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Paolo Maurensig

パオロ・マウレンシグ

Paolo Maurensig

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-03-26 （Gorizia, Italy）
Died
2021-05-29 age 78
Nationality
Italian
Languages
Italian

Career

Occupations
novelist, writer, restorer of antique musical instruments
Active Years
1993-2021
Influenced By
E. T. A. Hoffmann, Joseph von Eichendorff, Isak Dinesen

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Lüneburg Variation (La variante di Lüneburg)

1993 novel

His first major novel, published after he turned fifty; a tense story involving chess, strategy, revenge and fate.

faterevengestrategy
Translations
  • The Lüneburg Variation

Canone inverso

1996 novel (music-themed)

A complex tale revolving around a violin and its owners. Noted for its interlocking narratives, evoking German Romantic writers; explores loneliness and alienation.

musiclonelinessfateintergenerational ties
Adaptations
  • [film] Canone inverso (film) / Ricky Tognazzi (1999)
Translations
  • Canone inverso

A Devil Comes to Town (Il diavolo nel cassetto)

2019 novel (parable, elements of magic realism)

A literary parable on narcissism and vainglory, critical of the realities of publishing; described as Alpine magic realism in translation.

narcissismvainglorycritique of publishing
Translations
  • A Devil Comes to Town (translated by Anne Milano Appel)

Il gioco degli dèi

2021 novel

A late work; specifics are limited in available sources but it is said to include political and philosophical themes.

philosophypower

Theory of Shadows

2018 novel

One of his more recent works; explores themes related to the shadow aspects of characters and narrative.

shadowspsychology

Bibliography

  • Il gioco degli dèi (2021)
  • A Devil Comes to Town / Il diavolo nel cassetto (2019)
  • Theory of Shadows (2018)
  • Vukovlad – Il signore dei lupi (2006)
  • Gli amanti fiamminghi (2008)
  • Il guardiano dei sogni (2003)
  • Polietica. Una promessa (2003) (with Riccardo Illy)
  • L'uomo scarlatto (2001)
  • Gianni Borta. Gesto, natura, azione (1998)
  • Venere lesa (1998)
  • L'ombra e la meridiana (1997)
  • Canone inverso (1996)
  • La variante di Lüneburg (1993)

Adaptations

  • Canone inverso (film adaptation, 1999)

Translations of Works

  • A Devil Comes to Town (translated by Anne Milano Appel)
  • The Lüneburg Variation
  • Canone inverso

Style & Themes

Literary Style
meticulous prose employing nested and layered narrativesa mood evoking German Romanticism and parable-like qualitieselements of magic realism where reality and fantasy intermingle
Recurring Motifs
music and instruments (notably the violin)loneliness and alienationfate and lineageduality/mirror imagery

Legacy

Maurensig was an Italian writer known for music-centered narratives and nested storytelling. His best-known work, Canone inverso, gained international attention and was adapted into a film. He continued writing into his later years and received recognition abroad through translations.

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of Canone inverso (dir. Ricky Tognazzi) with an award-winning score by Ennio Morricone.
  • Developed a cult following in some English-speaking circles after translation.

Quotes

  • “The mournful beauty of this sparely proportioned, soberly recounted story owes much to the sense Maurensig subtly imparts that Jeno's loneliness is a species of infection communicating itself to every other character in the book.”
    Source: The New York Times Book Review (Jonathan Keates, 1999) (1999)

Trivia

  • Before becoming a novelist he worked in various occupations, including restoring antique musical instruments.
  • His first major novel was published after he turned fifty.
  • Canone inverso was adapted into a film with a score by Ennio Morricone.
  • His late work Il gioco degli dèi was published in 2021.