Castelli di rabbia

“Mr. Baricco, why did you decide to write this novel?”

“Because it was the novel I wanted to read but couldn’t find anywhere”.

Lands of Glass (Rizzoli, 1991) is a captivating novel by the Italian writer Alessandro Baricco that signs the debut of his career as a novelist. Set in the late 19th century, it weaves a poetic and dreamlike tale of a small, mysterious town and its eccentric inhabitants. The story centres around the visionary lives of protagonists such as the enigmatic Mr. Rail, who dreams of building a railway that leads to nowhere, and Jun Rail, a woman yearning for freedom and adventure. It’s a novel about love. About the absence of love. An imagined, necessary, invented love. In the background it’s possible to identify Dickens, but also Rossini.

And indeed, the music plays such a very important role that the writing itself can be seen as a musical score. Baricco’s prose is rich and lyrical, blending reality and fantasy to explore themes of love, longing, and the pursuit of impossible dreams. The novel’s unconventional narrative style and evocative imagery create an enchanting, almost surreal atmosphere, making it a masterpiece of contemporary Italian literature.