Giuseppe Culicchia

Giuseppe Culicchia (2014)

Giuseppe Culicchia (* thirtieth April 1965 in Turin ) is an Italian bestseller - author and freelance journalist . His first novel "Knapp besides" was awarded the Premio Montblanc and the Grinzane Cavour .

Many of his novels are also set in Culicchia's birthplace, Turin.

biography

Culicchia wrote short stories as a child and began studying literature and philosophy after completing school, which he broke off without a degree. His great literary role model was Ernest Hemingway . In 1990 he was discovered by Pier Vittorio Tondelli , who published some of his stories in the anthology "Papergang-Under 25". His first novel “Knapp besides” (“Tutti giù per terra”) was published in 1994, was a surprise success and received the Premio Montblanc and the Premio Grinzane Cavour . In 1997 the book was made into a film by Davide Ferrario with Valerio Mastandrea , in 1995 a sequel appeared under the title "Kommt gut" ("Paso doble").

In addition to being a writer, Culicchia also works as a translator and freelance journalist. a. at La Stampa and Torinosette newspapers . In 2001 he published a new translation into Italian of the novel " American Psycho " by Bret Easton Ellis . Culicchia also made the illustrations for the books “Mein Freund Anselm” (“A Spasso con Anselm”) and “Liberi tutti, quasi”.

Culicchia's works have been translated into German, French, Dutch, Greek, Spanish, Catalan, Russian and South Korean.

reception

Since his surprise success “Tutti giù per terra” (1994), Culicchia has been one of the most authentic and original young writers in Italy. In most of his novels he deals, often in an ironic and surreal way, with today's Italy and its problems, recurring themes are the problem of adaptation, outsiderhood, integration. His protagonists are often typical antiheroes , unsuccessful outsiders , without ideals or perspectives. Even the protagonist of his first novel, Walter, appears as a young man who is unsuccessful in almost every field and who can neither get along at university nor in dealing with his peers or girls. In “Tutti giù per terra” Culicchia shows in an amusing way the fragility and insecurity of the world of young people, their fears, loneliness, social problems and the normal madness of the adult world.

With the anteater Anselm, Culicchia created his first positive hero, according to his own statement in “A Spasso Con Anselm” and “Liberi tutti, quasi”, who as an anteater is also an outsider in human society, but with a pronounced sense of justice and great sensitivity is endowed and works with astonishing tenacity for what he thinks is right. But these books also deal with today's Italy, with Culicchia using Anselm's point of view to be able to portray Italy and problems such as unemployment , prejudice and racism from a different perspective.

Works

• Close miss. (Tutti Giù per terra, 1994); in German: dtv, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-423-20077-4 .
• Comes good. (Paso Doble, 1995); in German: dtv, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-12617-5 .
• Bla bla bla. (Blah blah blah; 1997)
• Ambarabà (2000)
• My friend Anselm. (A Spasso Con Anselm; 2001)
• Liberi tutti, so to speak. (2002)
• There are days when everything will be fine. (Il paese delle meraviglie; 2004, German 2006)
• Torino is casa mia. Editori Laterza, Torino 2005 ISBN 8842075841 .
• Ecce toro. (2006)
• Muri e duri. Analisi, esegesi fenomenologia comparata e storie dei reperti vandalici in Torino. (2006)
• Sicilia, o cara - un viaggio sentimentale. Feltrinelli, 2010 ( ISBN 978-88-07-88122-0 )

Film adaptations

• 1997: Lead on the wings ( Tutti Giù per terra )

Web links

• Literature by and about Giuseppe Culicchia in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sicilia, o cara - un viaggio sentimentale. Brief discussion (in German) at BücherRezätze. October 27, 2014, accessed May 22, 2015 .