The Magic Barrel

Carl Schneider, an American graduate student, has come to Rome with his wife and two small children to complete his PhD on the Risorgimento (the 19th-century movement for Italian unification). He knows the risks, since Rome is expensive and he has only a few thousand dollars, but his 28 years have begun to “weigh” on him and he longs for a last, youthful adventure. However, Rome has “disappointed” him, mostly with its lack of affordable housing. He and his wife are unhappy in their cramped hotel rooms, the children have been sick almost constantly, and each promising apartment hides an unexpected expense or flaw. Finally, he resorts to a “two-bit” amateur agent, a middle-aged clerk named Vasco Bevilacqua, hoping that he might find something off the beaten track. Bevilacqua seems knowledgeable and dapper but bears a distinct whiff of desperation. Carl soon learns that he is only available for one hour a day: his lunch hour. Bevilacqua claims to love Americans partly because of their “openness.” However, in his dealings on Carl’s behalf, he seems short-tempered with his own people. He claims to have had a hard life, especially during the war, in which he was wounded twice (by the Americans and then the Germans) and lost his father to an Allied bombardment.