Karl Lagerfeld: Casa Malaparte Hardcover – 22 Jun. 2015

Beautifully made, full of nice photos, very atmospheric rather than "perfect", about the masterpiece house of and by Italian writer Curzio Malaparte. The day the photos were shot wasn't particularly sunny, but this does give to the images a special (less ordinary) feel. The only written page is a short explanation of his stay and what he knows about the place, by Lagerfeld. It is not particularly helpful if you are an architect looking for a more historical and technical insight, but it still is a nice and original contribution to the myth of this place.

I'll begin this review by admitting that I'm a total Capriphile, interested in almost everything and anything about the sublime Italian island that lies just offshore the farthest point of the Sorrentine Peninsula. I'll also add that that of all the (in)famous denizens of Capri, I find Curzio Malaparte the most interesting.I discovered Malaparte's work through reading about his celebrated house (the actual name of which is 'Casa Come Me' - Italian for 'House Like Me - rather than Casa Malaparte or Villa Malaparte) in a travel guide to Naples & The Amalfi Coast. I had visited Sorrento on business in 2005, found the town enchanting and returned there for a real holiday with my partner in 2007. We naturally took a ferry to Capri during that holiday and on two subsequent stays on the island, have found ourselves looking down on Casa Come Me every time. Before I saw the house -apart from in photographs - I'd read what little of Malaparte's work I could obtain in English (I'd praise his collection 'Woman Like Me' in particular' and was fascinated by the writing, the man and the house.Getting close to Casa Come Me is virtually impossible. It is situated on a limestone point above the sea and is on private land; the house, despite being a landmark in Modern architecture, has never been open to the public and for anyone wanting to imagine what it must be like to spend time within this amazing home, the best option has been to see it on film. The house features prominently in Goddard's 'Le Mepris' (based on Alberto Moravia's novel 'Contempt' - Moravia was friendly with Malaparte and stayed at the house at times) and 'The Skin' (based on Malaparte's own eponymous book). There are no easily obtainable books on the house that show it at its full glory and in colour (the only books are out of print and one of these is black and white, the other I have never seen, but it has a black and white jacket). The only other book to be available recently is an Italian work which is fundamentally architectural plans with some photographs (again in B & W) with an Italian text. Where did I buy this? Capri, of course...Lagerfeld's book is an art project, not a sumptuous realist colour photography book, which is what I'd prefer if I'm honest, purely because that would be a starting point for the devotee of Malaparte and his home. As soon as you read about a photography book in a catalogue and see the word "polaroid", you know it's about the texture and expression, not about creating a flawless, pristine record.As an 'art photography' book, this isn't bad. It captures the detail of the exterior of the house to a degree - focusing on the famous flat roof terrace - and some of the interior. Around two thirds of the book is washed-out polaroid, the rest in strident dark sepia...if I were a painter, I might say "Burnt Umber". When Lagerfeld stayed at the house for five days, the weather was poor (November on Capri is as wet and blustery as anywhere in Europe) and the brooding skies and moisture in the cold air enhance the sombre qualities of the house. So if you're after a moody take on Casa Come Me, you'll love this. I like it, but I'd like it more if I already owned my fantasy volume on the house - full colour shots taken in bright sunlight would really work for me.The production values are high - lovely grey full clothing binding, good quality thick paper and a tasteful, narrow-wraps jacket - but this is a slight book, no more than 30 pages or so. There is one page of text at the end from Lagerfeld, which is marred by one dreadfully noticeable typo. Being a published writer myself, I'm not normally too worried about such things, as almost every book in the world has setting errors, but this one really is a sore thumb in an otherwise first rate production.To sum up: Not the gorgeous knock-your-eye-out coffee table tome you might want, but definitely a book that suits the shadowy, strange temperament of Malaparte's own wild writing. I'm glad I own it, even though isn't quite what I hoped. But then great photographic works on Capri and the Amalfi coast are hard to come by...