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He, I say, He
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 28, 2024
reading around the world one book at a time 2024: san marino
Maybe my research hasn’t been thorough enough, but finding a fiction book for San Marino was a herculean task — I ended up reading this short story simply because it was published in an article in the English translation, which in normal circumstances would have been my last choice since the language they speak in San Marino is one of the few I know. Alas, this will make do.
He, I say, He is a story about the narrator (a musician that never breached the wall of public knowledge?) and the stream of consciousness that has his childhood in a San Marino neighbourhood and his hero (who remains unnamed in the story but it clearly Zorro) as a fil rouge.
Apart from this cultural landmark (the author must be my age or slightly older because there were many kids dressed as Zorro during Carnival in my time as well) the story didn’t really speak to me — and it did nothing to highlight specific Sammarinese culture, as everything sounded pretty Italian to me. Maybe I need to brush up on the history of the country instead of reading fiction (but if anyone knows of any historical novels please let me know!).
Maybe my research hasn’t been thorough enough, but finding a fiction book for San Marino was a herculean task — I ended up reading this short story simply because it was published in an article in the English translation, which in normal circumstances would have been my last choice since the language they speak in San Marino is one of the few I know. Alas, this will make do.
He, I say, He is a story about the narrator (a musician that never breached the wall of public knowledge?) and the stream of consciousness that has his childhood in a San Marino neighbourhood and his hero (who remains unnamed in the story but it clearly Zorro) as a fil rouge.
Apart from this cultural landmark (the author must be my age or slightly older because there were many kids dressed as Zorro during Carnival in my time as well) the story didn’t really speak to me — and it did nothing to highlight specific Sammarinese culture, as everything sounded pretty Italian to me. Maybe I need to brush up on the history of the country instead of reading fiction (but if anyone knows of any historical novels please let me know!).
March 10, 2026
An omnipresent, god-like hero hovers in this snappy contemplation of life and failure. Fascinatingly, the Italian word for bankrupt ('faillite') is cognate of 'failure' and is used here to describe both a bankrupt institution and failed people.
September 14, 2025
On a quest to read a book from every country I’ve visited, San Marino proved to be tricky, especially lacking any skills in Italian. I picked this short story simply due to the fact that it was the only Sammarinese piece of fiction I found that had been translated to English, but it turned out to be a very positive surprise!
The story evolves around a man, growing up idealising Zorro, wishing for him to save the day, even seeing glimpses of him in the corner of his eye, always thinking what Zorro would do amongst failures and hardships around him, but growing to realise that he himself is no Zorro.
The story evolves around a man, growing up idealising Zorro, wishing for him to save the day, even seeing glimpses of him in the corner of his eye, always thinking what Zorro would do amongst failures and hardships around him, but growing to realise that he himself is no Zorro.
April 25, 2022
Love the concept of a hero swooping in to take care of things that annoy me.
October 6, 2020
San Marino.
"A flash of black light.
These kinds of things leave their mark on you, and you remember them forever.
He, I say, He, where was He?
I now know where He was: nowhere!"
"A flash of black light.
These kinds of things leave their mark on you, and you remember them forever.
He, I say, He, where was He?
I now know where He was: nowhere!"
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews