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Summary: History made personal
Review: If you really want to know what war does to ordinary people read this book. It is a superb, beautiful, deeply sad,uncompromising,uplifting masterpiece. With fascism on the move again across Europe, this work of art will convince you, if you ever needed convincing, that such evil should never be allowed to pass this way again
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Summary: Thank to all readers for reading Italian literature
Review: Thank to all the readers for having read an Italian book, and above all one of the best authors on this century in Italy. When I was a teenager I read mots of Morante's books and I can say that she was one of the best writers I have ever met in my readings. May I suggest to all of you to read (if you find a transaltion in your language) "L'isola di Arturo" (Arthur's Island) and above all "Menzogna e sortilegio" (Lie and witchcraft). Sorry, but the translations of the titles are improvised and I am not sure they are correct at all!
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Summary: History: A Novel by Elsa Morante
Review: The best book I've read in many years! Stayed with me for weeks after reading it. Definitely a keeper!
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Summary: One of the great books of our time
Review: The pain of our time is quite well summed up in Morante's novel "History: A Novel". By novel's end, I was so caught up in little Useppe's fate that I could barely take it. When through I thought about the novel, and its characters often. Morante has crafted a modern story of Job -- with its unanswered question of "why?"
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Summary: a total master piece.
Review: this book is at the top of all the thousands & thousands of books i have ever red,
i think that says it all.
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Summary: heart-wrenching
Review: This is a story set in war-torn Italy that follows the life of a simple, good child-like woman, as she deals with widowhood, rape, and survival with her two sons. The beauty of this stunning book, is in the descriptions of the characters, and the emotions each one is experiencing from the point of view of an anonymous bystander. As the years pass in this family's life, it's as though we were so intimately connected with their pain and anguish that we are somehow responsible because we do nothing but watch from afar. I was overwhelmed with such feelings of compassion for the struggling mother, her unruly eldest son, and most of all, for her innocent Useppe, the child born of her rape. Elsa Morante's ability in touching my heart with words that helped me "experience" each moment with these special characters, is incredible. She describes fleeting moments of love, anguish, and sorrow, without naming them, and yet they are so recognizable, they just tug at your heart. This writer has an extraordinary ability with words, that special ability to paint feelings so delicately, you are not aware that you have been touched until the end of the passage. And often I would have to pause before reading on, to wonder at the effect the words have had on me. I have never experienced that kind of thing in a book before, and I have read all my life. I'll never forget this delicate and sensitive work.
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Summary: Incredible!
Review: When I first read this book, I cried so much that it was hard to breathe. Beautifully written, beautifully translated, this is one of the best books of the second half of the twentieth century. This is the story of a young Italian woman and her sons, mostly during World War II. The beautiful portrait of the young baby, and then young boy, was just so moving. And I loved the descriptions of their dog, Bella. As she looked at each of her puppies, she thought it was surely the most beautiful one in the world. Morante captured the essence of motherhood. Of course, life has tragedy, and this is a very, very sad book. But if you want a good story, and marvelous writing, writing that is so beautiful that you are just stunned, then read this book.
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