''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'' ( it, Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo) is

Enrico Brizzi Enrico Brizzi (born in Bologna, November 20, 1974) is an Italian writer. He is best known for his debut novel ''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'', which is so far the only one translated into English (along with other 23 languages). It also ...

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

. Brizzi wrote it at the age of eighteen and it was first published in 1994. The name "Jack Frusciante" is a deliberate modification of

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

, the guitarist for the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

. The novel, first published by independent Ancona-based Transeuropa, went out of print 15 times before the rights to it were sold to more solid publishers. As of 1999, the novel had sold over one million copies in Italy and had been published in 23 countries throughout Europe, in the US, Japan, Korea and South America. A film based on the novel was released in 1996, with Brizzi contributing to the screenplay.

Plot

''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'' tells the story of the relationship between Alex, a 17-year-old rebel, and Aidi (which sounds like the German name ''Heidi''), a girl who enters his life out of the blue one Sunday with a phone call. She asks about a poetry book and they end up talking about their projects and aspirations. Before they part she kisses him on the cheek. Alex falls for her, and later asks her to be his girlfriend. She begins behaving increasingly coldly to him until she states that she doesn't want any relationship because she'll be leaving for the States the following year and doesn't want to be in a long-distance relationship. Alex accepts her decision. Nonetheless, they maintain a relationship that, though not full-blown love, is stronger than mere friendship. Meanwhile, Alex takes a position in opposition to bourgeois society, rejecting the commonplace life that everyone expects him to be leading in the future ("a car, two children, a wife and a business consultant") and befriending Martino, the son of a rich family but an "outcast" like Alex himself.

References

* Enrico Brizzi, ''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'' (Paperback), Flamingo, 1998.

External links

* 1994 novels 20th-century Italian novels Novels set in Italy {{1990s-novel-stub