Short stories (Translated by G. Sumeli Weinberg

Abstract

Aldo Nove, the nom de plum of Antonello Satta Centanin, was born on Viggiù in the province of Varese in 1967. Musician, poet and writer, his first collection of short stories Woobinda e altre storie senza lieto fine (Woobinda and Other Stories Without a Happy Ending) was published in 1996 and two years later it was included in an extended version under the title Superwoobinda. Nove, a child of our time, deals with themes related to consumerism and media-engendered neurosis by using violent, hallucinated and ironic language and homologated registers, a trade-mark of much new writing described as pulp or neonoir which has generated popular and critical interest in Italy. The shock effect of Nove’s stories has earned him a place among a group of young writers dubbed as ‘Giovani Cannibali’ (Young Cannibals), a term derived from an anthology of short stories, Gioventù Cannibale, edited by Daniele Brolli in 1966. Nove’s first novel, Puerto Plata Market, was published in 1997. Amongst his various publications are Amore mio infinito (2000), La più grande Balena morta della Lombardia (2004), Mi chiamo Roberta, ho 40 anni, guadagno 250 euro al mese" (2006) and Si parla troppo di silenzio (2009). The following short stories are from Superwoobinda (Torino, Einaudi, 1998).