(All chosen pages have an empty page on the left.)
The first selected page of the book was picked because the title seemed interesting and made me curious to look deeper at Fontana’s book. Translated from Italian (“Al santissiomo et beatissimo padre et signor nostro papa sisto Qvinto”) it means “To the most holy and blessed father and our lord Pope Sixtus Qvinto”. Now understanding the title, we know that Obelisk was dedicated to god and the Pope Sixtus Qvinto. Further questions can be asked after only looking at the first pages: What is the connection between the Pope the author and the obelisk? What were the intentions of the author? What did motivate him to write about the obelisk?
Looking further for more interesting pages, the illustration on page 24 caught my eye. It shows the nearly finished construction of the obelisk. Continuing to browse in the book, I did find another illustration on page 38, showing a fighting scene during the construction of the obelisk. This gives me a first impression and historical context of the book without really reading Obelisk.
Lennart Walter, Moscow
