Gothic line by Fulvio Caccia or Europe seen through the eyes of a Canadian of Italian origin

Abstract

In his first novel Gothic Line, Fulvio Caccia offers us a realization of an imaginary space woven with numerous intertextual threads, inspired by the author’s memories of the country of his origin and confirming the universal character of writing. Like its creator, the main character of the novel is a professor, who likes participating in symposiums. But, during his stay in the country of his origin, which suffers under a totalitarian regime, Jonathan Hunt blends in and is mistaken for his friend Dimitri, who has disappeared during the war - the one he has been trying to find. Female characters resemble each other in the way they can be confused and in certain moments we cannot tell who is the heroine Jonathan meets in Ramontel: Ariane or Lucia. The story that is developing looks like a day dream or a nightmare, rather than an actual event. The gothic line that has been separating the East from the West, is also an invisible line which connects Europe and the New World, and it represents baroque art brought by an immigrant as part of his spiritual baggage and abstract art surrounding him in his new homeland where he would like to fit in. All these elements exist together in the novel, where poetic style is mixed with narration which is picturesque and sensual at the same time. In the end, it is unknown who is telling this unusual story, the narrator or Dimitri, the sister of the latter or the lover of the former. Disentangling this intentional confusion of the novelist who masters his art outstandingly, is an adventure which invites the reader to add something of his own.