The Third Tower by Antal Szerb: A review of the Pushkin Collection edition

The Third Tower - Journeys in Italy 

by Antal Szerb (translated by Len Rix)

A review of the Pushkin Collection edition

Venice is herself a woman, mysterious and alluring, in her brick-pink serenity

Antal Szerb's cult 1937 novel Journey by Moonlight starts with its protagonist - honeymooner Mihály - choosing a solitary nocturnal ramble in the back alleys of Venice over the pleasures of the bridal bed. It proceeds with Mihály contriving to separate himself from his wife, in order to embark on a solitary journey of self-discovery "nel Bel Paese."

If there is any doubt as to whether Szerb's novel is based on personal experiences, "The Third Tower" should put it to rest. Subtitled "Journeys in Italy" and first published in 1936, it can be considered as the non-fiction companion to Journey by Moonlight. Like the novel, it opens in the back alleys of Venice and, as in the later work, Italy is described not just from the perspective of the casual traveller, but also through the eyes of a literary critic, who knows Italy well from its portrayal by Goethe, Byron and several Nordic authors. It is Italy "as others see it". The Third Tower also shares with its fictional twin a prescient foreboding associated with the rising Fascist powers - although Szerb's criticism of Mussolini and the unthinking support of the Italian populace is much more explicit and scathing here.

Montale, San Marino
[photo by Alaexis - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2012380]

When I read Journey by Moonlight some years back, I had found it intriguing but quite heavy-going. As the months rolled on however, I remained haunted by its images and mood, long after other more "entertaining" books had fallen by the wayside. Szerb has an eye for the striking scene and the gift to evoke it in an arresting way. Consider, for instance, his solitary musings at San Marino, beside the tower which gives this book its name:

The whole of this part of the country is mine: on one part, rich, twilit Romagna, with its scattering of towns, sloping gently down to the distant sea; and, on the other, the bandit-haunted Apennines of ancient Etruria. Behind them again, I sense the presence of my Eastern kingdom: Urbino, Arezzo, Gubbio, and the whole of Umbria. These are real mountains, as vast as a man could wish... The Apennines are human-scale, just as the whole Italian landscape is human-scale. And that it is why it is lovelier than any other.

This Pushkin Press edition is a little gem, from the fluent translation by Len Rix (who also contributes an introduction), to the vintage black-and-white illustrations, to its atmospheric cover portraying a watercolour of the Venice skyline.

Paperback, 112 pages

Published June 3rd 2014 by Pushkin Press

Claude Monet: San Giorgio Maggiore at Twilight