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The Combover
‘A fierce, formidable writer … The Combover is a small masterpiece’ Alberto Manguel
Arduino Gherarducci is the latest in the family line of bald men with ornate combovers.
Some combed their hair from one side of the head to the other, some weaved the remnants of their hair together in the middle, but Arduino favors the imperial style of Julius Caesar: forwards, with a fringe.
Although fiercely proud of his combover, it has some serious drawbacks. A sudden gust of wind, or a malevolent prankster, could ruin it at any moment. When the worst happens, Arduino decides to abandon his comfortable university life, as a professor of bibliographic data exchange formats, and he heads toward freedom: Lapland. But he only makes it as far as a mountaintop in Le Marche, where he sets himself up as a hermit and his life takes an unexpected turn…
A hilariously dark tale, The Combover confirms Bravi’s unique and privileged status among Italian contemporary writers.
Adrián N. Bravi was born in San Fernando, Buenos Aires, and lives in Italy. He works as both a librarian and writer, and he has published a number of successful novels in both Spanish and Italian. He also contributes to various literary magazines and has co-hosted Fahrenheit, a popular Italian radio show.
‘With the skill of a spider, Bravi weaves stories that appear translucent; readers fall into them like flies, finding that there is a fierce, formidable writer at their center. The Combover is a small masterpiece.’ Alberto Manguel
‘Bravi’s book is quizzical in the best sense of the word; its intrigue as a novel lies in its un-decidability: it is both light and grim. Its sheer neuroticism and darkness are sometimes masked by its humour, but if they are behind trees on your first read, they will surely trail you out of it, loop back, snarl, and stalk you brazenly in the second.’ Numéro Cinq
81 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2016
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Adrián N. Bravi
21 books24 followersAdrian Bravi an Argentinian writer born in Buenos Aires in 1963 . he moved to Italy in the late 1980s and, after studying philosophy and working as a librarian, began to publish fiction in the late 1990s. He is the author of several novels, a children's book, and numerous articles and stories. His writing has been translated into French, English, and Spanish.
He graduated in philosophy at the University of Macerata and currently works as a librarian at the same university. In 1999 he published his first novel in Spanish and from around 2000 he began writing in Italian. He has published novels, articles and stories in various magazines and anthologies (the Reportage, Left , Repubblica's Robinson, L'accalappiacani, In pensiero, Crocevia, Quodlibet Almanac , etc.). In one of his essays, The jealousy of languagesand, with constant autobiographical connections, he deals with the theme of writing in a language other than that of birth [1] .
He won some prizes including: the "Popoli in cammino" award (2008); the first edition of the "BookCiak Award, Action!" (2012) [2] ; the " Bergamo Award " (2014) [3] and in the same year, the first edition of "Text in search of a director" (associated with the David di Donatello Awards ); he was also a finalist in the Giovanni Comisso Award in 2011 [4] .
His books have been translated into English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
He lives in Recanati.
He graduated in philosophy at the University of Macerata and currently works as a librarian at the same university. In 1999 he published his first novel in Spanish and from around 2000 he began writing in Italian. He has published novels, articles and stories in various magazines and anthologies (the Reportage, Left , Repubblica's Robinson, L'accalappiacani, In pensiero, Crocevia, Quodlibet Almanac , etc.). In one of his essays, The jealousy of languagesand, with constant autobiographical connections, he deals with the theme of writing in a language other than that of birth [1] .
He won some prizes including: the "Popoli in cammino" award (2008); the first edition of the "BookCiak Award, Action!" (2012) [2] ; the " Bergamo Award " (2014) [3] and in the same year, the first edition of "Text in search of a director" (associated with the David di Donatello Awards ); he was also a finalist in the Giovanni Comisso Award in 2011 [4] .
His books have been translated into English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
He lives in Recanati.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 19, 2013
Arduino Gherarducci, university professor of bibliographic data exchange formats (formats developed to help reduce duplication of effort when transferring bibliographic information between libraries) believes that “every man in the world has a bald patch hidden within him.” That’s quite easy to proclaim when you descend from a family with a long and storied tradition of male patterned baldness, one that chooses the combover as the only respectable way to combat the flaw, and views anyone who chooses to shave their head instead as a clear “sign of our declining society.” The rest of the world at large however, might view this train of thought as being quite odd and this behavior of clinging to a long deceased tradition of grooming as rather off-putting.
The “problems” start for Gherarducci as a thirteen-year old, when watching his brother Manuele revel in torturing their father by mussing up his perfectly executed combover time and again, he comes to the realization that he hopes “to become bald as quickly as possible.” He doesn’t have to wait long for this dream to come true. Returning from his military service a few short years later, his mother notices his that his hair is starting to fall out and urges him to visit a doctor. He steadfastly refuses because he wants to “cover what nature was taking away, to decorate the void, to emphasize it by the very act of covering it.”
READ MORE:
http://www.typographicalera.com/combo...
The “problems” start for Gherarducci as a thirteen-year old, when watching his brother Manuele revel in torturing their father by mussing up his perfectly executed combover time and again, he comes to the realization that he hopes “to become bald as quickly as possible.” He doesn’t have to wait long for this dream to come true. Returning from his military service a few short years later, his mother notices his that his hair is starting to fall out and urges him to visit a doctor. He steadfastly refuses because he wants to “cover what nature was taking away, to decorate the void, to emphasize it by the very act of covering it.”
READ MORE:
http://www.typographicalera.com/combo...
November 15, 2013
Bravi seduces the reader into a madcap adventure exploring legacy and vanity. The Combover is beyond addictive, with a like-able and overly-flawed hero launching a desperate escape from the voice of modern (and sensible) fashion. Bravo for Bravi!
September 28, 2014
The Combover deals with a bald spot. Our hero goes to great lengths to cover the spot without resorting to a toupee. This is a family tradition. After an agonizing expose in a classroom (he's a professor in Italy) he decides to run away to Lapland. He gets on the wrong bus and ends up trying to be a hermit in the hills of Italy. I was briefly reminded of a Monty Python sketch about hermits organizing themselves into bridge clubs, but this takes a different track, though one also lacking the longed for seclusion. A delightful story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews