A Very Italian Christmas: The Greatest Italian Holiday Stories of All Time

Very Christmas #3

by Giovanni Boccaccio, Luigi Pirandello, Camillo Boito

The third in the very popular Very Christmas series, this volume brings together the best Italian Christmas stories of all time in an elegant and vibrant collection featuring classic tales and contemporary works. With writing that dates from the Renaissance to the present day, from Boccaccio to Pirandello, as well as Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg and Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda, this choice selection delights and intrigues. These literary gems are filled with ancient churches, trains whistling through the countryside, steaming tureens, plates piled high with pasta, High Mass, dashed hopes, golden crucifixes, flowing wine, shimmering gifts and plenty of style. Like everything the Italians do, this is Christmas with its very own verve and flair, the perfect literary complement to a Buon Natale italiano.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Fiction, Italy, Anthologies, Holiday

150 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2018

About the author

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 - 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular. Boccaccio is particularly notable for his dialogue, of which it has been said that it surpasses in verisimilitude that of just about all of his contemporaries, since they were medieval writers and often followed formulaic models for character and plot.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This small book contains 10 Christmas distantly related stories by Italian authors from the 19th and 20th centuries. I have liked best the two stories by Luigi Pirandello and Grazia Deledda (no surprise there, as both were Nobel Prizes). These two stories are among the shortest in the book.

The stories by Giovanni Verga and Andrea De Carlo are also nice.

ESPAÑOL: Este librito contiene 10 cuentos lejanamente relacionados con la Navidad, escritos por autores italianos de los siglos XIX y XX. Los dos cuentos de Luigi Pirandello y Grazia Deledda son los que más me han gustado (lo que no es raro, porque los dos recibieron el Premio Nobel). Estos dos cuentos están entre los más cortos del libro.

Los cuentos de Giovanni Verga y Andrea De Carlo también son simpáticos.

[Catherine Puma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of key Italian stories is a good way to celebrate the holiday season. I really liked that the stories were from different time periods, so I got a sense of diversity.

The short stories in this collection include:
- “A Dream of Christmas” by Luigi Pirandello,
- “Christmas Eve” by Camillo Boito,
- “Canituccia” by Matilde Serao,
- “Family Interior” by Anna Maria Ortese,
- “White Dogs in the Snow” by Andrea De Carlo,
- “The Golden Cross” by Grazia Deledda,
- “Black Bread” by Giovanni Verga,
- “The Fifth Story, Day the Seventh” by Giovanni Boccaccio,
- “To the Tenth Muse” by Matilde Serao, and
- “Winter in the Abruzzi” by Natalia Ginzburg.

Some were sad, some were ominous, and some were witty. I am not sure I would re-read this, but maybe I would go back to specific stories. There are outdated gender relations that I did not enjoy, but a portion of these are from hundreds of years ago, so that needs to be kept in mind when reading these. I enjoyed the themes of Catholicism and the importance of food and family dynamics, which is a special kind of Italian flare that wasn't in the "A Very Russian Christmas" iteration of this series by A New Vessel Press.

I must confess that I prefer the Russian collection more than this Italian one, but I am in general more familiar with Russian literature than Italian literature, so there may be some bias there. I am looking forward to seeing how the Russian and Italian collections hold up to the French and Scandanavians. I hope A New Vessel Press keeps making these Christmas-themed collections; I wonder what the next collection will be? Canadian? British?

[Mariangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read from this Christmas collection. Overall I liked the Russian collection better.

My favorite stories were:
- “A Dream of Christmas” by Luigi Pirandello
- “The Golden Cross” by Grazia Deledda

Of Boccaccio’s story, I liked the wit, but not the conclusion.
Verga’s story is good, but as depressing as I Malavoglia.

I overall liked the writing style of Matilde Serao and Anna Maria Ortese, and will be looking for more stories by them. And also by Grazia Deledda.

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, the third in the series, features stories from Giovanni Boccaccio and Anna Marie Ortese, as well as others. There are 10 tales in this book.
Why did I start with book #3? The answer is easy. I am married to an Italian.
The book blurb tells us, "With writing that dates from the Renaissance to the present day, from Boccaccio to Pirandello, as well as Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg and Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda, this choice selection delights and intrigues. These literary gems are filled with ancient churches, trains whistling through the countryside, steaming tureens, plates piled high with pasta, High Mass, dashed hopes, golden crucifixes, flowing wine, shimmering gifts and plenty of style. Like everything the Italians do, this is Christmas with its very own verve and flair, the perfect literary complement to a Buon Natale italiano."
WARNING: These are NOT the feel good Christmas stories we expect in America. They are tales of tragedy and death and conditions found in a poor country over the years.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is so italian! don't read this if you're looking for super happy, feel-good holiday stories. i loved how all of the stories were super dark and kinda depressing! this was a christmas gift last year, so i was looking forward to starting it this holiday season. my favorite stories were: "christmas eve" by camillo boito; "canituccia" by matilde serao; "family interior" by anna maria ortese; "black bread" by giovanni verga; and, of course, "winter in the abruzzi" by natalia ginzburg (one of my favorite authors). definitely read this if you're look for a unique collection of christmas stories, or if you're a fan of italian literature!

[Stephanie Isaacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the feel good book of Christmas stories an American might expect but it is full of well written stories full of heart, tragedy and the realities of a difficult life. I’m not sure who wrote the Amazon description but it is not accurate. Yet these stories reflect other Italian authors I have read who do not depend on a happy ending for their work to be meaningful. Instead it is full of the harsh realities of life and how we navigate and survive them.

[Kathryn Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this series of Christmas short stories because of The Codex Cantina on youtube. This is the third one I've read (Russian, German, and now Italian). I think I really am a short story lover and this collection was wonderful. I loved reading a story every day. (It is probably between a 4 and 5 stars for me).

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Very Italian Christmas" is not very Christmassy but enjoyable stories. Three are religious and the others barely mention Christmas, except Matilde's Tenth Muse which has the edible delights. I had read Boccaccio's story before but didn't remember it.




*A Dream of Christmas by Luigi Pirandello -1896 - a man follows Jesus. This reminds me of Francis Thompson's "The Hound of Heaven", yet quite different. A favorite.
*Christmas Eve by Camilo Boito- 1873 -Giorgio is attracted to a girl who looks like his sister.
*Canituccia by Matilde Serao- 1902 - A young neglected girl and the piglet she must attend to, my favorite.
*Family Interior by Anna Maria Ortese -1953-A woman that is expected to carry her family and forgo her own life, until an old lover comes home.
*White Dogs in the Snow by Andrea Dr Carlo -1991
*The Golden Cross by Grazia Deledda- 1913- A dying woman helps her son give his fiance a special gift. Religious and a favorite.
*Black Bread by Giovanni Verga- 1882- After their father's death poverty makes life difficult.
*The Fifth Story Day the Seventh by Giovanni Boccaccio -1351- A jealous husband must be taught.
*To the Tenth Muse by Matilde Serao Christmas -1878- the delights of holiday food
*Winter in the Abruzzi by Natalia Ginzburg- 1944- War brings a family to the country.

[Sherry C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed by A Very Italian Christmas and would rate it 2 stars, not because the writing is uniformly bad, but because this book doesn’t really deliver what it’s marketed as. It’s billed as a collection of “Italian Christmas stories,” yet many of the tales are general “day in the life” narratives from different time periods with only a loose or peripheral connection to Christmas, if any at all. A number of reviewers have noted that you’d be hard-pressed to find actual holiday content in several of the pieces, which feel more like historical or character sketches than festive seasonal stories.

Having read the Russian Christmas Stories first and absolutely loved that collection, returning to it again and again, I expected something similar: evocative, meaningful, and rooted in the holiday spirit. Instead, this Italian volume often feels like a grab-bag of old literary pieces set in winter or vaguely around Christmas time, rather than tales that illuminate how Italians actually celebrate the season.

The stories in themselves are okay and some are interesting culturally, but because it’s sold as a Christmas book and doesn’t consistently showcase Christmas-themed narratives or festive atmosphere, it fell flat for me. This could have been a rich exploration of how the holiday was observed across eras in Italy, but that creative brief wasn’t met.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not going to be a 5 star read for near a majority of readers in any age of reading them. Maybe not even a 4. But it was for me a 5. Just so excellent in language and in the varying cognitions of the holiday situations. So Italian at core in onus and in delivery. Despite the era or mood of the individual tales, they are.

It represents and connects far beyond just Christmas ambiance or winter Italian life. And in various eras. Some of the writing is so heavy in pulpy emotion of material lacks (or family lacks after so much early death) that more than any other collection I have read- this one for the 1800's stories! Well you certainly understand the vast emigration. Beware, these are NOT sentimental happy face Hallmark brand Christmas nuance here. Not at all.

There were just a couple of 4 stars in there, but the whole for me, is 5.

Hard to say which was favorite for me. But I will remember a few more than others. Especially the scrawny girlchild tasked with watching the pig.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to get through this book—probably evident by the fact that I’m just finishing it at the beginning of February. I find the title to be fairly misleading, as quite a few of the stories are only distantly Christmas-related. Many seem to be included solely on the merit of taking place around the same time, instead of actually containing anything about how Italians celebrate Christmas or meditations about the season. Most of them were also pretty depressing or gruesome, not the cozy Christmas read that I was expecting. Despite that, my favorite stories were Canituccia, To the Tenth Muse, Winter in the Abruzzi, and White Dogs in the Snow. I also enjoyed The Fifth Story, Day the Seventh from The Decameron; despite the antiquated translation I found it pretty readable once I got used to the language. I’m still interested in reading another of the books in the Very Christmas series next Christmas, but if it’s as depressing as this one I might have to abandon this series altogether.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange collection of tales set in Italy, written between 1350 and the late 20th century, and all with winter occurring at some time during the story. None was what I would think of as a Christmas story and I found most of them unpleasant.
There were a few of the later ones that were interesting and well-written, and that I quite liked, but even those were upsetting. I've no idea why this collection is being marketed as Italian Christmas tales, aside from the fact that all are set in Italy.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in this series of Christmas collections I've read and I'm not sure I'm interested in reading more. Christmas to me, which this may be because I'm an American reading of other holidays, but to me it's happiness, joy and celebrating with family. This collection, as well as the other two, all contain dark and depressing stories that take place at or around Christmastime. At one point, I just had to stop reading because I'd read three depressing stories in a row and I just could not continue.

[Terzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the earlier two entries in this series (from Russia and France), this collection features stories both sad and slightly comic, some having only a peripheral relation to Christmas. Enjoyable kick-off to the holiday season (which I always start in September).

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read Christmas books, I expect something Christmassy. Even if its angst filled bad holiday dinners. This, I don't know what this is. The only thing the title got correct was Italian. Very disappointed.

[Rosanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to page 44 and just couldn't do it anymore. I'm Italian so I thought I would love this. Sadly, it was a big miss for me.

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a book of Christmas stories. I was bamboozled.

[Denise Prewett · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stories were very old and very depressing. So disappointing. Not very Christmasy at all, in my opinion.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected for Christmas stories. Poverty, death, prostitution, adultery and more! All short stories, interesting reading.