NEW
YORK SEEN THROUGH THE DOG'S EYES
Meet Piccolo, a young Italian greyhound - artist and
erudite - that leaves his hometown of
Venice and goes to the City of York, they call New, to find his lost years ago
father. Sounds hilarious? That's exactly what I thought when I started to read
"Tiepolo's Greyhound". I expected a tender and funny story about a
journey from Italy to the United States as seen through the eyes of a greyhound. I've got
more than that. Through the dog's story, I saw the story of many European
immigrants who went to America seeking a greater economic or artistic
opportunity. Especially those who came to New York being deceived by a picture
of it as a city where everything is possible.
As Frank Sinatra sings: if you can make it there, you'll make it
anywhere. It turns out that not everything and not to everybody.
It seems that Piccolo was born under the lucky star.
No wonder that his last name is Fortunato, which means "lucky". And
indeed, he has great luck, born in Venice,
in a loving family, around art and artists. Especially that
Alfonso, Piccolo's father, and Piccolo himself are artists too. One day happiness
interrupts by Alfonso's serious decision. He decides to go to New York to fulfill as an artist. That wish is so strong that nobody can stop him from
leaving his family and homeland. He promises to bring his wife and son to New
York as soon he will be able to do art for living. He leaves and since then
nobody's heard from him. After two years his son has enough to wait and decides
to go to New York to find Alfonso. He doesn't want to admit that he hears the
same call his father heard: to go to New York and fulfill as an artist. Piccolo
goes to New York but very soon the American dream became an American nightmare.
He finds his father and they come back to Venice but the Venice and their loved
ones are not the same. Or maybe Piccolo and Alfonso are the ones that are not
the same anymore...
To me "Tiepolo's Greyhound" is a story with
a double meaning; we can see surface meaning and a submerged meaning. I love
the idea to create animal characters that are so human. The author does it so
effortlessly and with feeling, so few times happened to me forget that we have
to do with animals. Thanks to her trick
people can see themselves in them, like in the mirror. On the other hand, we
are able to see a human race with animals' eyes and totally agree with Mark
Twain who said: The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving
dogs. But in "Tiepolo's Greyhound" I see more than that. This is a book about us, immigrants, who came
to New York for different reasons and we needed to find ourselves in this
voracious city. As an immigrant in New York, I really feel a strong connection
with Piccolo and his dad; we share some emotional states and beliefs that and
no matter what, "this is America I dreamed of". That's why we are
still here, despite everything. There is another thing that only immigrants can
understand: "Each time we return, we see with new eyes - says Alfonso,
after he comes back to the homeland. Everything changes and at the same time
some things can change only from our perspective.
E. Merwin takes us on the journey from Venice to New
York that is seen through the dog's eyes, but we must remember that we are
talking about the dog who is an artist. Every single detail of Venice;
paintings, sculptures, shapes, colors, and shapes are showed us so sensually
that we can smell fresh olive oil and juicy ossocollo. Also, New York with
smelly Brooklyn and fragrant of luxury Chelsea appeals to the imagination
extensively. Everything bursts forth in colors and fragrance, so it's very easy
to immerse yourself in that story. Especially that book is illustrated by
drawings of young Italian artist - Veronica Arrigoni.
This story of Piccolo tastes like bittersweet Campari;
it's made of sweet dreams and bitter disappointments. I
still feel that aftertaste on my tongue.
TYTUŁ: TIEPOLO'S GREYHOUND
AUTOR: E.MERWIN
WYDAWNICTWO: BOOK BOGGLERS
ROK WYDANIA: 2021
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