What do You think about Without Blood (2005)?
First, it has to be noted that I read Silk first, a magical book that is largely responsible for my current rekindled love for reading. I could not bring myself to review Silk, it was beyond me.Without Blood is my second book by Alessandro Baricco and I bought it because of the Silk experience. The story is simple enough, the language is what I'll consider distinctly Baricco's--frugal, probably aiming for the accuracy similar to that of a first-rate pugilist who times his shots and makes sure each one carries enough power.The book is divided into two parts. First, we witness the murder of Manuel Roca and his son in their house by four men, one of them only 20 years old, Tito, a boy of twenty. The gruesome murder left a survivor, a girl named Nina, Manuel Roca's daughter. The boy discovered Nina hiding inside a trapdoor but did not tell his companions about her. "The child turned her head and looked at him. She had dark eyes, oddly shaped. She looked at him without expression. Her lips were half closed and she was breathing calmly. She was an animal in its den. Tito felt returning to him a sensation he had felt a thousand times, finding the exact position, between the warmth of sheets or under the afternoon sun of childhood. Knees folded, hands between the legs, feet balanced. Head bent forwards slightly, closing the circle. How lovely it was, he thought. The child's skin was white, and the outline of her lips perfect. Her legs stuck out from under a short red skirt, as if in a drawing. It was all so orderly. It was all so complete.Exact."The second part gives us an old Nina, what became of that child from long ago. This is where I thought the story is predictable. Revenge is one strong motivation. Revenge is logical. But just when I thought I'd give this book three stars mainly for its language, Baricco knocked me out at the very last page, the last three paragraphs. Boom. Boom. Boom. How could words have such power? I wonder the wonder of men falling to the canvas, of men falling as light fades before their eyes. I wonder the wonder of death, the beautiful rest, the blissful end...
—Emir Never
Well, this took an hour to read, very short, 97 pages, more like a short story...It moves along at lightning speed, Baricco interweaves philosophical musings on war, violence, politics, the nature of truth, etc., as the story moves apace...The book begins with a straightforward account of a traumatic moment of wartime, actually a scene occurring after the war is over. The war is not specified, but it's obviously WWII and the place is Italy. Vengeance seekers from the winning side are after a doctor accused of atrocities (apparently in league with the fascist side). In the aftermath of this scene, the doctor's little girl is spared, thanks to an act of mercy by the youngest member of the group.It also sets in motion a lifelong circle of mutual vengeance by the survivors of the incident. The protagonists from the beginning of the book meet and, each being an unreliable narrator, or having tried to piece together their stories from unreliable sources in the past, begin to relate their life stories to each other, particularly hers. Tension mounts as the story unfolds. Will there be more bloodshed, even now, so long after the end of the war?It was a nifty little story. The ending could have gone two ways, it's the kind of ending that is not going to please everybody, because the story is set up so that no ending will be truly satisfactory. But the lesson is learned, a lesson of peace.I checked this out only because Baricco's "Silk" was not available at the library. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a quick read, but it didn't really blow me away.
—Evan
Avevo letto "Tre volte all'alba",e mi ero innamorata di Baricco e del suo modo di scrivere. Ho iniziato a leggere "Senza Sangue",ritrovando la stessa tipologia di scrittura del libro prima citato. A differenza di "Tre volte all'alba", che si sviluppa su tre capitoli in diverse fasce temporali,questa volta si svolge tutto in due parti...anche qui,le fasce temporali sono diverse,e come per l'altro libro,i protagonasti sono sempre gli stessi,prima piccoli,poi grandi....Qui la principale protagonista è Nina,una bambina che assiste alla morte del fratellino e del padre...Diciamo che non lo vede,ma lo sente...Nel secondo capitolo,Nina è grande e incontra uno dei ragazzi presenti quella notte.Una cosa ironica...Leggendo il primo capitolo,non so per quale motivo,mi veniva inevitabile pensare ai soldati come alle faine di "Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit"...Ho letto molte recensioni su questo libro,e in molte veniva criticato perché sembra scritto in fretta,come se volesse finire e basta. Io invece trovo questo dettaglio,affascinante. E' vero,si svolge tutto in modo molto veloce,ma io lo vedo come se fosse descritto solo l'essenziale per farci capire cosa sia accaduto,non servono dettagli "esagerati",c'è quello che serve...L'essenziale....L'ho apprezzato,e molto.Come dice la fine della trama sulla copertina "Un apologo sulla violenza e sul dolore."
—Arda
