 stars I thought. A bunch of characters in Umbria-- fun but predictable. But with the fascinating character of the German who's coming to understand his past, it rises to something with more depth and interest.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

utterly insipid and pointless, and i hated all the characters. i probably could have guessed just by looking at the cover.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, now it’s two and two - two books by Unsworth that I found rich and deep and satisfying - Morality Play and Sacred Hunger, and two that could by no means be described as bad, but didn’t grab me - Pascali’s Island and this one. It is a book of glimpses, and I’ll certainly give Unsworth credit for doing that on purpose, rather than in error, but I found it too choppy, not engaging. Ah well.

[Michael Moseley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read just because of the holiday in Umbria. The book is set in and around Perugia. The local solicitor would seem to be a central character with the ability to advise a whole range of different people about the best way to settle their problems with a refreshing view of life. Did little in encouraging me to purchase that holiday home.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part art and Italian history, part HGTV international real estate and part "The Money Pit"...with some heartbreak with retired seniors. A quick read but I was too nervous thinking of all the (non)construction going on. When a person says, "You can't trust the locals" you know who it is you shouldn't trust!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had ever contemplated buying a house in Italy and settling down there to enjoy the beauties of the landscape, Barry Unsworth’s “After Hannibal” quickly disabused me of that notion. This novel by the Booker-Prize-winning author was published in 1997; it had been languishing on my bookshelves for way too long, so I thought I had better taste what it had to offer. I discovered that it was, as the blurb described, a bittersweet story, focusing on the interactions of the inhabitants of one specific road by Lake Trasimeno. The significance of the place: it is the site of the worst defeat of Roman troops by the brilliant strategist Hannibal. There will be defeat here again for some of the characters, but for others, it will be an awakening.
What struck me first was the elegance of Unsworth’s prose. He writes beautifully whether he is describing the hills and terraces of Umbria, the blood feuds of Renaissance Italian families, the death march of Roman armies, the way roads in Italy have to be cared for, or the vicissitudes in the lives of married couples who discover love isn’t enough anymore. Unsworth highlights the quality of the light in Umbria, especially at the end of the day, just before dusk, when all is spectacularly lit and clarity illumines the mind. He also works into the story, almost as an actual character, the incredible art of ages that shows up in every little town and moves people’s minds and hearts with its beauty and truth.
The second thing that stood out for me was the interesting cast of characters he has assembled and the way he intertwines them and delves deeply into their hopes, desires, flaws, and passions. Because he switches from character to character, it does take awhile to flesh them out in the reader’s mind, so don’t be dismayed if the beginning of the novel is a little slow. The Checchettis are essentially Italian peasants who try to get all they can from the system just to survive. So when part of their wall falls down, they blame Harold and Cecilia Chapman, a well-off English couple who decided to move to Umbria for the beauty and art. Harold is the typical business shark who bases his own worth on his successes (and he always misquotes poets and writers); Cecilia is the gentle, kind, artistic wife with a tender heart and a love of art of all kinds. The Checchettis claim that the Chapman’s furniture lorry weakened the wall with its vibrations and they want a great deal of compensation. This sets off a war between the two sides that connects us with the other inhabitants of the area.
Ritter is the German translator haunted by the belief that he caused his childhood friend to be murdered by the Nazis (his father was a Nazi officer in Rome). Former race-car driver Fabio and his younger partner Arturo are going through the process of love dying and betrayal and greed taking over, with all the resultant emotions. History professor Monti’s wife has left him devastated; his students don’t seem to respond to his teaching; his life is caught up in the pattern of betrayal he has discovered in the Baglioni family history and teaches in his classes. The Greens are a retired American couple, lovely, innocent, generous, kind, who are deeply in love with each other and with Italy. The center of their lives is a Verrocchio painting of Christ in the Uffizi gallery that they saw when they were first married and now are planning to see again. They have bought a broken-down villa that they are in the process of fixing up. Unfortunately, they have put themselves in the hands of a nasty, fraudulent “project manager,” Blemish (a perfect name), whose only goal is to soak them for every cent/lira/pound he can get from them. He and his partner Milly, a cook of medieval dishes, hope to “earn” enough money to open their own medieval restaurant.
Presiding over all this is the lawyer Mancini, to whom a number of the above people bring their troubles. Made in the mold of Hannibal, Mancini concocts incredible schemes to help his clients, ones that in the end are intended to show them something about themselves: The Chapmans come to see that they don’t love each other; Fabio misses the point that he has been too controlling with Arturo; the Greens come to see that their love for each other trumps their dream about Italy. But the legal (and not-so-legal) schemes will convince you never, ever to get yourself in a situation where you need a lawyer—you can’t quite tell whether he is an angel or a devil—in Italy.
In the end, it is an earthquake that brings insight to many of the characters and gives them an opportunity to begin life anew. For others, there are moments of clarity, like the evening light, that help them understand their lives (true especially for Ritter and Monti) and begin to move on. For some like Blemish life is always one great big con-job, and for those like Mancini, a battlefield on which to strategize and move your troops.

[Gail Pool · Rating 5 out of 5]

We tend to think of travel literature as nonfiction—travelogues, guides, histories of countries, memoirs of experiences abroad. But fiction, whether written by natives or foreigners, can offer equal insight into places and cultures, especially when the author is as intelligent and skillful as Barry Unsworth.

Unsworth's twelfth novel, After Hannibal, revolves around six households that share one of Italy's many strade vicinale, or neighborhood roads. The setting is Umbria, near Perugia, in the region where Hannibal ambushed and defeated the Romans, and betrayal is a central theme of the book.

Unsworth touches on the history, art, and the gorgeous landscape of the area as he chronicles the doings of his troubled characters: Monti, a historian who is researching Perugia's history—"a chronicle of crimes"—and obsessing about his wife, who has recently left him; Fabio, a former racing driver—now a farmer—whose young partner has not only left him but has also cheated him out of his farm; and Ritter, a German, who as a child lived in Italy with his Nazi father and is still haunted by the fear that he inadvertently betrayed his best friend, Giuseppe.

Through two foreign couples, Unsworth looks at incomers restoring old houses in Italy, a subject adored by many readers that receives some tough treatment here. The Chapmans, an English couple—coarse Harold and art-loving Cecilia—get into a dispute with the Checchetti family and ultimately with each other; while the American Greens, guileless retired art teachers, are taken in by the fraudster Stan Blemish (whose name says it all) and watch the restoration process demolish their house, their savings, and their dream.

In the middle of all of this—or, rather, quite above it—presides the lawyer Mancini, a Machiavellian figure whose large head, waxen fingers, and ageless demeanor fascinate. As he counsels the Chapmans, Fabio, and the Greens, he assesses everyone, observing how Fabio, like so many of his clients, armors himself "against the lance of blame," and how the Greens will always be innocents. "The drama of deceit and belief goes back to the Garden of Eden," he says, "and lawyers have been living on it ever since."

Remote, detached, deeply philosophical, Mancini listens carefully to all difficulties and arrives at intricately shrewd solutions. Is he God or Satan? Cynical or clear-eyed? Whichever, he is an endearing, wonderfully entertaining character, Italian to the core.

As in his travel book, Crete, which I reviewed several years ago, Unsworth's descriptions here are excellent, and he writes perceptively about the art appreciated by some of his characters, if not all. ("Fuck Raphael!" cries Harold Chapman.) And though fiction, After Hannibal does offer pragmatic wisdom for travelers as well: I am sure that anyone who reads it will think at least twice before deciding to restore an old house in Italy.

[Damien Travel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A large house for a large family. Ancient walls whose stones protect from the summer heat. A large terrace for dining in the evening and from which in the morning one discovers a green, yellow and ochre landscape of forests, hills and vineyards. A few cypresses and the towers of a medieval village stand out on the crests. Difficult to think of a more perfect place for a family vacation and as a starting point to explore the Umbrian cities.
In the novel « After Hannibal » by British author Barry Unsworth, that house in Umbria is Harold and Cecilia Chapman’s dream. The English couple just bought a house in the hills. But the dream cracks when they enter in conflict with their neighbors, the Checchettis, a family of stubborn local peasants. They then get to know their other neighbors: Monti, a university professor, specialized in Perugia’s history, who has just been abandoned by his wife; Ritter, a German living alone and who seems obsessed by what his father did in these hills during the war; two gay Italians and the Greens, an American couple, living in the nostalgy of their honeymoon between Perugia and Assisi but who are being ripped off during their house renovation by an English “project manager” and an Italian builder. Almost everybody, one way or another, ends up in the chambers of Mancini, a lawyer in Perugia, who seems to have a solution for everything and looks upon all these events from a very high and historical standpoint.
The novel, full of humor, goes well beyond the classical story of the Englishman who has to adapt to a new environment and culture, even though Unsworth himself used to live in Umbria. It is a book of crumbling walls and lost illusions., despite the warmth and the light from the sun on the hills.
http://www.travelreadings.org/2020/01...

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third Barry Unsworth book (after Losing Nelson and Sacred Hunger) and it did not disappoint. The juxtaposition of ordinary lives with currents in the long history of Italy and Umbria specifically, is nothing short of masterful. There is much humor combined with deep insight into the human condition alike with the twist of it all happening in that wonderland of Italy where the long run of history and the modern world intersect. Little that happens to the interesting and slightly bizarre cast of characters (Americans, British, Germans, Italians) is not reflected somehow by larger patterns writ on the stage of history. Umbria, centered on Perugia has as much of a fascinating and often dark history as the rest of Italy and pieces of that are intertwined with the slightly sad but somewhat hilarious story of people living there now amidst the contradictions of the modern Italian state. The fraught legal and official landscape of modern Italy is rendered true by someone who lived there. Regarding the title, there is little about Hannibal here, except that a Roman Army was annihilated in 217 BC on the shores of Lake Trasimene (Trasimeno) located in Umbria. Just a year later was Cannae, these two being among the worst defeats ever suffered by Rome. Anyway, Unsworth is confirmed as one of my favorite writers. His dry wit, excruciating insight into human weakness, combined with historical truths make for great writing and luckily for us, great reading.

[CarolB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Torn between 3 and 4 stars but I'm feeling generous today and the writing was breezy.

A set of clearly defined characters try to carve out lives in a backwater of Umbria. An English couple, an American couple, a traumatized German man, a gay Italian couple and a rambunctious, manipulative clan of locals have various home-owner travails and emotional battles, most of which eventually come under the stewardship of Mancini, an overly clever and maybe not altogether kosher lawyer in Perugia. An earth tremor happens late in the story and we see each character experiencing (or not really noticing) it. For some of them it has a decisive effect.

Every plot line is left dangling at the end of this short book. This may be an indication of how life and legal cases proceed in Italy but as a reader it left me longing for Something to be nailed down. A wife is packing to desert her husband. An ex-lover may have succeeded in cheating his ex out of the house they lived in together for years. The local clan may or may not have a new property. Mancini, the lawyer, may or may not be a total scam artist.

So while it was easy to keep the pages turning, I end up with just a bunch of rubble.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very different book from the last one I read by this author..that was a period sea faring yarn about slavery called sacred hunger which I rated highly...this is more contemporary a tad cynical but readable.
it's the tale...or rather tales of some ex pats living in Italy...that however doesn't really do the book justice it's a book about relationships..not just in the marital sense but also in regard the interaction with neighbours..all in all pretty much every relationship within this book is flawed...except maybe the ones with the lawyer.
Anyhow nice in many ways to see the author hasn't pigeon holed himself into one type of tale though that said I much preferred sacred hunger which although darker just felt far less frivolous and ultimately less of a throwaway.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are two positive sides with regard to my Covid-19 lockdown when it comes to reading. Firstly, because the local library is closed I get to read all the books sitting on my shelf that I haven't quite got round to. And secondly, because life is precious there's no good reason to waste time reading books I don't like.

This book has been sitting around since a trip to Umbria a few years ago - and was recommended by the people I stayed with. However, I just couldn't get interested in any of the characters Unsworth has put together sharing a road in Umbria. Yes, there's some interesting history. Yes there's an array of characters from different countries and at different stages of their lives. But none of them talk to me.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this novel would be a little light reading, but I was agreeably surprised and pleased by the standard of descriptive writing and the intriguing threads of the plot woven together until all seem to be in the hands of the unusual lawyer Mancini who has little belief in the justice of law but tries to dole out his own type of justice through devices of his own manufacture.
The characters are a little difficult to manage for the reader initially, because of their numbers, but the short chapters and different strands have a magic of the sort that Alexander McCall Smith uses in his stories of communities in close proximity.
Enjoyable and absorbing writing.

[Peter Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story, comic yet serious, historical and contemporary, written with style.He is such a good author but I wonder how many people today know his name.A good length too,so it can be finished easily over a couple of days.I loved the history of Umbria supplied by one character and the contemporary dreams of the assorted dwellers in rural Umbria, so much so that I would have liked to see what happened to each as they gained insight into their various relationships.Highly recommended for those who like history and serious humour

[Laurence Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just such a smart little book. The setting is beautifully established (both physically and culturally), the characters are diverse and rich, the political and art histories add to the substance of the narrative and the intricate detail of stories is beautifully done. This is a writer completely at ease in his work and he pulls off a quiet little masterpiece. That said, it may seem too dull for some. Maybe it's an age thing!

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This character driven story tells of life after WWII in Umbria Italy. It has a large variety of people telling their stories of their own lives and how they intersect with their neighbors. It focuses on 1 street of the town and follows the adventures the neighbors have while explaining all their paths to where they end up by the novel's end. Some of the people are more likable than others.

[Ging · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Quality writing flows from chapter to chapter with history and modernity blended so well; the likes of which I have never read before. Well developed, idiosyncratic characters who are either charming or detestable...no in-betweens. Remarkable piece of literary fiction..a work of art just like the book's partial focus on the old masters in art history of the time. Brilliant!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was tempted to award four stars because I wanted the book to be longer, with more of a comeuppance for a couple of characters. But that wasn’t the point of the book. A good entertaining read.

[Chrissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big meh. The characters didn't do anything for me, and the Umbrian scene didn't come alive.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Charles M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable . Surprisingly comic and light for Unsworth . The description. Of the Italian legal system is both amusing and accurate from limited personal experience

[Christine Buchanan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally great author writing a sub-par book.

[Sonja Seeber · Rating 1 out of 5]

With all that bickering and fighting that's already going on in the world, why would I want to read a story about it, even when set in Italy? No way.

[Hans Blommaert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prachtig boek, mooi en scherp beschreven gebeurtenissen aan una strada vicinale. Mooie wendingen en plot.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. Tone didn't grab me.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like any of the characters in this book but I did learn a lot about the history of Umbria and Peruvian during the Middle Ages.