Strega Coring: Michele Ruol's Novel in 99 Objects

At the fourth Strega core sampling comes the outsider. Michele Ruol , who divides his novel into 99 objects – an inventory, in fact – that goes from “silver frame, 15x22 cm” to “strawberry trees”. “Inventory of what remains after the forest burns” proceeds by rooms: “entrance”, “living room”, “terrace, “Minore’s room”, “corridor”, “Majore’s room”, “storage room”, “bathroom”, “double bedroom” and finally “garage”. Finally, the car: “luggage, “passenger compartment”, “roof”. On the roof, if we read the last fragment, two strawberry trees are tied.

Do you also sense a vague resemblance to Georges Perec , and to the 99 Parisian apartments in “Life: A User’s Manual”? It is undoubted, but writers read and talk to each other – the good ones at least. The others, who perhaps publish APS – an acronym coined by Umberto Eco which means At Your Own Expense – every time a book is successful they are convinced that it is exactly the same as their manuscript, in the drawer because it was rejected by all the publishers. If someone got there first, it does not mean that the road is blocked. Those who pursue originality at all costs must know that after the Greeks, in terms of narrative, there is nothing to invent.

Page 69, with its nice little number enclosed in a cute circle, offers a half page, to make the game more difficult . By dismantling the story into the various objects in the house and in the car, the plot suffers, it is up to the reader to reconstruct it. There is a precious vase, and underneath a note, and the jealousy of Father for Mother – the characters are indicated like this, in the family there are two sons always called Major and Minor. It is understood that Mother has started working in an architectural firm, and that Father is very much against it.

Period. Let’s leave page 69 and go to page 99. Counterproof or proof of ninety-nine, call it what you will: it is the version of the novelist Ford Madox Ford of the rule of the essayist Marshall McLuhan (if you have a good memory, the scholar who stood in line with Woody Allen in the film “Annie Hall”, consulted to settle a dispute with the know-it-all of the moment).

“Beer mugs, collection”: that’s what awaits us on page 99. Sixteen beer mugs in various shapes and materials: glass, white earthenware, cups, boot-shaped glasses . Next to them, an Inter scarf and a pirate flag. Another list, always impressive even if the best piece is missing: a five-liter mug that was proudly displayed in a pub.

The theft had been planned for a long time, the mug was a piece of furniture. It did not fit in the dishwasher for everyday use. It was on a sofa: Maggiore and his friends kept an eye on the waiters, Minore had managed to climb up and hide it in his backpack. Recovery of the bikes, and the accident. Minore touches the sidewalk with the wheel, Maggiore runs into him, the mug shatters. The clever theft leaves a few scratches, on the boys, their jeans and the bikes. The secret of the fire is not revealed on this page either. Curiosity grows.

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