The Arena of Gloom , or The Dark Arena, is the first novel by the American writer Mario Puzo , published in 1955 , when the author was 35 years old.
| Arena of darkness | |
|---|---|
| English The dark arena | |
 Random House Publishers Cover | |
| Genre | drama , detective |
| Author | Mario puzo |
| Original language | English |
| Date of first publication | 1955 |
| Publishing house | |
| Following | |
Story
The novel is a love story of an American soldier, Walter Mosca, and a German girl, Hella . The action takes place in post-war Germany . The book begins with a quote from the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky “ The Brothers Karamazov ” and tells what happens to people who can’t love.
The protagonist, Walter Mosca, a veteran of World War II , returning to the United States , finds no place in American society. Three years of the war changed him, made him an embittered and cruel man. He leaves his mother, crippled brother, bride and decides to return to Germany to find there a woman named Gella, whom he once loved.
Gella, who recently gave birth and lost their child, still loves him and accepts the sadism of her beloved, as well as the cruelty of the world around her. Walter agrees with her again. He has a passion for Gella, takes care of her, but does not love her. Initially, his goal is to earn enough money to marry Gella and leave with her in the United States, but he does not do this, despite the fact that they have another baby.
During his stay in Germany, Walter gets a job as a civilian employee in the American occupation administration and conducts trading on the black market . Here, the standard currency is not the German brand or the American dollar , but American cigarettes . The losers perceive their winners as temporary suppliers of necessary goods. Both those and others are in a humble position. When Walter feels threatened with exposure, he betrays his accomplice.
The degradation process of the protagonist is intensifying. He becomes a drug addict . Gella gets sick and dies of infection without receiving the necessary medication . Walter avenges the death of his mistress and kills the man whose deception Gella died. In the end, he abandons their son and goes underground .
Sources
- Mario Puzo Dark arena. / Per. from English I.I. Mansurova. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf , 2004. - 525, [2] p. - 7000 copies. - ISBN 5-9524-1288-2
- Mario Puzo Arena of darkness. Happy wanderer. / Per. from English - M .: Infoservice, 1995 .-- 509 p. - (Melodrama plus). - ISBN 5-85647-014-1
- Mario Puzo The Dark Arena. - New Orleans : Cornerstone, 1992. ISBN 9780099418023
- Mario Puzo Arena of darkness.