I am starting this new thread which will be featured at the top of the Italy forum as a place for us to write about novels and memoirs set in Italy. I will use the information here to update the Italy Novels/Memoirs List that I wrote for the website (written in 2002, updated recently - but I am not reading much about Italy these days so new recommendations are needed).
Post the information for the book and your review of it. Anything posted here may end up on a page on slowtrav.com.
This thread is just for the reviews. Start a new thread to discuss any of the reviews. Thanks!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pauline,
Pauline, Surely Ciaofornow's list on Library Thing (see the thread called "What Book on Italy Are You Reading Right Now") would be a resource for this thread. In looking at that thread and the embedded link to Library Thing, I have a great list of books to consider- gives me ideas. Many of us readers could pick several to review - I'll start soon, with one! Linda
Posts: 582 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
I am interested in memoirs of Americans in Rome in the 19th century, when so many Americans lived in Rome or visited for extended stays. It was so cheap compared to America--hard to believe today. Americans moved to Rome to save money! And for other reasons, of course.
Just now, I am finishing "Roman Spring" by Mrs. Winthrop Chanler (Margaret Terry Chanler), published in 1934. It is about her life as a young girl in Rome in the 1870s and 80s. Her father was an artist. Will write more on the book thread when I finish the book.
This is a giant of a book, both very literate and very fanciful. An elderly Italian professor, whose memories of WWI haunt him, tells his life story to a young man, while taking a journey near his home in Rome. It is full of romantic notions, and horrific tales. The novel is packed with history and description. My husband and I think it is beautifully written and consider it a favorite. After traveling to Italy it was read again- just for the pleasure of the prose and the way it took us to Italy. Not everyone will like this book, but some of us will love it. Linda
Posts: 582 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
This is an historical memoir, describing the history of the La Foce estate in the Orcia Valley of southern Tuscany. These are the diaries of matriarch Iris Origo, chronicling her experiences and her stellar local efforts on behalf of others during WWII. I learned a great deal about the history of that time, from a unique viewpoint. It was interesting and also a great human story, originally written in 1947. Anyone staying in the Val d'Orcia or especially visiting the La Foce estate (gardens open to the public for tours, accomodations can be rented there) should read this book. We have not been to this estate, but we'd like to visit on our next visit. Linda
Posts: 582 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
The memoirs set in Italy that I like to read are set in Italy's ancient past. Well, they are memoirs that a modern author had to write for them. There is I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. Spanning practically the whole of the Julian-Claudian Dynasty, told by one of their own who would have been voted least likely to ever become Emperor.
Augustus by Allan Massey. In the tradition of I, Claudius written in the first person. The Princeps himself relates events as he saw them. The first half is more upbeat because he is writing the memoirs for Gaius and Lucius (Julia's children). Both of them died in their early twenties. The second half is darker, as Augustus has to consider what to do about a smooth transition for the empire he created after he himself and his blood heirs are gone.
The Etruscan by Mika Waltari. See Rome, Veii, Erice, of 550BC. it's a lot less heroic than you might imagine.
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Youngenar. This book is a more difficult read because it is more stream of consciousness thant straight action and telling of a story. Still It offers insight into one of Rome's most enigmatic and kinky Emperors.
Posts: 3393 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
The next group of novels are not memoirs. they are still set in ancient Rome: Steven Saylor's Roma sub rosa Gordianus novels. They are historical novles and detictive mysteries rolled into one. The First Roman Blood takes place in the late Republic when Cicero is a young man. the others are The House of the Vestals, Arms of Nemesis, Catalinia's Riddle, The Venus Throw, Murder on the Appian Way, Rubicon, Last Seen in Massila, A Mist of Prophecies, and the Judgement of Caesar. My favorite two are Murder on the Appian way, and Catalina's Riddle. Steven Saylor really researches these novels and gets all the known facts straight.
There are Colleeen McCullough's Rome novels: The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar, The October Horse. they scan the period of time from Marius (100 BC) to Octavian/Augustus and the Battle of Phillipi (40 bc). Sulla, Julius Caesar and Octavain are my favorite characters.
Posts: 3393 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) haven't been mentioned yet on this thread, though I know they have lots of fans.
There are quite a few - two that come to mind are: Death at La Fenice A Nobel Radiance
These books stand alone as good mysteries. Donna Leon is a smart writer who conceives of clever plot twists. Description of character and dialogue are realistic yet great fun. The Venetian setting is so integral to the stories that you can't imagine them happening anywhere else. The hero, Guido Brunetti, is multidimensional. I give these books a thumbs up.
Linda
Posts: 582 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
This was a quick read that I very much enjoyed. Like Adam Gopnik in the acclaimed Paris to the Moon, the author is an American journalist who moves overseas. Unlike Gopnik, he is single and half in love with a Neopolitan (and thoroughly in love with Naples, his main subject). Hofstadter has a breezier style, and focuses more on the place and the characters he meets. There is also an interesting side story in Benedetta, Hofstadter's lover. It still didn't convince me to spend any time in Naples, though. That is because this book does not focus on the history or sights of Naples. It is primarily a book about relationships...with both places and people.
This is one of my favorite books in the genre of travel writing. Although since Tim Parks actually lives in Italy, it’s not really travel. Parks is an English author who married an Italian and decided to live and work in Italy. My only quibble with Parks is it took me nearly half of the book before I figured out his wife is Italian. Rita (his wife) is not a major character…in fact, she’s barely a minor character. What I do like about this book is how successfully Parks distinguishes his native Anglo-Saxon culture from Italian culture. Everything from Italian bureaucracy to familial relationships to dialect to the Catholic Church is described. Not analyzed, but described. Each chapter focuses on a particular experience or observation. Parks does an excellent job (IMHO) of explaining the cultural differences and the challenges of adapting to life in another country. I also like how he sprinkles his text with Italian words and phrases, and occasionally bits of song. Sometimes he translates, sometimes he doesn’t.
An Italian Education: The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona Tim Parks October 2006 352 pages
This is the follow-up to Italian Neighbors. The focus of this book is Michele and Stefania, Parks’ children. This time, Parks writes about the differences in the school systems, child-rearing, bed-times, sports and vacations. Although very similar to the first book, I struggled more with this one…maybe because I don’t have children, maybe because after 500 pages I was ready to call it quits. I would definitely recommend Italian Neighbors, but Italian Education is more a take it or leave it book.
Judging by the discussion on this thread, this is a love it or hate it book. For those of us in the latter camp, the consensus seems to be the book is kind of high on the creep factor.
A little bit of background…the author, an American, meets a Venetian, sells her house, gives up her job and moves to Venice. Only trouble is, she doesn’t know the guy all that well. So she settles in to get to know both him and her new city. Which is all fine. She’s even got some good stories about the local markets. What I didn’t like was her tendency to refer to her new husband as “the stranger.” In fact, she did it so often it pushed me into the hate camp. You can read the thread for more comments on the book, although you’ll have to wade through numerous other book recommendations. Gee, what a hardship.
If you prefer to judge the book for yourself (which considering my taste in books might be smart), it’s actually a very readable book. For me though, readable does not always translate into enjoyable.
Vroom with a View: In Search of Italy's Dolce Vita on a '61 Vespa Peter Moore May 2006 320 pages
If I keep up with the reviews, you’ll soon find out I prefer writers with a more lighthearted style and a good sense of humor, those who don’t take themselves too seriously. I also like to learn interesting bits of possibly worthless trivia as I’m reading. Which means this is the perfect book for me.
Peter Moore had a dream…a dream to tour Italy on a Vespa. Luckily for readers like me, his dream came true and he wrote about it. For his 40th birthday, Moore bought a Vespa (aka Sophia…he met her on eBay!) and spent a summer scooting from Milan to Rome. Along the way Sophia introduced him to fellow Vespa lovers (and a few mechanics) and the backroads of Italy. The book is also filled with tidbit of Vespa info and history. It’s a fun read!
Click here to check out Moore’s website, for more book info and pictures.
I read this novel long before I saw this movie. Though I liked the movie, I LOVED the novel.
He has a unique style of writing, and the book is very haunting and moving. Of course not all of the book is set in Italy, but I think it still qualifies as an Italian novel. I recommend it. Linda
Posts: 582 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
Hi Pauline, I still have the software from my English language bookstore The Economy Book Center, located in Rome, from 1965 until the end of 2004. I have an extraoridnary and exhaustive list of books (both fiction and non-fiction), but I can't download it. Maybe the best thing would be for me to print it out and send it to you via snail mail. Let me know
A middle-class British family rents a house in Tuscany for the summer. The mother, Molly Partiger, finds herself caught in a web of intrigue having to do with water rights, a suspicious death, and the paintings of Piero della Francesca. An amazon.com reviewer called this "an intelligent guilty pleasure". The BBC produced an excellent film adaptation with Sir John Gielgud as the ribald grandfather - highly recommended! - Marie
I loved this book so much that I plan to re-read it before our trip to Italy. In fact, it's small enough I might just take it with me. William Murray lived in Rome as a child, and again as an adult. Essentially, the book is a walking tour of Rome. He shares his favorite places, and bits of history (ancient history, modern history and personal history) along the way. There is also a fairly basic, but good map of Rome inside the front cover, so the reader won't get lost. Although there are no pictures, Murray's descriptions are so vivid that this book could be used as a guidebook for Rome. Two thumbs up.
In preparation for our anticipated first visit to Sicily in November, I've started reading On Persephone's Island - A sicilian Journal, by Mary Taylor Simeti. Am thoroughly enjoying her wide ranging observations about Sicilian life and history, as well as her skillful prose. An American who went to Sicily after college for temporary volunteer work,Simeti -- by the time of the book's publication in 1986 -- had been there 20 years, married to a Siciian and raising a family. She expresses a particular fascination for the seasons and calendar-based traditions. It strikes me as a terrifc introduction to things Sicilian.
Just finished listening to George Eliot's historical novel "Romola". Set in Florence in the 1490s, it is fascinating survey of the history, intellectual currents, politics and philosophy of the time. Interspersing "real people" like Savonarola and Machiavelli with fictional characters, it paints a wonderful portrait of life in Florence in that tumultuous period. It is also fun to realize that the geography of the historic center hasn't changed much since the 15th century...so many of the streets, piazzas and buildings that are mentioned are still there.
I have an extraoridnary and exhaustive list of books (both fiction and non-fiction), but I can't download it. Maybe the best thing would be for me to print it out and send it to you via snail mail. Let me know