Ryan Mendoza is a youthful American hailing from New York who, over the course of the past seven years, has resided in Naples. This is quite an extraordinary circumstance, as most artists of his generation typically follow the opposite path: from Europe to the United States. It is a truly remarkable occurrence, given Mendoza’s affection for Europe, that he is pursuing the same footsteps left by the early 20th-century American writers and artists who journeyed around Europe, particularly in France and Italy. These voyages were taken in order to acquaint themselves with an alternate reality [ponder just how many of Hemingway’s accounts take place in Europe!] but also to appreciate a different aesthetic. Hemingway, whose influence permeates the art of the novel through its final traces of theatricality, drew inspiration from the great Europeans, particularly Flaubert, whom he deemed [and take note of this!] “our most distinguished mentor”, as expressed in a letter addressed to Faulkner. Indeed, his dialogue, pure and concise [authentic dialogue drawing from true experiences but simultaneously converted into beautiful music], may not bear any resemblance to Flaubert’s dialogue, but it is impossible to envision without Flaubert’s groundbreaking discovery of the allure of the ordinary, the charm of the everyday.
www.ftn-books.com has several Mendoza items now available.
