«THE WASHINGTON POST», Book World, 1 marzo 1998
ROCK DREAMS
Jack Frusciante has left the band.
A Love Story - With Rock ‘n’ Roll
By Enrico Brizzi
Translated from the italian by Stash Luczkiw

di Jay A. Fernandez

Enrico Brizzi is a young italian writer whose fresh first novel grapples with the major issues of adolescence – identity, class, school, family, friendship and love – with a colloquial style and youthful spirit that should connect with many readers (it has already sold more than 500,000 copies in Europe and been adapted for the screen.) The verisimilitude is unsurprising when one considers that the author wrote the novel at age 19.
Brizzi’s alter ego is one Alex D., a 17-and-a-half-year-old rebel who flashes De Niro smiles, rocks out to “Anarchy in the U.K.”, rides his bike through the Bologna piazzas like a madman and records his tortured thoughts nightly on a tape recorder. Like many another 90’s teenager, he views every encounter through the lens of the movies he’s seen and rollicks through life to his own internal soundtrack. The novel is peppered with references to global pop culture, especially the American variety. Through Alex, Brizzi depicts the nitty grittyof adolescence: sex, punk music, alcohol, sex, burgeoning politics, girls, the horror of high school, sex. It almost makes you nostalgic.
I said almost.
When straight-edge Alex realizes that “his whole life till then could’ve fit into a Jollinvicta backback” he unbottles all of the conclusion that has built up and starts running with the proverbial bad crowd. Alex becomes a kid who cuts class to drink with his buddies and rait against what they see as the fascist sensibilities of his parents and teachers, a kid who thinks he knows it all, who listens to Rollins Band when he’s angry and the Smiths when it seems that Morrissey is the only one who can understand his pain.
Over the next few months, two main influences change Alex’s outlook. Martino, whose abrot stoner hipness Alex admires, and Adelaide, “Aidi”, the young e.e. cummings-quoting woman who may be able to show Alex the light at the end of the tunnel. Despite, or perhaps because of his insecurities and vague hostilities, Alex sees in Martino’s indifference to social expectations a kindred spirit, someone who takes him on faith. But Alex doesn’t have the analytical equipment to see through in Amrtino’s own pals and family conflict.
With Aidi, Alex experiences the obsessions of Young Love. For all their seeming difference – she talks of Buddhism, he of Joe Stummer’s politics, she has money, he doesn’t – they develop an unusual but close friendship. Alex’s interpretations of their nonphysical XXX are by turns XXX and touching, as when Aidi finally tells him, «I live you» in her effort to straddle the middle ground of “love” and “like” she manages to swell Alex’s strained heart. This is just one of the wonderful lines Brizzi concots. One may look askamce at some of the translations of slang and idiom – and due to the tone and the age of the protagonist, there’s quite a bit of slang – but the angst and the angulah remain universal and real.
Brizzi is upfront about his influences, especially A Catcher in the Rye (SIC) and A Clockwork Orange: Alex likens himself to Holden Caulfield, with his blatant disgustfor phonies, and often maneuvers with the reckless abandon of one of Burgess “droogs”, though not as destructively. As for other influences, music supplies the rest of the colors on the palette. For those too young to remeber or too old to care, John (inexplicably called “Jack” here) Frusciante was the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist from 1989 to 1992, hired at the guitar god age of 19 after the original guitarist, Hillel Slovak, died of a heroin overdose. Frusciante was often likend to Hendrix and recorder and toured with the Chili Peppers through their two most popular albums, “Mother’s Milk” and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”. But right at the peak of the band’s poularity _ playing sold-out shows around the world, headlining the upcoming Lollapalooza Festival – Frusciante quit.

Now, to those with rock star dreams (this reviewer included), at the time this seemed like monumental stupidity; but upon reflection it was pretty reasonable: Frusciante thought the pressure of fame at such a young age was too high a price to pay for success (would that he had whispered that idea in Kurt Cobain’s ear). As much, Frusciante is an apt role model for Alex, even if he himself doesn’t fully understands te origins of his anxious longing for escape. “Leaving the band” becomes a metaphor for escape from what is expected of Alex, form taking the easy path and, finally, from the dishevelled group of delinquents with whom he had temporarily found a home. Sometimes, he realizes, in order to grow you have to leave the group that has given you your identity.
But thematic concerns take a back seat to the story’s breathless realism. Brizzi captures the extremes of euphoria and unprecipitated depression of adolescence.
This is a book for high school students and those who still have enough memory cells left to remmber its vast humiliations and glories, which are as much part of young life as finding yourself through music or hating your parents.
With aidi about to leave for a year in the United States and Martino’s golden image tanished by serious trouble with the law, Alex tries to make sense of the hard lessons he is forced to absorb. Just like any other kid on the cusp of adult life, he has occasional moments of clarity and self awareness, culminating in an amusing and poignant scene where he goes to confession because -God forbid- he suddenly feels happy. He knows the other Doc Amrtens is bound to drop. To quote the Chili Peppers: “If you see me getting mighty / if you see me getting high / Knock me down / I’m not bigger than life”.