Review by Booklist Review
Marinetti, founder of the Italian futurists, first published this novel in 1922. Parzen's new translation offers modern readers a taste of Marinetti's unorthodox writing. The Untamables has an imaginative, fantastic, freakishly surreal plot, centering on a group of criminals and miscreants called the "Untamables," who are chained together and kept prisoner at the bottom of a pit on a desert island. The island is ruled by the "Paper People," a race of cone-shaped people who wear hats made of books. As the story goes on, the prisoners and their guards become infused with brotherly love and go to the aid of the long-suffering factory workers at the island paper mill. This novel is a great example of futurist style and theory put into practice, and it will appeal to those who favor more absurdist literature. However, Marinetti's penchant for "free-word" composition and the endlessly odd plot machinations may prove distracting for some readers. --Kathleen Hughes
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
