Room on the Sea

Finished March 1

Room on the Sea: Three Novellas by André Aciman

This was my first encounter with this author and I really enjoyed these novella. I think my favourite is the title one. 

The first novella in the book is The Man from Peru. It is set in coastal Italy, at a hotel in a small town. 

A group of American, friends from college, is there, meeting ten years after graduating. One of them was unable to attend, but the others are letting him know about the good time they are having. They've noticed an older man by himself, along with other fellow guests, and some of them have been making unkind comments about them and guesses about their lives. 

On of the Americans, Mark, has a shoulder injury that is bothering him and the older man stops at their table and holds his shoulder for a moment while telling him it might help and the shoulder appears healed. The man, Raul, reveals that his family used to vacation here regularly when he was a child, and he offers other predictions and advice that proves to be true. He seems to have an interest in one of them, Margot, even though she is the most catty of the women, and gets her to spend some time alone with him. The outcome is interesting and unexpected, but fits with the other strange stories he has.

The second novella is Room on the Sea, and takes place mostly in New York City. Two people in their sixties are both attending the courthouse for jury duty. They begin a friendship, going for lunch together, meeting for coffee before jury duty, wandering the streets and visiting art galleries. As they share details of their lives, they also befriend an Italian-born barista at the coffee shop and his stories of Naples get to be part of their story as well. This is an interesting look at the serendipity of relationships and how we as people change over our lives as well.

The third novella is Mariana and is also set in Italy. The title character is attending an art school, and she is drawn to a man already there as a student when she arrives. They have a short relationship, and he moves on, but she finds herself unable to get over him. Her actions draw attention and she learns more about herself and the other women he has spent time with.