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| Title | : | Conversations in Sicily |
| Author | : | Elio Vittorini |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 202 pages |
| Published | : | December 17th 2000 by New Directions (first published 1937) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Italy. European Literature. Italian Literature |
Elio Vittorini
Paperback | Pages: 202 pages Rating: 3.72 | 1655 Users | 115 Reviews
Explanation Toward Books Conversations in Sicily
Vittorini's Conversations in Sicily stands as a modern classic, not only for its powerful thematic resonance as one of the great novels of Italian anti-fascism but also as a trailblazer for its style, which blends literary modernism with the pre-modern fable in a prose of lyric beauty. Comparing Vittorini's work to Picasso's, Italo Calvino described Conversations as "the book-Guernica."The novel begins at a time in the narrator's life when nothing seems to matter; whether he is reading newspaper posters blaring of wartime massacres, lying in bed with his wife or girlfriend, or flipping through the pages of a dictionary it is all the same to him—until he embarks on a journey back to Sicily, the home he has not seen in some fifteen years. In traveling through the Sicilian countryside and in variously hilarious and tragic conversations with its people—his indomitable mother in particular—he reconnects with his roots and rediscovers some basic human values.
In the introduction Hemingway wrote for the American debut of Conversations (published as In Sicily by New Directions in 1949) he remarked: "I care very much about Vittorini's ability to bring rain with him when he comes, if the earth is dry and that is what you need." More recently, American critic Donald Heiney wrote that in this one book, Vittorini "like Rabelais and Cervantes...adds a new artistic dimension to the history of literature."
Present Books In Favor Of Conversations in Sicily
| Original Title: | Conversazione in Sicilia |
| ISBN: | 0811214559 (ISBN13: 9780811214551) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Silvestro Ferrauto |
| Setting: | Sicily(Italy) |
Rating Epithetical Books Conversations in Sicily
Ratings: 3.72 From 1655 Users | 115 ReviewsPiece Epithetical Books Conversations in Sicily
Vittorini is authoritatively cited as a key figure in the modernist school of novel writing. Modernism seems to be defined as a conscious break with traditional styles and format. If Conversations in Sicily is an exemplar of modernism, then I pretty much know all I need to know about modernism. This is hodgepodge prose, with irritating repetition (I hung my head is repeated four times in the first paragraph). Vittorini tosses words into bland salads on every page. Maybe theres a story hiding"What is a man?" Vittorini asks. Downright depressed and unhappy with his life and work in a northern Italian megalopolis seems to be the answer as the narrative begins. The narrator's impromptu return to his native Sicilian hamlet, 15 years after his departure, begins a series of conversations with sharply defined characters he meets along the way and in his home town. Each successive interaction with people as varied as fellow travelers on a train heading south, his mother, or the ghost of his
Elio Vittorinis CONVERSATIONS IN SICILY is a quiet novel It was written a lifetime ago, at the end of the 1930s, in Northern Italy, although the story takes place in Sicilytakes place on a ferry crossing, a train ride, and then up to and around a hill town above Syracuse. It also takes place almost entirely in the mind of the narrator, Silvestro Ferrauto. This is not to say there are no actual conversations. Silvestro shares a few words with people he encounters on his journey, a pitiful old man
This could be one of the best books Ive ever read. Silvestro is at a turning point in his life (no future and no past). A letter from his father prompts him to spontaneously visit his mom in a remote village in Sicily. A ferry, several trains and a bus take him there. It is a journey in time and space. It helps him reconnect to the universe. He cries for all the suffering and mourns for his brother. This is a simple lyrical book, filled with truths. It feeds back truths in little tiny pieces.
This lyrical modernist novel is a beautifully written tale of a man trying to find sense among the dire reality of war. Its dreamy prose comes with a strong anti-war sentiment. Narrated by a man who upon realizing that he is unable to feel anything decides to travel back home i.e. Sicily to reconnect with his roots, this book feels authentic. As the ancient nun from the film The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) points out, roots are indeed important. ( Her lines if I remember well: ...'Do you
I always feel a slight bit of shame when I say this, but I just didn't "get it." It's supposed to be a criticism of fascism but... I guess I can see something like that poking through. Maybe if I knew a bit more about Italian history? Also I just couldn't get into the style of the writing (translation?). Occasionally pretty funny, and VERY infrequently profound and/or beautiful. This book is just not for me, I guess.
Sicily was once like Papua New Guinea in this sense: Until the early part of the last century there existedmay still existwithin its mountainous interior, an enigmatic ancient culture. This Sicilian culture is rife with superstition, fear of the Evil Eye, and penetrated only superficially by Catholicism. In this sense it reminds me of the primitive villages written about by Carlo Levi in his Christ Stopped at Eboli, but the eerie sense of diconnection from the rest of the world goes even further
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