The Travel Shelf

The Serpent Coiled in Naples
Marius Kociejowski
Haus Publishing
https://hauspublishing.com
c/o The University of Chicago Press (dist.)
https://press.uchicago.edu
9781909961807, $27.95, HC, 464pp

https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Coiled-Naples-Armchair-Traveller/dp/19099618=
17

Synopsis: In recent years the city of Naples has become, for better or wors=
e, the new destination in Italy. While many of its more unusual features ar=
e on display for all to see, the stories behind them remain largely hidden.

"The Serpent Coiled in Nables" is author Marius Kociejowski's travelogue po= rtrait of this baffling city where the serpent can be many things: Vesuvius=
, the mafia-like Camorra, the outlying Phlegrean Fields (which, geologicall=
y speaking, constitute the second most dangerous area on the planet). It is=
all these things that have, at one time or another, put paid to the higher=
aspirations of Neapolitans themselves.

Naples is simultaneously the city of light, sometimes blindingly so, and th=
e city of darkness, although often the stuff of cliche. The boundary that s= eparates death from life is porous in the extreme: the dead inhabit the wor=
ld of the living and vice versa. "The Serpent Coiled in Naples" is a travel= ogue, a meditation on mortality, a tribute to an ancient community in moder=
n times, and so much else besides.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Serpent=
Coiled in Naples" will have a very strong appeal to readers with an intere=
st in Italian travel and history. While highly recommended for both communi=
ty and academic library Travel Guide & Travelogue collections, it should be=
noted for personal reading lists that "The Serpent Coiled in Naples" is al=
so available in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.99).

Editorial Note: Marius Kociejowski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_Ko= ciejowski) is a poet, essayist and travel writer. He is the author of sever=
al books, including The Street Philosopher and the Holy Fool: A Syrian Jour= ney and The Pigeon Wars of Damascus.

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