I am starting to feel sorry for whoever ends up
reading this blog and its countless comments on books about... Italian Fascism!
Apologies, but those bleak years did prove to be an incredible source of
inspiration for a generation, or two, of Italian authors...
At least this book isn’t really about the
Resistance, or anti-Fascism, but rather about the impact that the regime had on
the everyday life of rich Jewish people who had no particular interest in
fighting it. Being narrated by a character outside the family, it idolizes the
lives of the Finzi-Contini. The book is completely coated in a melancholic
patina, something that I really envy because I don’t think I will have the same
bittersweet memories of my fruitless Italian juvenile love (my memories of her
are just plain bitter).
For me, one noticeable quality of this book is
Bassani’s ability to ultimately leave politics aside: he managed to write a book
on the impact of Fascism without actually discussing Fascism, with a story that
remains within the boundaries of the villa of the Finzi-Contini, only
occasionally venturing to a couple of other locations in the town of Ferrara.
For anyone familiar with Italian cinema, I was
quite surprised by the fact that Vittorio De Sica directed the (fairly
unsatisfactory) movie inspired by the book, as the story would have been
perfect, absolutely perfect, for a movie by the Taviani brothers.
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