James Joyce’s time in Trieste (1904-1920) became the literary cradle for his famous works, especially Ulysses. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was unable to make Trieste a compelling location for MUTINY, but managed to give it a cameo part when writing some back story for Claudine. And, I must say, it fitted her character rather well:
“But you work in Trieste?” he asks.
“My film company was based there.”
“Was?”
“Trieste is difficult.”
“Why difficult?”
“It’s funny,” Claudine replied, “but I was lonely there, even with my friends. It’s a city cramped between the hills and the sea, waiting for something exciting to happen.”
“But Trieste was a hot spot during the cold war?”
“The only excitement now is when the Bora wind barrels down the desolate Dolomites and stirs up dust and umbrellas as it roars through the city to create a boiling sea. And heaven help you if you’re wearing a dress.” She smoothed the folds in her dress as if reliving the moment.
“The Bora stopped us doing any outdoor shoots unless we has actors lying flat and clinging to lamp-posts. I felt like an exile in Trieste. It killed my creativity.”
“But I thought the famous author James Joyce wrote some of his best work in Trieste?”
“I guess so,” she replies. “He had a girlfriend and his genius to keep him company – though, the locals informed me, it was an unhappy threesome. It was better to move my business to Split, which is why I am here. And, I must tell you Karlo, it’s far more exciting.”
