Aperto, chiuso translated from Italian to English means, "open, close." This was the title and theme of Updikes short story about two American tourist in Italy. The story revolves around George and his thoughts while touring Italy with his third wife, Vivian. Vivian was his mistress during his 2nd marriage, and his new wife. They travel around in a rented fiat, which is quickly running out of gas. This, and George's wild driving causes Vivian to be constantly nervous and frantic. They visit churches and memorials during their trip, but George's desire for other women becomes a strong theme in the story. Vivian is aware of his thoughts but doesn't voice it until the end of the story.
I selected this story hoping that more Italian phrases and words would appear, and they did. I know a good amount of Italian and Updike does an excellent job of using the foreign language to express confusion for George and Vivian. They are constantly trying to understand the workings of Italian culture and run into problems due to their lake of knowledge. Knowing what these words mean made the story comical because George incorrectly translates almost everything.
Updikes other stories were more interesting and this one kinda let me down. He does reference Hemmingway and other famous authors during the story, which further expresses his intelligence, but I felt like the story didn't convey the level of emotions and feelings his other work had. I still like Updikes writing, but this story didn't live up to my expectations.
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