A Grave for a Dolphin

by Alberto Denti di Pirajno

A Grave for a Dolphin

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Novels, Literature, Contemporary, Italian Literature

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[Karen]

David Bowie’s Formative Reading List of 75 Favorite Books
#70

It's also Iman's favorite book.

David told Iman that some of his lyrics from "HERO" are inspired from this book.

[Amanda Portlock]

I really would love to read this book, if anyone has a copy they would like to sell to me I would happily pay a good price?

[Caylin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a collection of strange stories Denti di Pirajno saw or heard during his stay in Africa as a doctor. For context, he was Italian and was sent to parts of Africa that were under Italy's colonial rule at the time. Published in the 50s, this book takes place mostly in the 30s and potentially early 40s (WWII era, but no mention of the war in this book). That being said, a lot of the language and terms used are no longer appropriate, but the author was more open minded than most. He rarely talks about his time being a doctor, nor is this book his autobiography, just a bunch of mostly unconnected stories.

For the David Bowie fans out there, you know he drew inspiration from this book for his song "Heroes." There is also a chapter in this book called "A Grave for a Dolphin' and that chapter is where some of the inspiration comes from. The connection is obvious and if you are interested in reading this book, the chapter alone will suffice. Personally, I found it one of the better chapters in this book.

However, overall, I did not enjoy the book. There were bits and pieces that were interesting, but for the most part it didn't draw me in. Also, it was a bit jumbled, hard to follow, and didn't age well. 

[Farhan]

Hi everyone.can you guys help me out here?I've been looking for hours and i can't find a copy of this book.no pdf no ebook no real copies.nothing.and im kind of obsessed with finding out what "swimming like dophines" means in "hero" song.that means i have to read this book.I would so much appreciate it if anyone can help me.Thank you

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As non-native English speaker it can sometimes be difficult to read language wise. Some stories are more cohesive than others in this book. Also some feel like fairytales and other more like observations. The story A Grave For A Dolphin was absolutely one of my favorites. A beautiful gift.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second book I read in my hours at the British Library today. It is hard to find now. Published originally in 1956 it is one of those books that one first glance looks like the reminiscences of a colonial officer. This time an Italian one. The place Eritrea. The timing unfortunate. This is Mussolini's Italy.

The thing is it becomes something else. A collection of folklore and stories from the many different cultures of the region. As told to di Pirajno by others. Or purportedly so. I'm not sure whether these were stories he was told or stories he made up. I'd like to think it is the first.

The problem with this book is that for all the times di Pirajno compliments people from the region it comes weighed down with patronising, racist nonsense. It's not unlike Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. For every moment di Pirajno sees Africans - and he's good on making it clear that Africans are not one race, one culture, one religion - as human beings he then drops a word like 'primitive' or 'savage'. But for all that he does give a voice to the peoples of Eritrea (and that region) in a way that doesn't happen often. It is interestingly vague on the borders between magic and reality too in a way that is unusual.

I was struggling to remember why I picked this book to read. Then I remembered it was one of the books on the David Bowie list. It apparently directly influenced Heroes.

So, for all my caveats about its colonial language use, I'd say this is worth reading. It is wonderfully written, but good luck finding a copy. This sells for lots of money and seems to have been out of print for decades. But the British Library has (at least) one copy if you want to read it.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know what to expect…this is a David Bowie top 100. Essays - stories- that the author, a doctor, gleaned while working as a physician in East Africa. Some were his own character studies and some were stories, usually strange to American ways of thinking.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more, since this book was a mutual favorite of David Bowie and his his wife, Iman's. Oh, well.

[Matilda Shiboleth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual collection of mystical stories full of poetic symbolism. Hard to come by anything similar.