Theorem

Pasolini (Boys Alive) undertakes both a sensual odyssey and an incisive critique of the lack of social conscience of the Italian bourgeoisie in his 1969 novel. A handsome stranger, who is given no name but consistently referred to as “the guest,” seduces, in turn, five members of an affluent Milanese household: the maid, father, mother, and both children. The guest inevitably departs, leaving behind a very different family: Emilia, the maid, attains sainthood with a shocking decision; son Pietro leaves home to pursue art; Paolo, the patriarch, donates his factory to its workers; wife Lucia pursues younger men; and daughter Odetta becomes catatonic. Pasolini (1922–1975) displays compassion for the individual members of the family and their idleness, longing, and anomie, while the acts of seduction provide erotic tension, with lush descriptions of setting layering sensuality into the story. The detached, omniscient narrator calls the book variously “a report” and “a parable,” offering aloof observations accentuated by the book’s format, relayed in brief, titled chapters. Evocative poems on first love and fate appear throughout, and two late chapters pose a series of provocative questions illuminating the narrative’s underlying themes. This is a penetrating exploration of existential meaning. (Oct.)