The February meeting of the Italian Book Club in Mumbai will be dedicated to Indian Nocturne by Antonio Tabucchi. Set in India and unfolding as a restless journey through cities, landscapes, and encounters, the novella follows a European narrator in search of his missing friend. What begins as a physical quest gradually turns into an introspective exploration of identity and the elusive nature of truth, in a narrative suspended between truth and reality.
Published in 1984, Indian Nocturne is one of Tabucchi’s most celebrated works and exemplifies his distinctive fragmentary style, with brief episodes and enigmatic dialogues that reflect on memory and the impossibility of fully knowing either others or oneself. India serves not merely as a backdrop but as a fluid, disorienting space, full of mysteries and contradictions, often mirroring the inner uncertainty of the protagonist.
This novella, honoured with the Prix Médicis Étranger in 1987, invites readers to embrace ambiguity and to reflect on the nature of travel, longing and identity in a globalized yet deeply personal world.
The novel can be read in Italian or in English translation. The discussion is open to all lovers of literature and Italian culture.
Wednesday 25 February | Title Waves Bookstore, Bandra | 18:30