What do you think?
Rate this book
The House That Nino Built
Collected vignettes featuring a stylized version of the Don Camillo author's family and painting a humorous picture of middle-class life in post-War Italy. The stories, translated by Frances Frenaye, originally appeared in Italian periodicals.
- GenresFiction
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1953
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Giovannino Guareschi
269 books216 followersGiovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi, also know as Giovanni Guareschi, was a Italian journalist, writer, humorist. Along with Giovanni Mosca and Giaci Mondaini he founded the humorous magazine "Candido". He was well know because of the "Don Camillo" series based on the stories about the two main characters: Don Camillo, the priest and Peppone, the communist Mayor.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Read
December 21, 2015Giovanni Guareschi, of Don Camillo fame, tackles, not the problems of his hot-headed Catholic priest and his Communist nemesis Peppone, but his own domestic life. The life of a writer, trying to juggle his writing with the hiccups of daily life. A family, somewhat eccentric (and which family does not have its share of eccentrics?); a cat, even more eccentric (if not downright loony); passing experts in genealogy who hold out the promise of a Pope in the family tree—and more.
In The House That Nino Built, Guareschi introduces us to his own family. His wife, Margherita, whose logic in life is the most illogical. Their son, Albertino, who believes in calling a spade a spade, to the extent that when called upon to describe his father for a school composition, inventorizes said parent’s limbs and features, including measurements and numbers of arms, legs, nose, eyes, ears, etc. And the youngest member of the family, Carlotta, whose nickname—the Duchess—is apt for someone whose imperiousness takes even her long-suffering family by surprise, now and then.
Then there are the things that happen to Giovanni and Margherita and their brood. The family arguments. Giovanni’s craving for sausage and cornmeal. The Duchess’s going on strike—by taking up residence in the apple tree. The shifting into the countryside (and the many alterations to the house that that entails). The cat’s staunch refusal to sit in a moving car. The father and his two children, trying desperately to repair a disastrous cake that Margherita’s left in the oven to bake, and which she is certain will turn out splendid. Money matters. Ancestry (or lack thereof, at least of illustrious forefathers). And more.
What I really loved about this book was the way it weaves in humour with poignancy, with universal truths and observations that can apply to anybody anywhere. I don’t need to be Italian to see the humour in the way everybody stops to see what’s happening, even if it doesn’t concern them. I too was nodding vigorously when I was reading about how we hang on to old and useless things, not because they are physical memories, but because they are ‘spiritual memories’. I too grinned when I read this delightful description of a little girl’s conversation with her father:
”What’s that?”
“A Diesel engine.”
“Why?”
There’s the trouble, in a nutshell. Why is a Diesel engine? Once this difficulty has been hurdled, there is more to follow.
“What’s its name?”
“Who’s its father?”
“Where does it live?”
“Is it a good engine or a bad one?”
Utterly heartwarming and wonderful; vintage Guareschi.
In The House That Nino Built, Guareschi introduces us to his own family. His wife, Margherita, whose logic in life is the most illogical. Their son, Albertino, who believes in calling a spade a spade, to the extent that when called upon to describe his father for a school composition, inventorizes said parent’s limbs and features, including measurements and numbers of arms, legs, nose, eyes, ears, etc. And the youngest member of the family, Carlotta, whose nickname—the Duchess—is apt for someone whose imperiousness takes even her long-suffering family by surprise, now and then.
Then there are the things that happen to Giovanni and Margherita and their brood. The family arguments. Giovanni’s craving for sausage and cornmeal. The Duchess’s going on strike—by taking up residence in the apple tree. The shifting into the countryside (and the many alterations to the house that that entails). The cat’s staunch refusal to sit in a moving car. The father and his two children, trying desperately to repair a disastrous cake that Margherita’s left in the oven to bake, and which she is certain will turn out splendid. Money matters. Ancestry (or lack thereof, at least of illustrious forefathers). And more.
What I really loved about this book was the way it weaves in humour with poignancy, with universal truths and observations that can apply to anybody anywhere. I don’t need to be Italian to see the humour in the way everybody stops to see what’s happening, even if it doesn’t concern them. I too was nodding vigorously when I was reading about how we hang on to old and useless things, not because they are physical memories, but because they are ‘spiritual memories’. I too grinned when I read this delightful description of a little girl’s conversation with her father:
”What’s that?”
“A Diesel engine.”
“Why?”
There’s the trouble, in a nutshell. Why is a Diesel engine? Once this difficulty has been hurdled, there is more to follow.
“What’s its name?”
“Who’s its father?”
“Where does it live?”
“Is it a good engine or a bad one?”
Utterly heartwarming and wonderful; vintage Guareschi.
May 10, 2016
I read this many years ago as a teen, but I still remember the kind of feeling I got after it was done. That was the first time in my life that the vision of men somehow changed for me! Nino is a man who struggles to make it on his job, be a good father at the same time and try to make it as a family and meet their expectations as much as he can on one of Italy's most crucial time of history.
From the way he tells his stories I got to realize behind that strong, unbreakable look guys put on their face to look stable and reliable is a lot of insecurities, worries and concerns! A man is a man, and he needs to know that he is able to do what is expected from him, and when not, he ends up lonely and depressed, Just like Guareschi sounds in this little book.
Although he tries to cover it with his special Italian humor the frustration is still noticeable. The House That Nino Build will never get old or boring. It is about family and how every member tries to make it through with all the flaws they have and isn't is the story of our life?
From the way he tells his stories I got to realize behind that strong, unbreakable look guys put on their face to look stable and reliable is a lot of insecurities, worries and concerns! A man is a man, and he needs to know that he is able to do what is expected from him, and when not, he ends up lonely and depressed, Just like Guareschi sounds in this little book.
Although he tries to cover it with his special Italian humor the frustration is still noticeable. The House That Nino Build will never get old or boring. It is about family and how every member tries to make it through with all the flaws they have and isn't is the story of our life?
October 21, 2016
a curious insight to Italian humour to help me better understand my neighbours.
February 26, 2019
I loved ‘The Little World of Don Camillo’ and so was interested in trying out anything else by the author. The book I came across first was ‘The House that Nino Built’, a fictionalised version of his real life.
Nino is the author, Margherita is his wife, Albertino is their straightforward son and The Red Duchess is their imperious daughter. In the course of the book, they move house, move back again and have various domestic shenanigans (the second time I have used this word in two reviews, but no other words fit).
I was most taken with the character of the Duchess, I’ve met many imperious seven year olds and she was well drawn. I particularly enjoyed the chapter where she decided to ‘strike’ because she missed her friends and spent most of her time up an apple tree.
A lot of the other chapters/episodes dealt with Nino dealing with the logical illogic of his wife, Margherita. She is fed up with his never going away because he is a writer and so condemns him to the attic for a holiday. Every member of the family comes up to see him and the holiday is soon over. There’s another episode where Nino craves sausage, arranges a whole pig to be killed to create the sausage and soon gets fed up of sausage. He goes on a ‘business trip’ where he hopes the offending sausage is eaten but returns to find it has bee saved for him. Then he tries to encourage the neighbourhood cats to sneak off with the sausage but his own cat proves to be a worthy defender of it. In the end, he has to simply eat all the offending mushed-up-pork-meat.
This is another fun bit of fluff which I read during respites in a heavy drinking holiday/stag do. It was the perfect kind of cosy, funny fare to cuddle up with whilst easing a hangover before another night on the town but was not an especially challenging or thought-provoking work.
Some people may have a problem with the sexual politics/assumptions of the book but some people seem to expect every book to be written by a modern person with modern assumptions - those people are dumb. While I might not agree with his generalisations about what a woman and a wife are, I can at least accept that was what he and his audience expected them to be and take his assessment with a pinch of salt, especially when the character spouting these ideas is as flawed and silly as the character of Nino in the book.
Entertaining enough, but nothing more.
Nino is the author, Margherita is his wife, Albertino is their straightforward son and The Red Duchess is their imperious daughter. In the course of the book, they move house, move back again and have various domestic shenanigans (the second time I have used this word in two reviews, but no other words fit).
I was most taken with the character of the Duchess, I’ve met many imperious seven year olds and she was well drawn. I particularly enjoyed the chapter where she decided to ‘strike’ because she missed her friends and spent most of her time up an apple tree.
A lot of the other chapters/episodes dealt with Nino dealing with the logical illogic of his wife, Margherita. She is fed up with his never going away because he is a writer and so condemns him to the attic for a holiday. Every member of the family comes up to see him and the holiday is soon over. There’s another episode where Nino craves sausage, arranges a whole pig to be killed to create the sausage and soon gets fed up of sausage. He goes on a ‘business trip’ where he hopes the offending sausage is eaten but returns to find it has bee saved for him. Then he tries to encourage the neighbourhood cats to sneak off with the sausage but his own cat proves to be a worthy defender of it. In the end, he has to simply eat all the offending mushed-up-pork-meat.
This is another fun bit of fluff which I read during respites in a heavy drinking holiday/stag do. It was the perfect kind of cosy, funny fare to cuddle up with whilst easing a hangover before another night on the town but was not an especially challenging or thought-provoking work.
Some people may have a problem with the sexual politics/assumptions of the book but some people seem to expect every book to be written by a modern person with modern assumptions - those people are dumb. While I might not agree with his generalisations about what a woman and a wife are, I can at least accept that was what he and his audience expected them to be and take his assessment with a pinch of salt, especially when the character spouting these ideas is as flawed and silly as the character of Nino in the book.
Entertaining enough, but nothing more.
March 19, 2024
A delightful and lighthearted read featuring the goings-on of an eccentric family in post-war Italy. It reminded me of a sitcom if it were actually original, funny, and clever without being too on the nose. I enjoyed the writing which was from the point of view of the husband and father of the family. He takes us along with him in his day to day life after serving in the war to domestic life where he tries to balance work as a writer, catering to his families wants and needs, and building a new house for themselves. Each chapter somehow takes a turn for the ridiculous and somehow ends with a resolution whether it makes sense to most or not.
This was another of my late grandfather’s beloved short stories that he left behind for us.
This was another of my late grandfather’s beloved short stories that he left behind for us.
June 18, 2023
I've known and liked this book of short stories ever since childhood, when my parents had a copy of it, and I still have that copy. I read it again today, enjoying the insights, the humour, the flights of fancy, the illustrations and the portrayal of family dynamics and personalities. It'a nice, undemanding read by the author of the Don Camillo books, and a little glimpse into life in postwar Italy.
Sometimes it's just nice to revisit a book you've known for most of your life and see it again as an adult. The narrator was in his 40s when he wrote it, which seemed impossibly old to me then, but so young now. However, it still works.
Sometimes it's just nice to revisit a book you've known for most of your life and see it again as an adult. The narrator was in his 40s when he wrote it, which seemed impossibly old to me then, but so young now. However, it still works.
October 19, 2019
A Totally different story than I thought it would be
August 19, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in August 2000.
In a similar vein of light-hearted charm to the much better known Don Camillo series, The House that Nino Built seems to have dated more. It is the story of the move made by artist and author Nino and his family from the town to the country. It gives the appearance of being, like most of the Don Camillo stories, originally columns from a magazine.
The main reason that the stories have dated is because of their attitude to women, which is patronising to say the least. Nino views his wife almost like a favourite pet, and is continually writing about her irrationality. Attitudes to children have also changed a lot since the mid fifties.
The annoyance produced by this militates against the charm of the stories, making them seem rather coy. The best few, such as the tale of Nino's daughter's first communion, break through this, but most do not. The fault is generally exacerbated by the exaggerations which creep into what are obviously intended to appear to be semi-autobiographical stories. (These exaggerations are presumably meant to be humorous, but are too overdone to really be so.) This is particularly the case with descriptions of the inconveniences of the new house in the country, which include doors opening onto walls because of the unplanned way in which it was renovated.
In a similar vein of light-hearted charm to the much better known Don Camillo series, The House that Nino Built seems to have dated more. It is the story of the move made by artist and author Nino and his family from the town to the country. It gives the appearance of being, like most of the Don Camillo stories, originally columns from a magazine.
The main reason that the stories have dated is because of their attitude to women, which is patronising to say the least. Nino views his wife almost like a favourite pet, and is continually writing about her irrationality. Attitudes to children have also changed a lot since the mid fifties.
The annoyance produced by this militates against the charm of the stories, making them seem rather coy. The best few, such as the tale of Nino's daughter's first communion, break through this, but most do not. The fault is generally exacerbated by the exaggerations which creep into what are obviously intended to appear to be semi-autobiographical stories. (These exaggerations are presumably meant to be humorous, but are too overdone to really be so.) This is particularly the case with descriptions of the inconveniences of the new house in the country, which include doors opening onto walls because of the unplanned way in which it was renovated.
Read
November 4, 2010terrific book . the little girl is too sweet. many years ago i made a tourist stop at parma near river po.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews