I must put Tim Parks's book on my wish list. I know he's a long-term British expat, he was and may still be in Verona. I read some of his early fiction and liked it, that was twenty years ago. Intelligent and not in the least pretentious, which is fairly rare.
* and the beginnings of virtual money... ;)
I hadn't noted Parks' other works - e.g. the novel Europa, it sounds a lot better than Atomised by that French misanthrope :-) It makes sense that he had written a lot of novels first, Medici Money seems like pretty good history, but is a far more entertaining read than most history books. On his work in general, for anyone else interested:
Review of "Europa" by Tim Parks by Katherine A. Powers (Boston Sunday Globe, Sept 27, 1998) The English ex-patriot, Tim Parks, has written nine novels since 1985, works that are similar to each other chiefly in being brilliant black comedies, each progressing a little further in its investigation of the nature of identity and the existence- even possibility- of self. If this does not seem promising material for comedy, let me say that his heroes are both keen observers of the follies of others, and as unlovely a collection of selfish men as you could hope to meet anywhere. Their observations, their taking of umbrage and sublime self-absorption make me laugh, but have offended readers who are deaf to irony. Because of this, I guess, Parks's reputation has been made less by his ambitious and astonishing novels, than by two memoirs of living in Italy: "Italian Neighbors" (1992) and "An Italian Education" (1995). Fine and entertaining, and penetrating, as far as they go, these little books don't stop you dead in your tracks as the novels do. Still, it may be that Parks's reputation as preeminently a novelist has finally been secured with his having been shortlisted for the Booker Prize last year for "Europa," ... http://www.timparks.com/9.html
Review of "Europa" by Tim Parks by Katherine A. Powers (Boston Sunday Globe, Sept 27, 1998)
The English ex-patriot, Tim Parks, has written nine novels since 1985, works that are similar to each other chiefly in being brilliant black comedies, each progressing a little further in its investigation of the nature of identity and the existence- even possibility- of self. If this does not seem promising material for comedy, let me say that his heroes are both keen observers of the follies of others, and as unlovely a collection of selfish men as you could hope to meet anywhere. Their observations, their taking of umbrage and sublime self-absorption make me laugh, but have offended readers who are deaf to irony. Because of this, I guess, Parks's reputation has been made less by his ambitious and astonishing novels, than by two memoirs of living in Italy: "Italian Neighbors" (1992) and "An Italian Education" (1995). Fine and entertaining, and penetrating, as far as they go, these little books don't stop you dead in your tracks as the novels do. Still, it may be that Parks's reputation as preeminently a novelist has finally been secured with his having been shortlisted for the Booker Prize last year for "Europa," ...
http://www.timparks.com/9.html
On Medici Money he says, surprisingly, that it will probably be his last foray into history:
Medici Money is perhaps best summarized by its subtitle, Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-century Florence and is my first and quite probably my last foray into the writing of history. Above all the book focuses on the relationship between value that is countable, or monetary, and value, moral or aestetic, that isn't. How do we keep the two in balance? Curiously, as a result of writing this book, I have been invited to be curator of an exhibition on banking in fifteenth century Florence which will be held at Palazzo Strozzi in 2010. It will be an exciting challenge to turn narrative and ideas into something visual. http://www.timparks.com/non-fiction.html
Medici Money is perhaps best summarized by its subtitle, Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-century Florence and is my first and quite probably my last foray into the writing of history. Above all the book focuses on the relationship between value that is countable, or monetary, and value, moral or aestetic, that isn't. How do we keep the two in balance? Curiously, as a result of writing this book, I have been invited to be curator of an exhibition on banking in fifteenth century Florence which will be held at Palazzo Strozzi in 2010. It will be an exciting challenge to turn narrative and ideas into something visual.
http://www.timparks.com/non-fiction.html
