Extraordinary Moments with Fake Applause

Silvano Landi, Gian-Alfonso “Gipi” Pacinotti’s second self, is a 56-year-old comedian who finds himself facing a painful moment in his life, as his mother is close to death in a country clinic. The situation in Momenti straordinari con applausi finti alternates on various narrative planes and with different drawing styles, from watercolour to pencil, at times essential, at others more detailed, in a flow of consciousness that illustrates the sense of detachment and loss that the protagonist has to deal with. Silvano’s story alternates with fragments of a documentary on the Normandy landings, the story of a group of astronauts who, on their travels, come across a mysterious black entity that erases memories, a primitive man and a cry from within, as well as a luminous child, a projection of the protagonist’s own childhood, who accompanies him in his memories of the past. Even as his mother is about to die, the show must go on, so Silvano goes off to Milan for a performance planned a long time previously. He starts talking about his dying mother and, though the audience initially feels ill at ease, the show turns out to be a success, in a bitter, cynical crescendo of laughter and applause. The story is very personal and moving, and Gipi once again shows how comic strips have every right to be considered as one of the highest forms of literature. Momenti straordinari con applausi finti, Gipi, Coconino Press, 2019