Tag: Italy
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Ernesto by Umberto Saba
From the publisher: Ernesto is a classic of gay literature, a tender and complex tale of sexual awakening by one of Italy’s most admired poets. Ernesto is a sixteen-year-old boy from an educated family who lives with his mother in Trieste. His mother is eager for him to get ahead and has asked a local…
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New Purchases I’d Love To Read… One Day
In the Act by Rachel Ingalls From the publisher, New Directions: In the Act begins: “As long as Helen was attending her adult education classes twice a week, everything worked out fine: Edgar could have a completely quiet house for his work, or his thinking, or whatever it was.” In Rachel Ingalls’s blissfully deranged novella,…
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Growing Up
Really, really happy with the two books I just read, which represent two utterly different experiences of girlhood and growing up. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein I thought this book was utterly marvelous. It made me re-download The Heart is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers — that’s the sort…
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Palate Cleanser: My Libby Shelf
I needed a palate cleanser after my binge of desperate, homoerotic Italians. Well, mostly, at least. My current kindle “stack” is mostly medieval or fantasy! I realized that Holly Black rereads did a lot for me last summer, so I’m trying out another author recommended as similar: Brigid Kemmerer. I’ve downloaded A Curse So Dark…
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Among Women Only by Cesare Pavese
Of course I had to let D.D. Paige redeem Pavese, after the terrible translations of The Beautiful Summer. Among Women Only is maybe my favorite Pavese of the three I’ve read so far. It contains just remarkable amounts of depth and thoughtfulness. After the war, Clelia, who works for a fashion house, returns to her…
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The Beautiful Summer by Cesare Pavese
Feeling totally wild about this Pavese. It was translated terribly enough to be constantly noticeable. Goodreads reviews mentioned this as well, which relieved me — as a monolingual person, I’m often just nervous that the writing style isn’t for me. In this book, it’s beyond awkward — many choices are just bad (“she was in…
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A Room with A View by E.M. Forster
Anything set in Italy will do, at this point. I was glad to read this story of confined, proper society, set ablaze by Italy, modern ideals, and music. Ha! From PRH: E.M. Forster’s beloved novel of forbidden love, culture clash, and the confines of Edwardian society Visiting Florence with her prim and proper cousin Charlotte…
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The Devil in the Hills by Cesare Pavese
I utterly loved this book, yet another in the line of depressed, sunbleached post-Fascism Italians I’ve been reading in the last couple of years (Antal Szerb, Gianfranco Calligarich…). The characters in The Devil in the Hills are free and thoughtless, tan endlessly, argue in the hills behind Turin. While he takes an ultimate pleasure in…
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Farewell, Ghosts and Cold Nights of Childhood
Two REALLY good books back to back, set along the Mediterranean. I got lucky with these! Farewell, Ghosts by Nadia Terranova, translated by Ann Goldstein (Seven Stories Press) Farewell, Ghosts takes place along the Sicilian coast, as a daughter returns home to help her mom salvage their aging home. Once there, she finds herself caught…
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In Progress: Farewell, Ghosts
Continuing my trend of absolutely gorgeous, morose Italian novels that take place in the summertime. I should make a book list. Farewell, Ghosts by Nadia Terranova, translated by Ann Goldstein (whose translation of this book is single-handedly making me want to read Ferrante!) From the publisher: Ida is a married woman in her late thirties,…