The Red Horse: A Novel

by Eugenio Corti

A literary phenomenon in Italy, this European best-seller was voted the best Italian novel of the decade in a public survey. Its success has gone way beyond Italy, having been translated into Spanish, French, Japanese and 3 other languages. This epic historical novel about World War II and after, written from the author's own personal experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter, is a profoundly moving account of the war, those who fought in it on both sides, and the effects the war had on families in the author's hometown in northern Italy. On a wider scale, it is a faithful witness to the actual events of the warâ including the historic personages who appear, the Russian campaign, the Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and beyond to the political life in the two decades after the war. This world, filled with powerful personalities, drama and clashing armies, bathes in the complex light of the truth. A truly great historical novel with its epic scope, what makes this a masterpiece is the underlying spiritual dimensions of the protagonist, his family and friends, which illuminates the ongoing tragedy of the war and its aftermath. In the end, it is a story of faith and hope in a world reduced to barbarism and cruelty.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, World War II, Classics, Italian Literature, Italy

1015 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1983

About the author

Eugenio Corti (21 January 1921 – 4 February 2014) was an Italian writer born in Besana in Brianza. After participating in the Italian retreat from Russia in World War II, he joined the Italian partisans. Based on these experiences, he wrote Few Returned and The Last Soldiers of the King. His seminal work, however, is The Red Horse, a 1000-page novel again based on his experiences and those of his fellow Italians during and after the Second World War. It was voted the best book of the 1980s in a public survey in Italy and has been translated into six languages, including Japanese. It has had twenty-five editions since it was first published in May 1983.
In summer 1994, a poll promoted by the newspaper Avvenire revealed that Corti was the most popular Christian writer in Italy. Corti received the international award of the Golden Medal for Merit of the Catholic Culture in 2000. In May 2005, the "Eugenio Corti" international cultural association was officially formed. The association was born from the initiative of some readers, mostly young college students and professionals, and was aimed at publicizing the writer and his works to the world of culture and to the larger public, as well as, more in general, making culture with Corti's figure as an inspiration. One of the main activities of the association is the promotion of lectures and meetings.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Revelation 6:3-4
The end of May 1940… The red horse is about to gallop in… Come and see… And a father said to his son:

“If you young people only knew what a dirty thing war really is.” And he shook his head several times with a gesture no, no, meditatively…
“Poor fellows”, he continued, incapable of completely expressing his own thoughts. “You’ll find out…”

The last peaceful days are over… And the sons of those who fought the Great War go to fight the Second World War… Being a student the protagonist is called to arms half a year later… After a long training and becoming an officer he is sent to Russia…

At last, they entered the Soviet Union, which greeted them with long rolls of barbed wire running off into the countryside, and, as a complement, lines of tank barriers behind.
Farther along were thick cement bunkers, with the firing ports blackened by the smoke of flamethrowers and, here and there, abandoned red-starred tanks.

All the summer long the war for the Italian troops was almost idyllic… But in December they were smashed…

Gradually, the Russians overturned or crushed the Italian vehicles, which seemed to be dwarfed by the the size of the attacking tanks. Here and there a tank would ferociously trample a truck under its tracks, turning alternately right and left, converting the metal into a tomb for mangled bodies inside…
In six or seven minutes, the long column had been annihilated.

Retreat turned into a stampede… The wounded were abandoned… The defeat was complete…
The protagonist is wounded but he manages to survive and escape… The hospital train takes him to Italy…

Many of the injured were taken off in Verona. The station appeared to have been damaged seriously by aerial attacks. Sheets of roofing and iron supports were lying about here and there, and the walls were cracked and full of holes, and there was the dust of the ruins swirling about on the sidewalks.

While he is recovering his cousin successfully gets away from Tunisia on a motorboat… And he is home on leave… And falls for a girl… His friend is captured in Russia and taken to the camp where there is no food… And prisoners keep dying… Horrible things happen…
Soldiers want to live and love but the war deals in death.
Mussolini is dethroned… The  entire nation is in agitation and tumult… Bombing… Milan lies in ruins… The armistice is signed with the Allies… So Germans turn into enemies… In the Italian army in the Balkans there is chaos… Germans execute Italian officers… The younger brother joins partisans…

Pino, with his medicine kit over his shoulders, his rifle in his left hand, and his heart pounding in an indescribable fashion, ran to the first aid post that the captain had decided on: a hut at the back of the formation sheltered by a rising in the terrain. Here, not knowing what to do, he sat on the ground with his back against the wall, opened his manual, read a few lines, and closed it.

The war is close to its end but it will take years to lick the wounds.
Some return… Some were taken by the Grim Reaper… And the aftermath of the war is sorrowful…

Certain mountain passes were impassable because they were solidly controlled by bandits.
Food rationing continued at hunger level, just as during wartime. Declining respect for the law increased the size of the black market, with its consequent rise in corruption and lowering of morals.

But the nation and people are slowly recuperating… And the living keep their memory of the dead…

[Miguel G Ferrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de mis libros favoritos. La novela -de 1088 páginas- se lee muy a gusto, más con la traducción al español de Pedro Antonio Urbina.

Corti, que entre 1942 y 1943 estuvo en el frente ruso y después luchó contra los alemanes en la región italiana de Abulia, recoge la historia de Italia desde 1940 hasta 1970. Aunque la obra tiene fondo autobiográfico, el autor no se identifica con un único personaje.

El centro del relato es la familia Riva, de Nomana, pueblo de Brianza. Gerardo, el padre, industrial preocupado por dar trabajo y llenar de sentido cristiano el mundo empresarial; Giulia (la madre), siempre desviviéndose por los demás; y sus siete hijos, además de Manno, el sobrino huérfano que vive con ellos. La descripción de la campaña de Rusia resulta estremecedora: con el vigor de una experiencia vivida, con todos los horrores y heroísmos de la guerra.

En la línea de grandes novelas europeas como Los Buddenbrooks, Fortunata y Jacinta, Bearn o Guerra y Paz, El caballo rojo es una novela importante, no sólo por la síntesis y la crítica de unos años decisivos, sino por la calidad literaria, mantenida desde el principio hasta el final.

[Daniele Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donare un pensiero a quest'opera, oltre ad essere doveroso, comporta il lasciare da parte la politica, le sue acque ristagnanti e piene di fastidiosi "moscerini pregiudiziosi" e osservare con fiducia disinteressata l'architettura letteraria di indubbia qualità.
Fatta questa importante premessa posso dire che questo è un libro dal passo lungo (oltre mille pagine) tutto italiano, nostro, che rappresenta il modo di pensare plurisecolare (piaccia o non piaccia, vedi sopra) non influenzato dal pensiero estero (noi si tende a glorificare quel che non è italiano), genuinità e semplicità cristiana che va da nord a sud (forse siamo un po' paesani, abitanti del villaggio, inurbati ma in fondo in fondo nel dna scorre la cellula contadina), creduloni ma anche autori di cose che non hanno eguali.
E' un libro di fede, che non va dimenticata perché lo si voglia o meno è nostra, tipicamente italiana, non superficiale, è fondante di una comunità. Io non sto criticando il laicismo o l'approccio scientifico della società, ritengo opportuno non trascurare il fatto che ci siano delle fondamenta di fede cristiana, è quantomeno insincero trascurarle.
E' un libro crudo, reale veritiero, non risparmia le immagini raccapriccianti del conflitto. Non arriva alla violenta realtà di Remarque solo perché ha un altro stile ma tralascia poco.
E' un libro di speranza, che accende delle "primavere del cuore" come scrive bene l'autore suggerendo quello che mi sono sempre un po' immaginato (non essendoci mai stato) "l'aprile di Roma" (deve essere veramente bello). E' speranza pura, fede nell'amore, nella sincerità, nella rinascita il racconto dei primi affetti tra Michele e Almina. Sono pagine memorabili, descrizioni che toccano il cuore del lettore, affinità spirituali che nascono nel modo più sincero possibile, il racconto nemmeno sfiora delle banali e inflazionate cadute nella volgarità. E' amore, semplice e commovente (non si trova spesso descritto così).

Io lo consiglio, è un capolavoro italiano, da leggere con fiducia.

P.s. Ecco solo una disapprovazione, al Michele Tintori (uno dei protagonisti): penso che la critica a Lutero elaborata in Russia (forse era la fame) sia esagerata, credo che Lutero non sia stato uno dei precursori della degenerazione del pensiero che poi ha portato agli estremismi con stessa radice, comunismo e nazismo, io spero che Lutero sia stato in buona fede, i "5 SOLA" sono secondo me un atto di crescita individuale disinteressata, se poi come sempre l'uomo ci abbia voluto speculare lo stesso Tintori si risponde: siamo tutti pregni del peccato originale.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book I have ever read. Corti finds a way to make you feel love and compassion for every character and it is not a story in which there is only one protagonist, but it's a complete society in which everyone is different. This is a historical novel which is based in real life experiences of Italian soldiers during World War II. Even though the characters are fictitious, the places, dates, experiences and numbers are all true so it gives a truthful deep impression about the years of this war but also about what happened after it.

This book is like a life experience, after reading it you will feel you have learned a lot, not only about history but also good and evil, compassion, love, friendship, loyalty and courage. During more than 10 years Corti worked in this masterpiece, and you can see that with the quality of his writing and every page leaves a message. Therefore, Corti has made my favorite writers go from "very good" to "simple narrators", he really cannot be compared.

When you finish this book, you will perceive life and death in a complete new way, realizing that we are here living a short phase which leads to a greater life of peace and happiness. Corti has the ability to explain complex things in a simple way, you will find answers to several of the recurrent questions about Christianity and the existence of God; even the ones that even Christians ask themselves from time to time.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sent a copy of Eugenio Corti's novel The Red Horse to read by the author some years ago. This looked like a daunting task as the book is over 1,000 pages in length. However I was amazed that the pages just seem to fly by. The novel is set in Italy during the Second World War and tells the story of how the war affected Italy and its people through the eyes of some of the participants. The first hundred pages may seem a little boring but I must tell you that after that the narrative moves along at an exciting pace. The story of the Italian soldiers fighting in Russia was magnificent and I don't think that I could go to far wrong in comparing this section of the book to Guy Sajer's The Forgotten Soldier. The descriptions of the men and fighting were excellent and I found it hard to put the book down.

I know that many historical authors tend to dismiss the Italian fighting soldier of World War Two but when consideration is given to the weapons and equipment used by the Italian Army it is understandable why they are compared in such bad light to the German soldier or the Allies. I must admit that this book opened my eyes to the misery suffered by the Italian soldiers in Russia and it also fired a desire to read more about the Italian Alpine troops and their campaigns during World War Two, especially in Russia. As I mentioned earlier the first hundred pages may seem boring initially but when you get into the book it makes sense why the author went into such detail about the central characters as we follow them and their families through the war and into the final peace.

I cannot help but feel how the author has used his personal experience of serving on the Russian Front to make this such a great story; it is compelling reading. The accounts of the retreat during the Stalingrad battle are magnificent; you can actually picture the frozen wasteland as the soldiers tiredly trudge through the wind swept villages being hounded by the advancing Soviet troops. The accounts of the many rearguard actions are excellent and I really felt for the men who fell during the fighting. Many other reviews have mentioned that this is a powerful and moving novel of World War Two and I must concur with those sentiments. This is a great story and anyone who has an interest in the fighting on the Russian Front will be truly taken by this account.

The book continues on another level with the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 and the subsequent campaign in Italy. We follow accounts of the Italian partisans, Communists, Royalist and bandits. This again is another interesting level of the story and one, which I had very little knowledge of. I enjoyed this section of the book as much as the account of the Russian Front. The book does not finish with the war's end in 1945 but continues with the surviving characters through the harsh years of peace and political turmoil that Italy found itself in with the conflict between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party.

Overall this book was a delight to read but at times towards the end maybe I felt that the author was trying to convert me to the Catholic Church however it must been read in the context of the times. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn about Italy during the war or anyone who has an interest in the Eastern Front during WWII. This is a great story and one of the best novels I have read in years, well done to the author!

[LauraT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che dire di questo libro? La prima definizione che mi viene in mente è Giano bifronte.
Difficilmente sono così combattuta sul giudizio di un libro – o di qualunque altra cosa se è per questo!!! Qui invece sono veramente combattuta, su due fronti opposti.
Il libro nel complesso alla fine mi è anche piaciuto (con 700 pagine di troppo, come dice una mia amica!), ha delle bellissime pagine poetiche, delle descrizioni eccezionali e offre uno spaccato accurato(?) della storia d’Italia e d’Europa del secolo scorso. Perché il punto interrogativo? Perché per me la sua analisi è veramente troppo partigiana per essere veramente accurata. Non discuto la veridicità delle sue affermazioni di avvenimenti storici (lager stalinisti, pogrom, stupri di massa, atti inveterati e ripetuti di violenza tra i partigiani prima e dopo la liberazione), non ho la competenza storica per farlo. Ma sono certa che il voler vedere il tutto sempre e solo da una parte porta a considerare i fatti in una prospettiva distorta – fino alla malafede. Ma sti comunisti veramente sempre e solo diavoli? Ma se non era per i partigiani delle brigate Garibaldi – a cui apparteneva mio nonno, mi si lasci la nota di orgoglio! – come sarebbe andata la guerra? E soprattutto come l’Italia post bellica? Sull’analisi filosofica poi non commento, non sono d’accordo, ma quello… ca va sans dire!!!
Ultima notazione, l’estrema misoginia dello scrittore: che ci fosse gente nel 1983 che vedesse le donne in quel modo a me lascia a dir poco esterrefatta. Che dire, per fortuna l’Italia allora non ha dato retta a certe istanze e, anche se in maniera imperfetta e ancora MOOOLTO migliorabile, la libertà civile negli 70 ha raggiunto traguardi imprescindibili, che vanno ancora difesi, ma che comunque restano ancora oggi a baluardo della libertà delle donne, ma non solo loro, delle libertà di tutti.
Alcune frasi a seguire con le mie impressioni a caldo. A un certo punto ho smesso di segnarle: la bile montava troppo!

“Va bene che adesso la guerra non c’era, quanto meno non c’era ancora (per fortuna! questa sì era una buona cosa!) Rimaneva comunque il fatto, per ciascuno dei tre, che tra poco si sarebbe trovato, del tutto privo di gradi, alla mercé di chiunque un grado ce l’avesse: e in più, per la prima volta in vita sua, fuori del proprio ambiente natale, in un mondo sconosciuto.” Così è la vita militare: essere alla mercé di chi i gradi li ha, a prescindere dal valore…
“Gli si affacciavano alla mente, mentre procedeva, gli anni lontani della sua militanza politica nel partito popolare, le sue cocenti delusioni d’allora. “Eccoli i risultati di quelle beghe senza fine, di quelle lotte immonde tra i partiti democratici, che nel ‘22 hanno condotta la nazione alla paralisi, e a un tale bisogno di ordine, da farla cadere come una mela marcia nelle mani dei fascisti...” Lui e i militanti periferici non avevano potuto fare proprio nulla contro quelle beghe irresponsabili dei vertici.” Ecco, per paura del “diavolo comunista” i popolari hanno consegnato l’Italia tutta a Mussolini e Hitler!
“Egli conosceva il giudizio ripetuto dal papa Pio XI – milanese, anzi brianteo – ai visitatori più preparati della sua ex diocesi di Milano: essere i nazisti dei veri e propri anticristi nel senso evangelico del termine.” Ricordiamo che questo è il papa dei patti lateranensi!!!!!!!
“Si ritrovò a desiderare che l’Italia non fosse una nazione così parolaia, che non avesse un peso militare così modesto; provò struggente il desiderio giovanile che la sua patria fosse gagliarda, e che spendesse la propria forza nel bene: non solo nel proprio, ma anche degli altri popoli. La concezione cavalleresca della guerra, che talvolta riaffiora nel cattolico...” Bravino lui!!!!
Le ragazze sono esseri più deboli di noi » si limitò a dire, « più fragili. Se un impostore approfitta di un momento in cui una si trova indifesa... Dopo vorresti lasciarla continuare per la strada sbagliata? Ma queste son cose da parlarne solo seriamente. » - C’è bisogno di commentare?????
“Ma lui in fin dei conti era credente o no? Avvertì che si trattava d’una domanda con implicazioni non da poco: il problema dell’aldilà... C’è chi ci crede e chi no, sia tra la gente abituata a riflettere, sia tra quella che non riflette mai, tra i colti come tra gli incolti. “E io? Mah, non lo so nemmeno io...” Fu tentato di approfondire almeno stavolta, di non restare così in superficie. “Proprio adesso dovrei approfondire? Con questo impegno che ho alle mani e ’sto freddo? Ci mancherebbe...” Finì col disattendere l’ispirazione, come tante altre volte aveva fatto; ci sono persone – anche tra le più generose nell’adempimento dei propri doveri civili – che non riescono mai a trovare un po’ di tempo per approfondire seriamente le cose più determinanti per il loro destino.” – Ecco, proprio quelle erano le cose determinanti per il destino dei poveri cristi in Russia!!!!!
“Ecco perché, quando i tedeschi avevano invaso il paese, la maggioranza dei russi, e lui con gli altri, s’era augurata che venissero avanti, che togliessero di mezzo una volta per tutte la peste comunista...” Mah, sarà…
“Reverberi, che tutti gli alpini della divisione chiamavano con fiducia ‘nostro padre’. (Nelle loro semplici menti non esisteva un termine più appropriato per esprimere il concetto di autorità; e giustamente, se ci si consente di manifestare qui il nostro parere, in barba a tutte le scemenze, anche dotte, che nei decenni a venire si sarebbero conclamate contro il ‘paternalismo’.)” E se ti piace il paternalismo, rimanici!!!!

[T. Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great war novels about the 2nd World War, an epic. I agree with Aussie Rick's criticism of the last part; I also had a problem with Book 3 - about the social, economic and political changes that took place after 1945. It is much too long. However, the narrative which carries the main characters through the events of the war is powerful. In this case, it focuses largely on the Italians on the Russian Front, but also touches on what happened to Italians during the war in North Africa, Albania and the Resistance fighters in northern Italy.

I should probably downgrade the rating to four stars because of this last part, but I am so impressed by the quality of writing for the first parts that I cannot do so. I prefer to view the post-1945 narrative as a separate book which, if omitted, should not take anything away from the first parts.

I learned a huge amount about the courage and suffering of the Italian army on the Eastern Front from this book, and was most shocked by the retreat from Stalingrad and the conditions that their POWs had to endure afterwards. It is obvious that the writer had personal knowledge about these events as he describes them in great realistic detail.

I was surprised that I found the opening chapters so interesting, as they describe social life in a small town near Milan in 1940 so well as it introduces us to the main characters in the book, along with their families. I normally would not find this interesting but he drew me in with his excellent characterization, making me care about these people for the rest of the book.

One aspect of the book still leaves me with some confusion. He paints his characters as having an extreme dedication to Catholicism throughout these trying times, living their lives with high religious standards. This is not something I do not understand but I believe it must reflect some actual part of Italian society that is slowly changing.

[Sam Schulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest Italian novels, and war novels, ever. But then I only read great Italian novels. Did you know that the Italians sent a few brigades of Bersaglieri to fight alongside Hitler on the Eastern Front? Very beautiful, and very Catholic - so much so, for those who are squeamish and sentimental, it's one of the few war novels that might be bearable - because whenever one of the young groups of friends from outside Turin gets killed in battle, an angel swoops down to take his soul.
So don't worry.

[Father Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of those books where I stuck with the first half long after I'd lost interest in the hopes that it would pick up, and refused to declare the time I'd spent on the 1st 500 pages a waste of time by not finishing the 2nd half. I'm not glad I read it, because the list of books I want to read is growing exponentially; seeing as I'm already at a net loss, I'd rather not spend the time I could be reading other books on telling you why I didn't enjoy this one. Bleh.

[SirJo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qualcuno in Italia si sta muovendo per candidare al Nobel questo autore, ed ha ragione. Il libro è bellissimo, una scrittura coinvolgente e incisiva, con momenti di commovente poesia, che ti trascina nella Brianza dal primo dopoguerra fino alla fine degli 60. Raccontando una Italia che ha ricostruito il paese dalle macerie del secondo dopoguerra senza piangersi addosso ma con la voglia di costruire un paese migliore per se e per i figli. Assolutamente da leggere.

[Josep Mitjavila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho esitato tra 4 e 5 stelle. È un libro molto lungo e molto interessante, soprattutto nei primi tre quarti dell’opera; l’ultima parte invece mi ha convinto meno.

Ho imparato moltissimo sulla Seconda guerra mondiale: il fronte russo, quello africano, quello greco e anche la Linea Gotica in Italia. Il libro parla inoltre di partigiani, nazisti, comunisti, ecc.

Alcune scene sono davvero terrificanti ed estremamente dure.

Il mio problema principale è però l’impostazione troppo cattolica: i cristiani sono sempre buoni e virtuosi, mentre i comunisti vengono dipinti come brutti e cattivi. I preti sono saggi, tutta la famiglia va a messa, nessuno “fa le corna” perché Dio osserva tutto, e perfino gli angeli entrano in scena.

Da ateo quale sono, questi elementi mi risultano ridicoli e mi hanno fatto tornare in mente gli anni della scuola cattolica sotto il franchismo.

[Marijn Riemens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goed geschreven. Veelomvattend boek. Schokkend en inspirerend tegelijk. Maar neem de tijd om hem ‘in een keer’ te lezen. Ik heb hem na drie jaar alsnog uitgelezen, maar dan heb je toch niet dezelfde leeservaring. Dus: doorlezen als het even wat saai/te gruwelijk wordt. Laatste stuk over vredestijd is namelijk ook erg mooi.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonostante la lunghezza, Il Cavallo Rosso, scorre via leggero e pesante allo stesso tempo. Un pensiero doveroso all'autore e a questo libro che invecchia ma mantiene sempre il suo obiettivo: raccontare la nostra storia. Impossibile non affezionarsi ai personaggi, piangere e gioire con loro, impossibile dimenticare questo libro.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The comparisons calling this the Italian 'War and Peace' are inevitable and not far from the mark. At something like 317K words the Red Horse is not quite as long as Tolstoy (~430k) but it is among the longer books I have read. The book title is straight from the book of Revelation (6: 3-4, representing War) and Book 2 is 'The Pale Horse' (6: 7-8, representing famine and hunger), while Book 3 is 'The Tree of Life' which covers post-war Italy and the decline of the West. Simply put, this is a monumental achievement of history, literature and philosophy.

Starting in May 1940 and over time we see young Italian men--Stefano, Ambrogio, Manno, Michele, Peirro, Luca, and many others cast into the fiery furnace of Italy's ill-considered involvement in WW2, some never to return to their native land others to die in it. Mussolini's decision to join the Axis campaign in Russia in 1942 (after the failure of Operation Barbarossa to crush the Soviets in 1941) has to go down as one of the worst in Italian history. The catastrophe of the Soviet Operation Little Saturn (Dec. 1942- Feb, 1943, part of the overall Stalingrad campaign) essentially destroyed the Italian 8th Army (along with several others including Romanian, Hungarian and of course the German 6th). Many Italians (and their allies) became POWs and in some of the most harrowing and difficult passages of the book their fate is described. Conti writes with deep first-hand knowledge and insight into these events as he served in Russia for a time. He wrote another book called 'Few Returned: Twenty-Eight Days on the Russian Front' about the disastrous encirclement and retreat from the Don River in January, 1943 which is also recreated in The Red Horse. It is estimated that about half the Italian 8th Army became casualties and many Axis POWs were deliberately starved to death by the Communists (who were accustomed
to mass extermination at that point).

The Red Horse is far more than an account of the war but is more importantly a deep and spiritual examination into the anti-Christian roots of both Fascism and Communism and how these anti-human philosophies enabled and nearly required the incredible horrors of the extermination camps and the Gulag (and not only in Russia but later in China, Cambodia and other 'worker paradises').
The entire last third of the book deals with the amazing rise and triumph of Marxist-Communist thought in post-war Italy and the thorough 'de-Christianization' of the country (and Europe generally). Given the Communist track record in Russia, it is more than a little astounding to the author (and various characters) that this philosophy prevailed in post war period Italy and elsewhere. Set against these malign forces Corti presents a countervailing vision of a Christian Catholic Italy that suffuses this work with both faith and hope in our Savior even in the darkest moments--a dim light in the darkness of modernism. Ultimately however, it is a deeply insightful and depressing vision of a civilization (the West) in rapid decline and the parallels to be found in our current situation are everywhere--including all the by now drearily familiar tools of censorship, cancel culture (nothing new for the Left), educational brainwashing, mass media control and suppression of dissent. All these elements played out in these pages many years before it became blindingly obvious in our own time. Truly an astounding achievement this book, that will of course remain unread by all but a tiny minority.

[Chomsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

La tragica spedizione dell'Armir in Russia durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale ci è stata raccontata in diversi libri di soldati che sono diventati ottimi narratori come Mario Rigoni Stern autore di “Il sergente nella neve”, Giulio Bedeschi con il suo “Centomila gavette di ghiaccio, “Nuto Revelli che ripercorse le sue traversie in “Mai tardi. Diario di un alpino in Russia.”
Anche Ernesto Corti, autore de “Il cavallo rosso” appartiene alla categoria degli scrittori nati per tramandare le sofferenze e l'incredibile odissea vissuta da centinaia di migliaia di soldati durante la rotta sul Don. Subito dopo la guerra, nel 1947, Corti scrisse “I più non ritornano”, per far conoscere la voce dei soldati mandati al macello nel gelo russo senza attrezzature e armi adeguate ma ne “Il cavallo rosso” del 1983 tenta un'operazione più ambiziosa, narrare la vita di un gruppo di persone dallo scoppio del seconda guerra mondiale sino al termine del boom economico che vede l'Italia fronteggiare nuovi problemi e nuove sfide, rappresentate dal referendum sul divorzio nel 1974.

“Il cavallo rosso” è un romanzo corale incentrato sulla figura di Ambrogio Riva, alter-ego dell'autore ed è composto da tre volumi, “Il cavallo rosso” che racconta principalmente la disfatta sul fronte russo, “Il cavallo livido” basato sulla guerra sul fronte italiano e la seconda parte del conflitto sino al 1945 e “L'albero della vita” che accompagna il lettore sino alla metà degli anni settanta.
Romanzo da molti accostato a “Guerra e Pace” “Il cavallo rosso” narra il lento avvicinamento di alcuni personaggi ben caratterizzati, alla catastrofe della guerra che li porta nel vortice del destino inesorabile e nonostante sia scritto molto bene, rendendo con realismo lo smarrimento dell'uomo davanti al repentino cambiamento delle condizioni di vita e al concreto pericolo di trovare la morte nei modi più banali e perciò più strazianti, in Italia non ha avuto il successo che invece gli ha arriso all'estero dove viene ritenuto un capolavoro della letteratura italiana.

[Laura Bressan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una premessa necessaria alla recensione di questo libro è la seguente: le riflessioni dell'autore sono quelle di un industriale brianzolo cattolico, anzi "paolotto", e reazionario, nato nel 1921 e che rispecchia appieno lo stereotipo sociale e geografico che lui stesso prende bonariamente in giro ma dal quale non si preoccupa di distanziarsi.
Il lettore moderno che naturalmente non ne condivide la forte ideologia non se ne scandalizzi, ma ne apprezzi invece il valore concreto di testimonianza autobiografica, storica (pur con tutte le sue esagerazioni, come la totale demonizzazione del comunismo) e culturale, oltre che gli innegabili meriti letterari.

La forza poetica di questo libro, infatti, è a tratti sconvolgente. Ecco le immagini e i momenti che senz'altro mi sono rimasti nel cuore:
la Brianza del tempo dei miei nonni,
il passare delle stagioni in Russia tra i canti delle quaglie e le migrazioni dei ragni,
Bonsaver che insegna ad Ambrogio il nome delle costellazioni,
Stefano che negli ultimi momenti pensa alla madre e a Giovannino Faccia-infarinata,
Laricev che ad Arbusov salva la vita a Michele dopo averlo sentito, stremato e delirante, citare Victor Hugo,
gli orrori di Crinovaia,
l'eroismo iliadico di Manno a Montecassino dopo l'armistizio,
lo strazio della "mamm Lusía", di Colomba e di Luca,
la guerra di Michele contro la povertà (economica, la sua, e spirituale, quella degli altri)
e l'«Addio, monti» di Alma.

Un libro che è l'epopea di un'epoca: reale, difficile, bello.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia è intrigante e ben scritta e ci si affeziona molto ai personaggi. Veramente ben riuscita la parte sulla campagna di Russia.
Unica pecca, che non mi ha permesso di apprezzare veramente questo libro, è il fatto che sia eccessivamente filocattolico. Niente in contrario a personaggi con una forte religiosità ma, in questo caso, viene enfatizzata troppo e dà al libro un sapore un po' propagandistico che stona con la qualità della scrittura.

[Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

E' veramente difficile riassumere quanto c'è di bello in questo romanzo, come è difficile abbandonarlo arrivati alla fine. Ci si appassiona alle vicende dei personaggi e con loro si rivivono, magistralmente descritti, i fatti che sconvolsero l'Italia e l'Europa negli anni tra il 1940 e il 1970.Ci si innamora del loro modo di vedere e vivere la vita: mai inutile, mai priva di significato, anche quando viene disumanizzata dalla guerra e dalla prigionia nei lager. Un vero capolavoro.

[rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my humble opinion I think this is a great book. The author, having been a freedom fighter himself in WWII, writes from his own knowledge and experiences. ...not an entertaining book, because war and the suffering it causes could never be, but it was a story that I had trouble putting down.

[Stanislaw Urmanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro straordinario. Me ha piaciuto molto, per diversi motivi, pero tre principali: mostra i eroi che sono come noi, possiamo immitarli, mostra il amore umano bello, e mostra il mondo de secolo XX con le sue ideologie, e il modo como si puó lottare contra di loro.

[Fabiano Parmesan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capolavoro assoluto. Il realismo descrittivo raggiunge vette inenarrabili.
Mentre leggevo ero lì, a fianco dei protagonisti, anch'io parte integrante del racconto.
Una storia vera straordinaria . Forse sottovalutata dalka critica per le sfumature cristiane che talvolta Corti lascia trasparire.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tour de force. The de-christianization of Europe is neglected by all main stream historians. Wonderful, touching and true.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly epic account of Italy's national experience from WWII and the fascist era to the post-war struggle between the Italian communists and Christian Democrats, Corti very successfully shows the dynamics between faith and communism, the challenges of industrialisation, and the bitter stress of a war in which Italians fought on both sides.

These events are seen through the lives of the Rivas, a family from Brianza in northern Italy - and their friends and fellow townspeople.

The Second World War plays the largest part of the narrative, and we see snippets of most theatres of Italian engagement: an escape from Tunisia by sea; the turning of German forces against Italian troops in Albania after the Italian armistice; the Royalist Army fighting Germany in the south; and partisan resistance in the North. But the bulk of the narrative is spent on the Russian front, where the Italian army suffered a brutal defeat. Corti does a good job of showing the diversity and weakness of the Italian forces - some valiant, others incompetent. The Russian front was a tragedy for the Italians, and Corti shows it all - stasis, disintegration, retreat, collapse, capture, valour, death.

The main theme is the endurance of Christian faith against the bombardments of modernity - war, secularism and communism. The defeat of Christian Italy is symbolically presented with the conclusion of the book.

Corti creates interesting characters we care about, but never quite manages a deep and transformative personal narrative within the epic scope of the story. Ultimately, the book tells a distressing tale, but one in which God's redemption remains present.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Red Horse is nothing if not ambitious, relating the experiences of an entire generation of Italians living through the events of World War II and the three decades afterwards. The scope of the historical material covered is staggering: Italy's entry into the war on the side of the Axis powers; the disastrous campaign on the Russian front; the Italian army's defeat in North Africa; the Allied invasion of Italy; the activity of anti-fascist partisans in the last year of the war; the experiences of Italian prisoners of war in the Russian gulags; and the politically and economically tumultuous postwar years when committed Italian Christians opposed the ascendancy of Marxism. The book is largely based on Corti's own life experiences, supplemented by scrupulous scholarship, and his writing evokes a marvelous sense of place, atmosphere and historical authenticity. He also articulates an attractive vision of Christian society and culture, in contradistinction to the murderous brutality of Nazism and especially Soviet communism.

Unfortunately, the ambitious scope of The Red Horse also proves to be a liability where characterization is concerned. Rather than filter the experience of his generation through the lives of a small handful of persuasively rendered primary characters, Corti chooses to paint a wider picture, following literally dozens of characters over the course of this long novel. While there is something to be said for a vision of history and human society that sees every individual as a vital acting subject and not merely a supporting character in somebody else’s story, Corti does not fully succeed in translating this vision into a consistently satisfying literary context. At times the narrative’s perspective shifts as often as every paragraph, which makes for some awkward prose styling, drawing undue attention to the author’s craft and preventing the reader from truly seeing through the eyes of the characters (the sheer clunkiness of certain sentences made me wonder if this problem might be exacerbated by a poor English translation). The constant jumping around from one character to another also serves to diffuse the dramatic and emotional impact of the story’s events, although there are still some undeniably moving moments. The truth is that there is enough material here for several books, and one is given the impression that Corti might have had more success if he had written a trilogy instead of a single large novel. Still, there is much to admire about The Red Horse; Corti’s book is an engaging, authentically Christian historical perspective, even if it leaves something to be desired from a literary standpoint.

[Alessandro Speciale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought that there's an implicit contract between reader and writer, and it says that if you write a really, really big novel it must be really, really good. A 200-page book can get away with being of middling quality, a why-not? kind of novel, but at 1000+ expectations are much higher.

Now, despite all the rave reviews and the uniqueness of such an anti-Communist and deeply Christian book conceived in the years of leftwing cultural hegemony in Italy, this is no Tolstoy- level masterpiece. But it is a good book, for long parts also a very good one.

Let's start with the positive notes: the writing is clear, simple, engaging; the story gripping and moves along at a good pace (despite its length this is almost never a boring book, and very often I found it hard to put it down); the experience of the war in Russia and in the rest of Europe, and of the Russian lagers is vivid and compelling, and it looks at aspects of the story that have been often forgotten in literature (like the plight of German civilians on the run from the Red Army); the portrait of traditional Catholic life in northern Italian villages is powerful, deeply felt and convincing -- the life of a whole community that is simply, uncomplicatedly Christian yet complex and textured as all human life is.

Yet, it's impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: the Christian interpretation of contemporary history often lacks depth and nuance, and transforms itself in propaganda that is too steeped in the political reality of the time the novel was written and fails to attain the universal that one would expect from someone who looks at reality through the eyes of eternal truth. (Often, not always: a chapter probing the secret thoughts of Communist leader Togliatti is one of the positive exceptions here).

This shallow "contemporariness" (most apparent in the third part of the novel) is really surprising from a writer that is so deeply and explicitly driven by faith. For all the intimate knowledge of humanity that the Christian religion is supposed to bring, the characters are sometimes somewhat mono-dimensional (there are exceptions here too: Ambrogio's temptation in the last part of his life is particularly well done), and the little squabbles of Italian politics and culture in the 70s and 80s are given too much weight by someone who should be looking at things sub specie aeternitatis.

A courageous, powerful book that was beautifully out of step with the culture of its time -- but whose author, with his frequent intromissions in the story, wears this unicity a bit too much on his sleeve.

[William Kimball · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible novel, and yet sadly it seems to be virtually unknown in English-speaking countries. Apparently it was a phenomenon in Italy when released in 1983, and I can see why.

Corti, a strong Catholic from northern Italy, tells a story that expresses his own life experiences and those of people that he knew. The story starts before WWII and ends in the 1970s, from what I could tell.

The title refers to Soviet Communism and how, according to Our Lady of Fatima’s prediction, this error spread deep into the heart of Italy.

The characters are for the most part very alive and genuine, and the kind of people that you either like right away, or come to enjoy in time. They are representations of real people, and Corti does a tremendous job of portraying them. He helps one get a true idea, it seems to me, of the agreeableness and joy of the people of Catholic Italy.

(The four stars are given because the narrative does lag sometimes, and also because the translation often leaves something to be desired—for instance when phrases and sentences carry on and on and are painful to read for readers of our language, somewhat like this very sentence that you are reading at the current moment!)

What an eye-opener into Italy’s role in the Second World War! I had no idea that a whole army of Italy’s best was sent to Russia to fight alongside Germany—and that half of them (more than 100,000) never returned.

Not only are the struggles of war portrayed, but the political struggle in Italy as well. As I mentioned above, Communism made inroads into the country, and eventually made a devastating impact on the Catholic society that existed in pre-war times.

The personal struggles of everyday men are also vividly portrayed—men are not born saints, and it’s refreshing to see the raw battle for virtue depicted here and there in this novel.

[spoiler forthcoming!]

The tragic ending of the book seems to me to parallel the author’s view of his beloved country. A character we get to know well, probably the most delightful of all, comes to an untimely death on the last page. This reflects, I think, the destruction of Catholic Italy by the intrusion of Communism. And yet, despite the tragedy, the girls death is accompanied by hope—as all evil in the world is, if we but have eyes to see it.

[Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cosa cavolo posso dire di quest'opera. Certamente non ho le capacità per una recensione adeguata. Dirò solo che in nessun altro romanzo ho trovato corrispondenti e così ben descritte l'esperienza dell'amore anzitutto; e dell'amicizia.

E poi una (im)perfetta fotografia viva:
della guerra, del dolore e della morte. E del senso di ingiustizia di essa.
della miseria e della crisi
della fame e del freddo; del freddo che spezza le ossa.
della fragilità e della violenza dell'uomo; e della sua immensità
della dissolutezza dell'io e della società
della famiglia, mio Dio la famiglia: la sola "istituzione" a reggere in tempo di guerra (e proprio perchè non è una istituzione)
dell'educazione
dell'amore appena sbocciato eppure già carico di tensione all'infinito
della "verginità" coniugale
della cultura dello studio e del lavoro
della folle follia del comunismo
della fede profonda
dell'importanza della presenza fisica dei preti
della vocazone all'impegno civico e politico
delle sciocchezze (spesso pericolose) dell'adolescenza
del vil denaro, che la vita ci costringe a bramare pur non volendo
del potere e dei pericoli della comunicazione di massa
del pericolo della continua ricerca del compromesso da parte dei cristiani
dell'inesorabile presenza di un barlume di bene, anche nel tanto male.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro infinito

Milleduecentottanta pagine: quando si dice una epopea. Un libro infinito che non vedevo l'ora di finire. Intrappolato nella narrazione dell'autore, ho faticato non poco ad uscirne. D'altra parte, la struttura narrativa poggia sull'Apocalisse. Non a caso l'indice è suddiviso in tre volumi i cui titoli sono tratti da questo Libro: Il Cavallo Rosso, Il Cavallo Livido e L'Albero della Vita. Non so se definire questo libro un "romanzo storico" sia corretto. So che l'autore, con la sua prosa semplice, fotografica e realista, percorre gran parte della storia del XX secolo come al galoppo dei cavalli menzionati nell'Apocalisse, verso l'Albero della Vita nella quale, nonostante tutto, l'autore continua a credere pur di fronte a tutti i mali che lo vedono testimone: nazismo, comunismo, fascismo sono momenti vissuti e vinti alla luce dello spirito dell'immanente che travalica l'individuale, il locale, il reale, verso il trascendente. Un romanzo della storia, sulla storia, la storia personale di tanti protagonisti che diventa storia universale senza per questo perdere la sua natura umana. Un libro che non si può riassumere. Va letto e vissuto dall'interno delle sue pagine.

[Ilaria Tomasini · Rating 4 out of 5]

La prima parte di questo libro �� molto bella, si assapora l'atmosfera del paesino della Brianza in cui �� ambientata, ci si affeziona ai personaggi e si seguono le vicende della loro vita mentre l'Europa viene convolta nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
Molto coinvolgente la parte in Russia.
Purtoppo, finita la parte della guerra, il resto del libro non l'ho trovato all'altezza.
Le vicende umane dei personaggi diventano una parte quasi marginale, un pretesto per parlare di politica a tutto spiano con una visuale nettamente di parte (visuale che si pu�� condividere o no, ma che a volte diventa troppo bigotta e coi paraocchi per essere apprezzabile.). L'ultima parte l'ho trovata noiosa e lascia in sospeso molte cose pi�� interessanti dello stesso concetto ripetuto all'infinito. E poi la fine �� terribile, che senso ha concludere il libro con la morte di Alma senza nemmeno far vedere la reazione degli altri personaggi alla sua scomparsa? Se l'autore avesse concluso il romanzo alla fine della Campagna di Russia, il libro ne avrebbe guadagnato.

[Jc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Les 2 premières parties sont intéressantes car elles traitent d’un sujet peu connu celui de l’action des italiens pendant la guerre de ’40. On y voit clairement l’ineptitude de l’armée italienne mais on y découvre, moi en tous cas, que les italiens ont participé à la débâcle des armées de l’axe en Russie. Autre découverte : le fait qu’après l’armistice entre Italie et alliés, certains italiens ont combattu avec les alliés contre les allemands alors que d’autres ont continué aux cotés de la Wehrmacht. La troisième partie du livre parle un peu de la montée du cancer communiste après la guerre mais devient vite un roman fleur bleue sur les amours des jeunes de retour du front. Indépendamment des sujets traités le livre est beaucoup trop long, l’étalage de l’intégrisme catholique de l’auteur est déplaisant et le style, probablement dû à une mauvaise traduction, est un peu ampoulé, les dialogues en particulier sonnent totalement faux.