Just prior to graduating from UC- Berkeley Gabriele finds herself working at a local bookstore, the kind of place frequented by academics, serious bibliophiles and the intellectually inclined. As the store’s newest employee she’s soon assigned the unenviable task of filling orders from signor Vietri, an overseas customer in Rome. Every two weeks or so without fail his orders arrive at the store via the mail, requesting a half dozen or so books, each one more obscure and esoteric than the last. Instead something you’d find on the New York Times Best Seller List or discussed on NPR, Vietri’s crudely typewritten letters seek out inexpensive books devoted to a wide range of subjects including Chinese traditional medicine, Islamic mysticism and commentaries on Sanskrit holy scriptures. Each requested title also included both publication date and city of publisher. Instead of credit cards or checks Vietri preferred to pay by bank transfer, including any fees levied by American or Italian banks.
Instead of seeing Vietri’s ongoing orders as drudgery reserved for whichever employee happened occupy the lowest spot on the bookshop’s totem pole Gabriele developed an almost obsessive fascination with the Italian customer. Based on his choice of correspondence she assumed he was older, probably elderly but his identity other than name and address was completely unknown. Thinking he was some sort of academic, Gabriele once addressed him as professore in her correspondence only to have him request she refrain from doing so in the future. His willingness to purchase paperback editions in order to save money meant in all likelihood he wasn’t acquiring volumes for any library, academic or otherwise. Lastly, with new orders flooding in as frequently as once every 11 days how on earth could one person read so many books so quickly?
With set-up like that, how in the world would you expect me to pass up a copy of Nicola DeRobertis-Theye’s debut 2021 novel The Vietri Project when I stumbled across a copy last Saturday at the public library? I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed once I realized this more a novel of exploration and discovery and less the tale of one man’s bibliographical pursuits. Even so, DeRobertis-Theye’s novel is a good one, and thanks to her tight storytelling I whipped through it in no time.
Unfortunately for Gabriele while her entry-level position might have been made more interesting thanks to the eccentric orders of a mysterious Italian customer the rest of her life felt like it was going nowhere. Jettisoning herself from her live-in boyfriend and putting grad school plans on hold she hit the road backpacking around the world. Her quest for personal fulfillment would eventually lead her to Rome in hopes of finally unmasking the secret identity of the book-loving Vietri.
The Vietri Project is novel of exploration and discovery on multiple levels. In hopes of finding, or at least discovering the identity of the mysterious Italian bibliophile Gabriele criss-crosses the Eternal City interviewing residents, examining antiquated documents and badgering bureaucrats. Despite her fervent research she uncovers mere fragments about his life. In the process however, those fragmentary details vividly reflect 20th century Italian history from the country’s slide into fascism to wartime belligerency (and attendant atrocities) and ending with the Years of Lead, a 20 year period beginning in 1968 that saw hundreds of Italians murdered as far right and far left forces battled each other through assassinations and bombings.
On a more personal level, her quest forces Gabriele to reconnect with Italian relatives from whom she’s been estranged. Relations have been dicey for years after her Italian mother succumbed to the ravages of schizophrenia. Complicating all of this is the knowledge her mother’s symptoms first manifested themselves after Gabriele’s birth, making her wonder if she’s ultimately responsible for her mother’s demise. Adding to those feelings of guilt, Gabriele also fears she will inherit her mother’s debilitating mental affliction and thus suffer the same fate. All of this weighs upon her mind as Gabriele strives to understand who she is, and ultimately what she wants to do with her life.
To risk revealing a spoiler, to my disappointment Vietri’s love of exotic books ultimately winds up being an ignored element of the plot. Fortunately, it never hurts DeRobertis-Theye’s taut story. The author however does commit a minor historical boo-boo when, in a short laundry list of countries Italy invaded during the first half of the 20th century she included Slovakia. I believe she meant Slovenia, which technically at the time was part of Yugoslavia. A minor error and a forgivable one, and in no should keep us from enjoying her well-crafted debut novel.
