The Curse of Pietro Houdini
German-occupied Italy, 1943. Having witnessed his parents’ death in a bombing raid on Rome, Massimo (aged 14) flees south to relatives in Naples. On the journey he meets the enigmatic intellectual extrovert that is Pietro Houdini, “Master of Art Restoration and Conservation”, a man with “the sorted mind of a scientist but the spirit of a shaman”. Pietro is travelling to Montecassino Abbey, at the monks’ request, to examine the vast array of priceless artefacts stored within. He takes Massimo on as assistant, secretly preparing to steal some of this “loot” from the Nazis, who themselves are stealing it from the Abbey. During this planning, as if in a truncated degree course from the University of Life (and Death), Pietro philosophises magnificently to Massimo on the gamut of human knowledge and behaviour. Plans completed, and anticipating disaster if they remain in the Abbey’s relative safety, he gathers a small band of survivors who accept the consequences of leaving. He initiates their escape, hoping to avoid both German defences and the advancing Allied frontline. Inevitably, plans go awry, and people are not who they seem, sometimes startlingly so.
Supremely entertaining throughout, this cleverly crafted story of war’s desperations, as much about Massimo as Pietro, presents many levels yet progresses simply and excitingly alongside genuine historic timelines. Pietro’s ‘Curse’ itself is movingly revealed in the remarkable final chapter. Truly unforgettable.
