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The Moon and the Bonfires[MOON & THE BONFIRES][Paperback]
The Moon and the Bonfires <> Paperback <> CesarePavese <> NewYorkReviewofBooks
Paperback
Published October 31, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 17, 2025
i wasn’t sure how i felt about this book for a chunk of it but i’m glad i pushed through and kept reading. you can never go home again!
the middle i didn’t love but the beginning set things so well (it’s crazy how well pavese describes america, even tho he had never been here), and the last third was like a slow moving nightmare to me, i read it in mostly one sitting after crawling through the middle of the book. nuto annoyed me as a character, but some of the best dialogue in the book was from him so lol.
imo weird/misogynistic views on women in this novel (esp w how the girlfriends of the narrator are described) but sometimes pavese captures romance/sensuality so so well, like “then little by little sylvia calmed down and finally she rested her head on my shoulder, gave me a smile, and asked if she could stay like that while i drove. i held the reins and watched the horse’s ears.” (p.144) so you win some you lose some?
overall really well written, and while the plot structure stalls in the middle i think it’s really worth the read. the difference in how the narrator describes the past vs the present alone is worth it i think. surprised me!
the middle i didn’t love but the beginning set things so well (it’s crazy how well pavese describes america, even tho he had never been here), and the last third was like a slow moving nightmare to me, i read it in mostly one sitting after crawling through the middle of the book. nuto annoyed me as a character, but some of the best dialogue in the book was from him so lol.
imo weird/misogynistic views on women in this novel (esp w how the girlfriends of the narrator are described) but sometimes pavese captures romance/sensuality so so well, like “then little by little sylvia calmed down and finally she rested her head on my shoulder, gave me a smile, and asked if she could stay like that while i drove. i held the reins and watched the horse’s ears.” (p.144) so you win some you lose some?
overall really well written, and while the plot structure stalls in the middle i think it’s really worth the read. the difference in how the narrator describes the past vs the present alone is worth it i think. surprised me!
November 20, 2024
(3.5 stars)
Hard to follow at times due to the writing style of covering things up until the last moment, but when events burst to the surface this is absolutely harrowing. A chilling portrait of post-war Northern Italy
Hard to follow at times due to the writing style of covering things up until the last moment, but when events burst to the surface this is absolutely harrowing. A chilling portrait of post-war Northern Italy
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews