Books and stories that I have recently read and enjoyed. I tend to pursue themes and one book often leads on from another. My recent reading has been focused on Italian life, history and culture.
Sergei Dovlatov : The Suitcase
Translated by Antonina Bouis / Alma Books
Memories engulfed me. They must have been hidden in the folds of those pathetic rags, and now they had escaped.
The author emigrates from the Soviet Union to the United States and is allowed one suitcase of possessions to take with him. Years later he discovers it at the back of the wardrobe and the items in it all tell a story. At once comic and dark, this is an absorbing insight into life in soviet Leningrad.
Tim Parks : Italian Ways
Vintage Books
A highly entertaining read. Long term Italian resident Tim Parks always writes with great observational skill and affectionate humour about his adopted country. This book grows out of his experiences as a rail commuter between Verona and Milan into a tour of Italy by train.
All the complexities and contradictions of this beguiling country are seen to be expressed in its rail service from the sleekly efficient Frecce to the challenges of season ticket purchase.
Carlo Levi : Christo si è fermato a Eboli
Harrap study edition with notes and vocabulary
My first full novel in Italian and, whilst it took quite a while to read and frequent recourse to the dictionary, it was a profoundly enriching experience.
During the fascist era, the author finds himself in external exile in remote Lucania (now Basilicata). He enters a cut-off world of abject poverty, arcane superstitions and fatalistic resignation.
Catherine Nixey : The Darkening Age
Pan 978-1509816071
A compelling picture of the early years of Christianity in the late Roman Empire. Nixey focuses on the uncompromising zealots of the new religion, intent on eradicating all traces of the polytheistic, devilish ‘paganism’ of the Empire including its temples, literature and art.
M. de Wyss / Rome under the Terror
A fascinating book, in diary form, kept by a mysterious Swiss woman living in Rome during World War II. The diary takes us from April 1943 to June 1944 and gives a remarkable day-to-day account of the period of direct German occupation and the allied invasion of Italy from the perspective of a well-connected foreigner living in the capital.
Tim Parks : Italian Neighbours
Another highly entertaining insight into Tim Park’s journey of integration into Italian culture and life.
Alberto Angelo : A day in the life of Ancient Rome
Europa Editions
I thoroughly enjoyed this captivating tour through the streets, homes, markets, baths and everyday life of Ancient Rome. A really vivid account of the lives of the anonymous individuals populating the teeming city at the centre of the history and power of the Roman Empire.
Anthony Blunt : Roman Baroque
Pallas Athene Arts
Whatever else you might think about him, Anthony Blunt was certainly one of recent history’s greatest art historians. This is a very readable, illustrated introduction to the Roman Baroque focusing on three of its supreme masters, Bernini, Borromini and Cortona.
Alberto Moravia : Racconti Romani
Bompiani
A fabulous collection of short stories that really evoke the everyday lives and preoccupations of ordinary people in mid-20th-century Rome. Each story has a different narrator and is set in a different part of the city. I translated a couple of my favourites (see bottom of page).
Stephen Greenblatt : The Swerve
W W Norton
A great read! This is the story of how in 1417, Poggio Bracciolini, a former papal secretary, discovered a copy of Lucretius’ De rerum natura, a book that, according to Greenblatt, went on to have enormous influence in reintroducing ideas to the medieval world that were instrumental in sparking off a new age.
Stephanie Storey : Raphael, painter in Rome
Arcade
An entertaining novel based on the life of Raphael.
Robert C. Davis & Beth Lindsmith : Renaissance People
Thames & Hudson
Short biographies of some of the Renaissance‘s key players. Great book!
Leonardo Sciascia : Tre racconti
Klett
Great little collection for learners of Italian. The stories are set in Sicily and deal with Italy’s north / south divide, social themes and the complex and contradictory ideas behind attachment to roots and a desire to emigrate. I particularly enjoyed Il lungo viaggio which I translated (see bottom of page).
Rome : Lucentini
This is a sumptuous guidebook of enormous scope and detail. I dip into it whenever I want a vicarious and informed stroll through Rome.
Richard Krautheimer / Rome: Profile of a City, 312 – 1308
A massive book in all respects. Packed with verbal and pictorial descriptions of a thousand years of the history of Rome revealing its development from capital of Empire to capital of the Christian world.
The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome / Matilda Webb
Got this book from a bibliography and it’s brilliant! Useful introduction to the Early Christian world and then walks taking in the churches of particular areas of Rome. Each church is given a detailed description and map showing the relevant sections. Just need to be in Rome to use it!
Henry Chadwick / The Early Church
An exhaustive history of the development of the Christian church in the first millennium. Interesting insights into the formation of doctrine and establishment of churches.
Luigi Garlando / Per questo mi chiamo Giovanni
A father links the problem of his son being terrorised by an older pupil at school to the story of Giovanni Falcone, the judge who took on the Sicilian mafia.
Cosa Nostra / John Dickie
Wanted to read this as a follow on from the previous book. Fascinating and powerful history.
The Myths of Rome / T P Wiseman
Tracing the origins of Roman mythological stories.
Bernini: His life and his Rome /Franco Mormando
Excellent and entertaining account of the life and times of the great sculptor and the Rome in which he lived.
Il giorno della civetta / Leonardo Sciascia
A story that embodies a particular view of the presence of the mafia in Sicilian society.
The Leopard / Tomasi Di Lampedusa
What a brilliant novel and picture of the Sicilian soul. Even in translation, Tomasi’s prose is exhilarating with many exquisitely memorable turns of phrase.
Women in Ancient Rome / Paul Chrystal
Splendidly researched and evidenced, this detailed study of the situation of women at all levels of Roman society is compelling reading.
The Pope’s Daughter / Caroline Murphy
The story of Felice Della Rovere, illegitimate daughter of Julius II, the Pope who was the patron of Michelangelo and Raphael. Felice’s independent spirit and tenacity in a world ruled by men led her to become one of the most influential people in Rome.
John Paoletti and Gary Radke / Art in Renaissance Italy
A monumental book that traces the Renaissance in Italy in its various cities and states. Well illustrated and an excellent resource to the subject.
Novelle siciliane
Enjoyable selection of Sicily-based short stories. Enjoyable too the challenge of reading them in Italian – with a little help from the French version on the facing page.
Carlo Levi / Fleeting Rome
A collection of articles about Rome originally written for newspaper publication. Evocative of the time.
Alberto Moravia / Nuovi racconti romani
Can’t get enough of these stories! Just the right length for me and my dictionary and always fascinatingly evocative of Roman life. I translated on of my favourites, The Bank of Love (see bottom of page).
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe / Italienische Reise
I can definitely identify with the enthusiasm with which Goethe approached his journey to Italy. Such an interesting portrait of Italy towards the end of the 18th Century. Goethe is a brilliant observer – amongst many other talents!
Russell Meiggs / Roman Ostia
A scholarly, thorough insight into the archeological site of Ostia Antica and its significance in the Roman world. Slightly dated in that it lacks the benefit of the most recent discoveries and latest research, but no less fascinating for that. Meiggs was one of the first serious researchers of Ostia.
Edith Hall / Introducing the Ancient Greeks
A very accessible and entertaining book. Clear and informative account of the lasting significance of the Ancient Greeks and their contribution to human civilization.
David Stuttard / A History of Ancient Greece in 50 Lives
La Vita quotidiana a Ostia / Carlo Pavolini
An important contribution to the study of the Roman port of Ostia Antica. Detailed and authoritative.
Tom Chesshyre / Slow Trains to Venice
I escaped to continental Europe with this book. What a fantastic way to travel and open yourself up to unexpected experiences and encounters.
Andrea Carandini / Rome : Day One
Marguerite Yourcenar / Le cerveau noir de Piranèse
A psychological examination of the fantastical prison scenes of Piranesi
Bryan Ward-Perkins / The Fall of Rome
Midnight in Sicily / Peter Robb
This is a remarkable and absolutely fascinating book. So revealing about Sicily and Italy in general. Has sparked off all sorts of further research and reading.
Why the Germans do it better / John Kampfer
The Rise and Fall of the German Empire / Katja Hoyer
The Archipelago / John Foot
Was man von hier aus sehen kann / Mariana Leky
Geronimo / Tim Moore
Cinque storie ferraresi / Giorgio Bassani
I got this book for the story about the returning holocaust survivor (Una lappide in via Mazzini) mentioned in John Foot’s book (above). A very relevant expression of the way truth can often fit uncomfortably into historical narrative. The other stories are really good too.
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts / Christopher de Hamel
This is indeed a marvellous book, written by Christopher de Hamel with a wonderful combination of great erudition and infectious enthusiasm for his subject. Fascinating histories of the production, use and survival of some of the world’s greatest manuscripts.
Io non ho paura / Niccolò Ammaniti
A novel about the loss of childhood innocence as a boy in a small southern town discovers a kidnapping.
Il mare non bagna Napoli / Anna Maria Ortese
Very evocative collection of short stories based in post-war Naples and highlighting the poverty and contrasting fortunes within Neapolitan society.
LET THE SWANS COME FORWARD 