The Cameraman
It is 1934, and Julius is newly discharged from a mental hospital in Wales. He is joining his family on a motoring trip across Europe for his sister’s wedding in Rome. Julius’ recent incarceration in a remote hospital is crucial to the plot. He is truly an innocent abroad. He has never heard of Hitler, doesn’t know what a Nazi is and the last he had heard of Oswald Mosley, now leader of the British fascists, was that he was a Labour MP. He must learn about Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy from scratch,
Lest this seems too serious, I should hasten to add that this is essentially a comic novel. Julius’ family are caricatures of British tourists: naïve, clumsy and extremely accident prone. They have all become ardent Fascists, except for one who is a Communist. Most of them are madder than Julius.
Julius is by profession a film cameraman, and on this journey he is the detached observer recording the growing insanity of a deranged continent. The narrative is mostly in dialogue, mainly internal dialogue within Julius’ head. Very amusing with an interesting twist.
