What do you think?
Rate this book
Tra donne sole
Clelia, a successful couturier, returns to Turin at the end of the Second World War. Opening a salon of her own leads her into a nihilistic circle of young hedonists, including the charismatic Rosetta, whose tragic death forms the novel's climax. Pavese's gritty tales of post-war Italy have led to frequent comparisons with Michelangelo Antonioni (Blowup, Beyond the Clouds), who successfully filmed Among Women Only as Le Amiche in 1955.
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1949
138 people are currently reading
2511 people want to read
About the author
Cesare Pavese
314 books1,267 followersCesare Pavese was born in a small town in which his father, an official, owned property. He attended school and later, university, in Turin. Denied an outlet for his creative powers by Fascist control of literature, Pavese translated many 20th-century American writers in the 1930s and '40s: Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Stein, John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner; a 19th-century writer who influenced him profoundly, Herman Melville (one of his first translations was of Moby Dick); and the Irish novelist James Joyce. He also published criticism, posthumously collected in La letteratura americana e altri saggi (1951; American Literature, Essays and Opinions, 1970).
A founder and, until his death, an editor of the publishing house of Einaudi, Pavese also edited the anti-Fascist review La Cultura. His work led to his arrest and imprisonment by the government in 1935, an experience later recalled in “Il carcere” (published in Prima che il gallo canti, 1949; in The Political Prisoner, 1955) and the novella Il compagno (1947; The Comrade, 1959). His first volume of lyric poetry, Lavorare stanca (1936; Hard Labour, 1976), followed his release from prison. An initial novella, Paesi tuoi (1941; The Harvesters, 1961), recalled, as many of his works do, the sacred places of childhood. Between 1943 and 1945 he lived with partisans of the anti-Fascist Resistance in the hills of Piedmont.
The bulk of Pavese's work, mostly short stories and novellas, appeared between the end of the war and his death. Partly through the influence of Melville, Pavese became preoccupied with myth, symbol, and archetype. One of his most striking books is Dialoghi con Leucò (1947; Dialogues with Leucò, 1965), poetically written conversations about the human condition. The novel considered his best, La luna e i falò (1950; The Moon and the Bonfires, 1950), is a bleak, yet compassionate story of a hero who tries to find himself by visiting the place in which he grew up. Several other works are notable, especially La bella estate (1949; in The Political Prisoner, 1955).
Shortly after receiving the Strega Prize for it, Pavese took his own life in his hotel room by taking an overdose of pills.
A founder and, until his death, an editor of the publishing house of Einaudi, Pavese also edited the anti-Fascist review La Cultura. His work led to his arrest and imprisonment by the government in 1935, an experience later recalled in “Il carcere” (published in Prima che il gallo canti, 1949; in The Political Prisoner, 1955) and the novella Il compagno (1947; The Comrade, 1959). His first volume of lyric poetry, Lavorare stanca (1936; Hard Labour, 1976), followed his release from prison. An initial novella, Paesi tuoi (1941; The Harvesters, 1961), recalled, as many of his works do, the sacred places of childhood. Between 1943 and 1945 he lived with partisans of the anti-Fascist Resistance in the hills of Piedmont.
The bulk of Pavese's work, mostly short stories and novellas, appeared between the end of the war and his death. Partly through the influence of Melville, Pavese became preoccupied with myth, symbol, and archetype. One of his most striking books is Dialoghi con Leucò (1947; Dialogues with Leucò, 1965), poetically written conversations about the human condition. The novel considered his best, La luna e i falò (1950; The Moon and the Bonfires, 1950), is a bleak, yet compassionate story of a hero who tries to find himself by visiting the place in which he grew up. Several other works are notable, especially La bella estate (1949; in The Political Prisoner, 1955).
Shortly after receiving the Strega Prize for it, Pavese took his own life in his hotel room by taking an overdose of pills.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
March 19, 2025
Everybody’s talking and no one says a word
Richard Yates wrote about Eleven Kinds of Loneliness; in Among Women Only Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) evokes what might be one of its most piercing manifestations, the loneliness one experiences among others, surrounded by people. I was moved to read this brief novel because of watching Michelangelo Antonioni’s film adaptation Le Amiche and reading Natalia Ginzburg’s essay commemorating Pavese in The Little Virtues (Portrait of a Friend) and now look forward to read more by and about Pavese.
Thematising suicide, loneliness, alienation, repulsion towards life, paired with nihilism and cynicism as defence mechanisms to bear life, Pavese’s brief, contemplative novel turned out even more bleak than the film (there is a significant plot difference in the film which makes the book more nihilistic). In an existentialist disposition, Pavese exemplifies how humans are condemned to freedom and that there is no escape, whether living a leisured life of wealth or looking for a way to give life meaning by working to secure one’s independence and liberate oneself from the clutches of poverty.
Clelia, the narrator, returns from Rome to Turin after the war, the town where she grew up in a poor neighbourhood. She comes to Turin to see to the opening of a luxurious filial of a Roman haute couture salon. Reflecting on her childhood in poverty she reminiscences how she has escaped, having a strong purpose in mind: having a life of success, return triumphantly to demonstrate what she made of her life, hoping for admiration, wearing a fur coat and expensive clothes – only to find all the people she cared about gone and so realising the vanity and absurdity of that long-cherished dream – the shards of her vision on work as giving meaning to her life crumbling beneath her feet - whatever work one is to spend one’s time on, it all is a kind of prostitution.
Taking care of her business, Clelia nearly unwillingly gets involved in the lives of a circle of leisured women, women who seem the perfect future customers of her filial, spending their time at parties, in art galleries, trips to the sea, participating in night life. Pavese paints the contrast between this leisure class and the outsider-insider Clelia who has to work to earn a living with fervour, but neither lives seem fulfilling, there is a sense of desolation, dissatisfaction underneath the hollowness of these lives which will come most sharply to the fore in the character of the young and depressed Rosetta.
As the title indicates, in this circle of women men appear footnotes at best, at best their presence is tolerated. Men are almost objectified - creatures who are talking too much, sometimes serving for casual sex without leaving further traces in a woman’s life.
Like in Antonioni’s film everybody’s talking perpetually but there is no true connectedness or communication; the characters all seem caught in their bubbles of loneliness. On the rebound I was reminded of Natalia Ginzburg’s essay Silence, in which she writers how hard it was for the post-war neorealist generation of Italian writers to make their characters talk in their novels: 'Those of us who have tried to write novels in our time know the discomfort and unhappiness that appears as soon as we reach the point when we have to make our characters talk to each other. For page after page our characters exchange comments that are insignificant but pregnant with a desolate unhappiness'. With these words, she captures the conversations between Pavese's characters exquisitely.
Pavese doesn’t disclose the psyche of his characters, he suggests their feelings and their fraught sense of life, the pointlessness of it, leaving it to the reader what to think of it.
Taking into account Pavese’s suicide one year after publication renders the novel eerily ominous, as it displays an almost tangible longing for death, a welcoming of death which Pavese so poignantly worded in one of his poems:
Death will come with your eyes—
this death that accompanies us
from morning till night, sleepless,
deaf, like an old regret
or a stupid vice. Your eyes
will be a useless word,
a muted cry, a silence.
As you see them each morning
when alone you lean over
the mirror. O cherished hope,
that day we too shall know
that you are life and nothing.
For everyone death has a look.
Death will come with your eyes.
It will be like terminating a vice,
as seen in the mirror
a dead face re-emerging,
like listening to closed lips.
We'll go down the abyss in silence.
(Photographs, Francesca Woodman)
Richard Yates wrote about Eleven Kinds of Loneliness; in Among Women Only Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) evokes what might be one of its most piercing manifestations, the loneliness one experiences among others, surrounded by people. I was moved to read this brief novel because of watching Michelangelo Antonioni’s film adaptation Le Amiche and reading Natalia Ginzburg’s essay commemorating Pavese in The Little Virtues (Portrait of a Friend) and now look forward to read more by and about Pavese.
Thematising suicide, loneliness, alienation, repulsion towards life, paired with nihilism and cynicism as defence mechanisms to bear life, Pavese’s brief, contemplative novel turned out even more bleak than the film (there is a significant plot difference in the film which makes the book more nihilistic). In an existentialist disposition, Pavese exemplifies how humans are condemned to freedom and that there is no escape, whether living a leisured life of wealth or looking for a way to give life meaning by working to secure one’s independence and liberate oneself from the clutches of poverty.
Clelia, the narrator, returns from Rome to Turin after the war, the town where she grew up in a poor neighbourhood. She comes to Turin to see to the opening of a luxurious filial of a Roman haute couture salon. Reflecting on her childhood in poverty she reminiscences how she has escaped, having a strong purpose in mind: having a life of success, return triumphantly to demonstrate what she made of her life, hoping for admiration, wearing a fur coat and expensive clothes – only to find all the people she cared about gone and so realising the vanity and absurdity of that long-cherished dream – the shards of her vision on work as giving meaning to her life crumbling beneath her feet - whatever work one is to spend one’s time on, it all is a kind of prostitution.
Taking care of her business, Clelia nearly unwillingly gets involved in the lives of a circle of leisured women, women who seem the perfect future customers of her filial, spending their time at parties, in art galleries, trips to the sea, participating in night life. Pavese paints the contrast between this leisure class and the outsider-insider Clelia who has to work to earn a living with fervour, but neither lives seem fulfilling, there is a sense of desolation, dissatisfaction underneath the hollowness of these lives which will come most sharply to the fore in the character of the young and depressed Rosetta.
As the title indicates, in this circle of women men appear footnotes at best, at best their presence is tolerated. Men are almost objectified - creatures who are talking too much, sometimes serving for casual sex without leaving further traces in a woman’s life.
Like in Antonioni’s film everybody’s talking perpetually but there is no true connectedness or communication; the characters all seem caught in their bubbles of loneliness. On the rebound I was reminded of Natalia Ginzburg’s essay Silence, in which she writers how hard it was for the post-war neorealist generation of Italian writers to make their characters talk in their novels: 'Those of us who have tried to write novels in our time know the discomfort and unhappiness that appears as soon as we reach the point when we have to make our characters talk to each other. For page after page our characters exchange comments that are insignificant but pregnant with a desolate unhappiness'. With these words, she captures the conversations between Pavese's characters exquisitely.
Pavese doesn’t disclose the psyche of his characters, he suggests their feelings and their fraught sense of life, the pointlessness of it, leaving it to the reader what to think of it.
Taking into account Pavese’s suicide one year after publication renders the novel eerily ominous, as it displays an almost tangible longing for death, a welcoming of death which Pavese so poignantly worded in one of his poems:
Death will come with your eyes—
this death that accompanies us
from morning till night, sleepless,
deaf, like an old regret
or a stupid vice. Your eyes
will be a useless word,
a muted cry, a silence.
As you see them each morning
when alone you lean over
the mirror. O cherished hope,
that day we too shall know
that you are life and nothing.
For everyone death has a look.
Death will come with your eyes.
It will be like terminating a vice,
as seen in the mirror
a dead face re-emerging,
like listening to closed lips.
We'll go down the abyss in silence.
(Photographs, Francesca Woodman)
November 6, 2022
“I arrived in Turin with the last January snow just like a juggler or a nougat peddler.”
I’m worried I’ve run into a reading rut. I carefully selected this one by sampling the first couple of pages and it was enough to entice me. I had to Google a nougat peddler and apparently they were (and maybe still are) a real thing. They make confections and show up at carnival time. That’s neither here nor there, however – I read this for the quality of the writing I sampled as well as the setting, not for the candy! In any case, at about the halfway point I nearly set it aside. A bit boring, not enough character development, somewhat disjointed. I honestly don’t know if the whole story took place in one week, one month or a year (or longer!). Then a character that was introduced at the very beginning (on a stretcher, in a hotel, after a suicide attempt) reappeared and I had to carry on. Was I rewarded? Well, there were some parts that made it worthwhile, but as a whole it didn’t quite go anywhere. I felt I was reading a feminist piece, but written by an Italian guy in post-World War II Italy. A little unusual for its time perhaps?
“I thought that it was probably in that distant evening that I really learned for the first time that if I wanted to do anything, to get something out of life, I should tie myself to no one, depend upon no one, as I had been tied to that tiresome father.”
Clelia, born from poverty, has made a name for herself by opening a salon of her own in Turin. She’s now thrown amongst the younger, wealthier set – much like the set that would have looked down on her back in the day. She socializes with them frequently, goes out casually with some men, yet always ends up unhappy. There’s some talk between Clelia and some of these young women about the need or the desire to work and whether or not it’s rewarding. The words she passes on to Rosetta, an emotionally vulnerable woman, might have more power than she realizes.
“Going to an office is selling yourself too. There are plenty of ways of selling yourself. I don’t know which way’s the most useless.”
On the other hand, she ruminates to herself:
“Other times when I thought these things I always consoled myself by saying that it wasn’t the things I had obtained or the place I had carved out for myself but the act of carving it out and obtaining them that made my life worthwhile. This, too, is a destiny, I said to myself, and nobody made it but me.”
There’s a resounding sense of futility to the whole thing which I can understand quite well at times; not only in regards to the purpose of work, but to the need to interact with others, while still feeling isolated.
“Really, the only beautiful moments I had in Turin were the evenings when I managed to get into a movie alone or the mornings when I lingered over my coffee behind a café window in Via Roma where no one knew me, and I daydreamed about opening some sort of shop. My real vice… was the pleasure I took in being alone.”
The nihilistic tone of this little novel is reflected quite well in the character of Rosetta. I couldn’t decide in the end if the author identified more closely with Rosetta or with Clelia. Perhaps it was a combination of the two. This book should have been depressing, but somehow it just left me feeling rather indifferent.
“You just can’t love someone else more than yourself. If you can’t save yourself, nobody can.”
I’m worried I’ve run into a reading rut. I carefully selected this one by sampling the first couple of pages and it was enough to entice me. I had to Google a nougat peddler and apparently they were (and maybe still are) a real thing. They make confections and show up at carnival time. That’s neither here nor there, however – I read this for the quality of the writing I sampled as well as the setting, not for the candy! In any case, at about the halfway point I nearly set it aside. A bit boring, not enough character development, somewhat disjointed. I honestly don’t know if the whole story took place in one week, one month or a year (or longer!). Then a character that was introduced at the very beginning (on a stretcher, in a hotel, after a suicide attempt) reappeared and I had to carry on. Was I rewarded? Well, there were some parts that made it worthwhile, but as a whole it didn’t quite go anywhere. I felt I was reading a feminist piece, but written by an Italian guy in post-World War II Italy. A little unusual for its time perhaps?
“I thought that it was probably in that distant evening that I really learned for the first time that if I wanted to do anything, to get something out of life, I should tie myself to no one, depend upon no one, as I had been tied to that tiresome father.”
Clelia, born from poverty, has made a name for herself by opening a salon of her own in Turin. She’s now thrown amongst the younger, wealthier set – much like the set that would have looked down on her back in the day. She socializes with them frequently, goes out casually with some men, yet always ends up unhappy. There’s some talk between Clelia and some of these young women about the need or the desire to work and whether or not it’s rewarding. The words she passes on to Rosetta, an emotionally vulnerable woman, might have more power than she realizes.
“Going to an office is selling yourself too. There are plenty of ways of selling yourself. I don’t know which way’s the most useless.”
On the other hand, she ruminates to herself:
“Other times when I thought these things I always consoled myself by saying that it wasn’t the things I had obtained or the place I had carved out for myself but the act of carving it out and obtaining them that made my life worthwhile. This, too, is a destiny, I said to myself, and nobody made it but me.”
There’s a resounding sense of futility to the whole thing which I can understand quite well at times; not only in regards to the purpose of work, but to the need to interact with others, while still feeling isolated.
“Really, the only beautiful moments I had in Turin were the evenings when I managed to get into a movie alone or the mornings when I lingered over my coffee behind a café window in Via Roma where no one knew me, and I daydreamed about opening some sort of shop. My real vice… was the pleasure I took in being alone.”
The nihilistic tone of this little novel is reflected quite well in the character of Rosetta. I couldn’t decide in the end if the author identified more closely with Rosetta or with Clelia. Perhaps it was a combination of the two. This book should have been depressing, but somehow it just left me feeling rather indifferent.
“You just can’t love someone else more than yourself. If you can’t save yourself, nobody can.”
February 18, 2019
Pavese swaps the sweeping Italian countryside of other novels for the bustle of a lively of Turin during the post-war years, in this haunting and lyrically pervasive work that only seemed to resonate stronger long after finishing it, partly down to its abrupt and tragic ending.
The narrator, Clelia, a woman from Rome, returns to Turin to establish a local branch for her employer, a large and fashionable couturier. She is starting to lose the zest for life, and finds that the trappings of success, or even the striving for better living, no longer give her any meaning. Her professional status allows her to mix with the moneyed socialites, but she discovers that though she used to admire and envy them from afar, up close they're actually quite aimless and boring to be around. And while they at least live among their own kind like ducks to water, she fits in neither with them nor with those she previously acquainted with.
Enter Rosetta, a troubled and overly sensitive younger woman, who, having being found in her hotel unconscious after an apparent attempted suicide, stirs something in Clelia to reach out and help, but the nihilistic Rosetta, seems like one of those people that no matter how many friends she has, will always feel alone and sad in this world, becoming a victim of a hedonistic lifestyle that was never going to have a chirpy bright side.
It's main theme I guess is one of alienation, of which Pavese does a good job of presenting, and the events that proceed throughout the novel are told in a very spare style, in short scenes that do have a neorealism cinematic quality. But as the story never digs around in the past, its difficult to truly get to know just why, and how these two women feel the way they do. And along with the set of bohemian acquaintances that pop up throughout, there was only small amounts of character development. However, a few glitches aside, Pavese has a knack of presenting a melancholic story with a penetrating beauty that holds the novel, and more importantly the reader in place.
Parts of the narrative did feel disjointed, but I simply put that down to it being not the easiest book to translate. Of what I have read by Pavese so far, this impressed me. The more I read of him, the more he grows in stature when it comes to not just Italian writers, but writers in general.
The narrator, Clelia, a woman from Rome, returns to Turin to establish a local branch for her employer, a large and fashionable couturier. She is starting to lose the zest for life, and finds that the trappings of success, or even the striving for better living, no longer give her any meaning. Her professional status allows her to mix with the moneyed socialites, but she discovers that though she used to admire and envy them from afar, up close they're actually quite aimless and boring to be around. And while they at least live among their own kind like ducks to water, she fits in neither with them nor with those she previously acquainted with.
Enter Rosetta, a troubled and overly sensitive younger woman, who, having being found in her hotel unconscious after an apparent attempted suicide, stirs something in Clelia to reach out and help, but the nihilistic Rosetta, seems like one of those people that no matter how many friends she has, will always feel alone and sad in this world, becoming a victim of a hedonistic lifestyle that was never going to have a chirpy bright side.
It's main theme I guess is one of alienation, of which Pavese does a good job of presenting, and the events that proceed throughout the novel are told in a very spare style, in short scenes that do have a neorealism cinematic quality. But as the story never digs around in the past, its difficult to truly get to know just why, and how these two women feel the way they do. And along with the set of bohemian acquaintances that pop up throughout, there was only small amounts of character development. However, a few glitches aside, Pavese has a knack of presenting a melancholic story with a penetrating beauty that holds the novel, and more importantly the reader in place.
Parts of the narrative did feel disjointed, but I simply put that down to it being not the easiest book to translate. Of what I have read by Pavese so far, this impressed me. The more I read of him, the more he grows in stature when it comes to not just Italian writers, but writers in general.
July 26, 2022
در جمعِ تنهایان :
این رمان تصویری از سیمای جنگزده ایتالیای قرن بیستم یا به تعبیری کل اروپا بود. روزگاری که رخوت و دلمردگی در آدمها آشیان کرده، روح و روانشان را میجود. سیستم داستان، بسیار شبیه کوه یخ همینگوی است. این گونه که حرفهای ناگفته کتاب از گفتهها بیشتر و حتی مهمتر اند. البته پاوزه جور دیگری روایت میکند، فضا و جو روانی رمانش را، با شهرها، اشیا و روابط و رفتارها میسازد. مثال خوب دیگری که از این گونه روایت به ذهنم میرسد آوای کوهستان کاواباتاست یا فیلمهای آنتونیونی ( البته آنتونیونی فیلمی با اقتباس از همین رمان ساخته به نام رفیقهها یا Le Amiche ).
شوکهای وارده به جامعه به گونهای بوده که گویی همگی دچار سکتهی احساس شدهاند. مهمانی رفتنها، جشن گرفتنها، بوسهها و عشق بازیها و کار کردنها، همگی تظاهر و تلاش مذبوحانهای به منظور ساختن یک شادی تصنعی است که گویا همیشه شکست میخورد چون آدمها ضربه دیدهاند، ضربهی بدی دیدهاند. انتخاب زنان زیبا، جوان و مستقل، به عنوان سمبل زندگی و خوشگذرانی در قرن بیستم، انتخاب بسی هوشمندانهای بود تا نویسنده آنها را هم شکننده و تنها و مغموم تصویر کند و بگوید حتی در مهمانیها و در جمع رفیقان هم، ما در لاک عزلت و بیارتباطی اسیریم.
کالوینو میگفت این اثر چنان ژرفایی دارد که خواننده مدام وجوهی تازه در آن میابد. درست میگفت.
امتیاز ۳.۵
مرداد هزار و چهارصد و یک
این رمان تصویری از سیمای جنگزده ایتالیای قرن بیستم یا به تعبیری کل اروپا بود. روزگاری که رخوت و دلمردگی در آدمها آشیان کرده، روح و روانشان را میجود. سیستم داستان، بسیار شبیه کوه یخ همینگوی است. این گونه که حرفهای ناگفته کتاب از گفتهها بیشتر و حتی مهمتر اند. البته پاوزه جور دیگری روایت میکند، فضا و جو روانی رمانش را، با شهرها، اشیا و روابط و رفتارها میسازد. مثال خوب دیگری که از این گونه روایت به ذهنم میرسد آوای کوهستان کاواباتاست یا فیلمهای آنتونیونی ( البته آنتونیونی فیلمی با اقتباس از همین رمان ساخته به نام رفیقهها یا Le Amiche ).
شوکهای وارده به جامعه به گونهای بوده که گویی همگی دچار سکتهی احساس شدهاند. مهمانی رفتنها، جشن گرفتنها، بوسهها و عشق بازیها و کار کردنها، همگی تظاهر و تلاش مذبوحانهای به منظور ساختن یک شادی تصنعی است که گویا همیشه شکست میخورد چون آدمها ضربه دیدهاند، ضربهی بدی دیدهاند. انتخاب زنان زیبا، جوان و مستقل، به عنوان سمبل زندگی و خوشگذرانی در قرن بیستم، انتخاب بسی هوشمندانهای بود تا نویسنده آنها را هم شکننده و تنها و مغموم تصویر کند و بگوید حتی در مهمانیها و در جمع رفیقان هم، ما در لاک عزلت و بیارتباطی اسیریم.
کالوینو میگفت این اثر چنان ژرفایی دارد که خواننده مدام وجوهی تازه در آن میابد. درست میگفت.
امتیاز ۳.۵
مرداد هزار و چهارصد و یک
September 25, 2017
Solitudini parallele
Il più bello fra i tre brevi romanzi che compongono "La bella estate" , opera vincitrice del Premio Strega 1950, anno in cui Cesare Pavese si tolse la vita. Da esso il regista Antonioni ha tratto il film "Le amiche" .
Siamo a Torino nel dopoguerra. Il visitatore che giunge ora in questa città di nordica bellezza, passeggiando sotto i portici del centro, probabilmente non ha difficoltà ad immaginarla nei primi anni della ricostruzione.
Il mondo che anima il romanzo è quello della gioventù borghese (ma priva degli elementi 'virtuosi' della borghesia), di cui emerge un ritratto sconfortante.
L'autore, che ben conosceva la 'gioventù bruciata' della letteratura americana, probabilmente ne ha tratto qualche suggestione nel delineare le figure qui rappresentate. Figure soprattutto femminili ; gli uomini, poco significativi, rimangono sullo sfondo.
Si tratta di donne ben poco amabili, ciniche e volitive, convinte di essere emancipate solo perché fanno ciò che vogliono, fumano, frequentano uomini , con una falsa emancipazione che le rende profondamente infelici e sole. Fa eccezione solo Rosetta, la più fragile e per questo più 'umana'; il suo non adeguarsi totalmente agli stereotipi delle 'amiche' potrebbe significare per lei la salvezza. Non ha però altri modelli alternativi e non ha la determinazione di cercarli. Compare già nelle prime pagine, distesa su una barella, in un albergo, ancora in abito da sera di tulle celeste, salvata da un tentato suicidio.
Nel gruppo di amiche spicca la torinese di nascita e di umili origini, da poco tornata da Roma per aprire un negozio 'di moda' : è l'unica a praticare un'attività lavorativa; le difficoltà della vita hanno contribuito a renderla di una tenacia un po' disumanizzante, il pegno pagato per raggiungere il successo (termine che la nostra contemporaneità ha reso di intollerabile volgarità).
Le altre sono donne benestanti ancora giovani ma non più giovanissime. Nel loro scostante modo di essere , paiono essenzialmente creature ferite, orgogliose e disperate, indurite dalla vita e corazzate, ma la loro metaforica corazza è nel contempo difesa e sconfitta. Pur essendo sempre in compagnia , sono fondamentalmente sole, artefici e vittime della loro carenza di valori e dell'incapacità di vivere e comunicare in modo autentico.
Che tali donne respingenti siano frutto del modello femminile interiorizzato dell'autore? Se così fosse, diventerebbero forse più comprensibili le sue controverse relazioni sentimentali e sicuramente la formazione dei vari personaggi che animano le sue opere.
Il più bello fra i tre brevi romanzi che compongono "La bella estate" , opera vincitrice del Premio Strega 1950, anno in cui Cesare Pavese si tolse la vita. Da esso il regista Antonioni ha tratto il film "Le amiche" .
Siamo a Torino nel dopoguerra. Il visitatore che giunge ora in questa città di nordica bellezza, passeggiando sotto i portici del centro, probabilmente non ha difficoltà ad immaginarla nei primi anni della ricostruzione.
Il mondo che anima il romanzo è quello della gioventù borghese (ma priva degli elementi 'virtuosi' della borghesia), di cui emerge un ritratto sconfortante.
L'autore, che ben conosceva la 'gioventù bruciata' della letteratura americana, probabilmente ne ha tratto qualche suggestione nel delineare le figure qui rappresentate. Figure soprattutto femminili ; gli uomini, poco significativi, rimangono sullo sfondo.
Si tratta di donne ben poco amabili, ciniche e volitive, convinte di essere emancipate solo perché fanno ciò che vogliono, fumano, frequentano uomini , con una falsa emancipazione che le rende profondamente infelici e sole. Fa eccezione solo Rosetta, la più fragile e per questo più 'umana'; il suo non adeguarsi totalmente agli stereotipi delle 'amiche' potrebbe significare per lei la salvezza. Non ha però altri modelli alternativi e non ha la determinazione di cercarli. Compare già nelle prime pagine, distesa su una barella, in un albergo, ancora in abito da sera di tulle celeste, salvata da un tentato suicidio.
Nel gruppo di amiche spicca la torinese di nascita e di umili origini, da poco tornata da Roma per aprire un negozio 'di moda' : è l'unica a praticare un'attività lavorativa; le difficoltà della vita hanno contribuito a renderla di una tenacia un po' disumanizzante, il pegno pagato per raggiungere il successo (termine che la nostra contemporaneità ha reso di intollerabile volgarità).
Le altre sono donne benestanti ancora giovani ma non più giovanissime. Nel loro scostante modo di essere , paiono essenzialmente creature ferite, orgogliose e disperate, indurite dalla vita e corazzate, ma la loro metaforica corazza è nel contempo difesa e sconfitta. Pur essendo sempre in compagnia , sono fondamentalmente sole, artefici e vittime della loro carenza di valori e dell'incapacità di vivere e comunicare in modo autentico.
Che tali donne respingenti siano frutto del modello femminile interiorizzato dell'autore? Se così fosse, diventerebbero forse più comprensibili le sue controverse relazioni sentimentali e sicuramente la formazione dei vari personaggi che animano le sue opere.
October 15, 2021
Firstly, I need to say I can no longer write comments on Goodreads. Which explains why I've not been answering comments under my reviews. I've been partially locked out of my account. I received a message telling me I need to verify my account. Problem is, I no longer use the email account with which I originally signed on here and I can't remember the password. I'm waiting for that eureka moment when it suddenly flashes back centrestage in my mind. Both of the security questions completely baffled me. Where did you meet your betrothed? What was your favourite food as a child. Neither question has any significance at all to me. I tried lots of guesses and got them all wrong. I'm beginning to wonder how well I know myself.
Anyway, Pavese's novel. It begins with a suicide attempt in a hotel. Seeing as Pavese was to successfully enact this scenario himself not long afterwards you know he was depressed when he wrote this book and already contemplating the fatal act. In this regard it reminded me very much of Virginia Woolf's between the Acts. A writer desperately trying to restore a sense of purpose in life through their literary talent. In both cases the result, if compared with former works, was failure and produced books in which struggle is the predominant force. And when the vitality and inspiration have gone the tide of depression is only going to swell up higher. Another thing both novels have in common is an (unsuccessful) experimentation in structure. Dialogue more often than not is a dead end. I'm not surprised Antonioni made a film of this as it's like one of his films but without the beautiful photography. I've loved all his other books but this one failed to interest me much.
Anyway, Pavese's novel. It begins with a suicide attempt in a hotel. Seeing as Pavese was to successfully enact this scenario himself not long afterwards you know he was depressed when he wrote this book and already contemplating the fatal act. In this regard it reminded me very much of Virginia Woolf's between the Acts. A writer desperately trying to restore a sense of purpose in life through their literary talent. In both cases the result, if compared with former works, was failure and produced books in which struggle is the predominant force. And when the vitality and inspiration have gone the tide of depression is only going to swell up higher. Another thing both novels have in common is an (unsuccessful) experimentation in structure. Dialogue more often than not is a dead end. I'm not surprised Antonioni made a film of this as it's like one of his films but without the beautiful photography. I've loved all his other books but this one failed to interest me much.
February 5, 2021
Clelia, Momina, Rosetta: tre diversi modi di affrontare la vita, tre diverse solitudini che tra cinismo, disillusione, delusione disperata, tentano inutilmente di comprender e far propria una vita e una società destinate sempre a fuggirle. Vite che si vedono contese tra il divertessement pascaliano - i continui divertimenti che stordiscono la coscienza dell'uomo e lo distolgono dal veder la propria misera vita - e i tentativi nietzschiani di concepir propri personali valori, ma che si scoprono poi incapaci di fornirne una sintesi accettabile. Un pendolo tra disperazione e noia, che sfocia nella constatazione della propria incurabile solitudine.
November 11, 2024
بریدههایی از کتاب
__________________________________________________
"در آب گرم که آرام گرفتم چشمهایم را بستم؛ چشمهایی که از آن همه حرفهای بیمورد به درد آمده بودند. هر قدر بیشتر خود را متقاعد میکردم که حرف زدن بیهوده است نیازم به آن بیشتر و بیشتر میشد؛ به خصوص در جمع زنان. اما طولی نکشید که آب گرم، خستگی و قدری تب را که در جانم بود با خود برد و من به یاد آخرین باری افتادم که در تورین بودم. روز بعد از یک بمباران هوایی در ایام جنگ بود. لولههای بزرگ ترکیده بودند و از حمام خبری نبود. با لذت اندیشیدم:《تا وقتی آدم بتواند حمام کند، زندگی به تکاپویش میارزد. 》"
"... آدم نمیتواند کسی را بیش از خود دوست داشته باشد. اگر خود نتوانی، هیچکس دیگر قادر نیست تو را نجات دهد..."
"... هیچ چیز تغییر نکرده بود، حتی سنگفرش خیابانها. چتر نداشتم و در کوچههایی با ساختمانهای بلند، زیر باریکههایی از آسمان، بار دیگر بوی دیوارهای آن سالها را استشمام کردم. فکر کردم حالا هیچکس نمیداند که تو همان کلهلیای قدیمی هستی. جرئت نمیکردم بایستم و به بالا، پنجرههای قدیمی، نگاه کنم."
"... مائوریتزیو همیشه میگوید:《آدم هر چیزی را که بخواهد به دست میآورد، اما زمانی که دیگر به دردش نمیخورد.》"
"... به مادرم فکر کردم. آیا او هم چنین بوده است؟ آیا میتوان با کسی زندگی کرد و او را تر و خشک کرد، بیآنکه بخواهید نقشی در ذهن و روان او باقی بگذارید؟ من خود به موقع از دست مادرم گریخته بودم. آیا واقعاً چنین بود؟ مادرم مدام غر میزد که یک مرد یا یک شوهر، موجودی زبون و بینواست. بد نیست، بلکه احمق است و چنانکه پیداست من نصیحتش را آویزهی گوش کردهام. آیا جاهطلبی من، اشتیاقم به تکروی و ایستادن روی پای خود از او نشئت نمیگرفت؟"
"با شتاب به سوی تورین در حرکت بودیم و فکر میکردم که نه روزتا، نه مومینا، هیچ یک معنای کار را نمیدانند. هیچگاه مجبور نبودهاند برای یک وعده غذا، یک جفت جوراب یا سفرهای خود پولی به دست آورند. اندیشیدم که مسخره است چون همهی ما کار میکنیم تا مجبور به کار کردن نباشیم و وقتی با کسی مواجه میشویم که مجبور به کار کردن نیست، چه زود از کوره در میرویم. به مادر روزتا فکر کردم و کارش که مراقبت از دخترش بود، مدام در پی او دویدن و برآوردن خواستههایش تا کمبودی احساس نکند؛ در عوض دختر به او چه میداد: ترس و دلهره..."
"چهرهاش از هم شکفت. پرسید:《به کتاب علاقه داری؟ زیاد میخوانی؟》
《زمان جنگ میخواندم. آن موقع آدم نمیدانست چه کار کند. ولی حالا اصلاً نمیتوانم بخوانم. مدام احساس میکنم که دارم توی زندگی کسی دیگر سرک میکشم.》
روزتا مات و مبهوت نگاهم میکرد.
《به نظرم کاری ناشایست میآید، مثل باز کردن پاکت نامهی دیگران...》"
"آسوده خاطر پا به خیابان گذاشتیم. آنجا در آن روز یکشنبه، چیز زیادی برای دیدن وجود نداشت، ولی شهرهایی که آدم برای اولینبار به آنها سفر میکند همیشه تأثیرگذارند. آسمان با چند تکه ابر، محشر بود و بوی دریا به مشام میرسید. بیهدف در خیابانها قدم میزدیم. وارد کافهای شدیم، کیک خوردیم و به زنها و افرادی که نگاهمان میکردند نگاه کردیم. بعد بیرون آمدیم و تا جایی از بندرگاه قدم زدیم که دیگر خانهای پیدا نبود و فقط کشتیهای زرد و سیاه زشت به چشم میآمد.
مومینا گفت:《اینجا آخر خط است. همه چیز به آخر میرسد.》"
"... همچنین به او گفتم که عاشق من آدمی نالایق و به دردنخور بوده و مدام در خانه میخورده و میخوابیده، در حالیکه من از این سر رم به آن سر رم سر میزدهام تا کار کنم. ولی با تمام این تفاصیل، تا با کسی همراه نشوی و زندگی نکنی، نمیتوانی راه و رسم اتکا به خود را بیاموزی. هیچچیز کثیفی هم در آن نمیتوان یافت. فقط نوعی معصوميت – اگر دوست داری نام آن را معصوميت حیوانی بگذار – در آن به چشم میخورد. شاید هم میتوان آن را معصوميت افراد کمتجربهای نامید که از راههای دیگر نمیتوانند به شناخت خود برسند."
"روزتا خطاب به من گفت که هنوز پدرش را به درستی نمیشناسد.
مومینا گفت:《من میشناسم. او از جمله مردانی است که ابتدا ریش میگذارند، اما بعد شبی یک زن ریش آنها را میتراشد و هر دو باقی عمرشان را به بازیابی شخصیت پیشین خود و دوران گذشته میگذرانند.》"
__________________________________________________
"در آب گرم که آرام گرفتم چشمهایم را بستم؛ چشمهایی که از آن همه حرفهای بیمورد به درد آمده بودند. هر قدر بیشتر خود را متقاعد میکردم که حرف زدن بیهوده است نیازم به آن بیشتر و بیشتر میشد؛ به خصوص در جمع زنان. اما طولی نکشید که آب گرم، خستگی و قدری تب را که در جانم بود با خود برد و من به یاد آخرین باری افتادم که در تورین بودم. روز بعد از یک بمباران هوایی در ایام جنگ بود. لولههای بزرگ ترکیده بودند و از حمام خبری نبود. با لذت اندیشیدم:《تا وقتی آدم بتواند حمام کند، زندگی به تکاپویش میارزد. 》"
"... آدم نمیتواند کسی را بیش از خود دوست داشته باشد. اگر خود نتوانی، هیچکس دیگر قادر نیست تو را نجات دهد..."
"... هیچ چیز تغییر نکرده بود، حتی سنگفرش خیابانها. چتر نداشتم و در کوچههایی با ساختمانهای بلند، زیر باریکههایی از آسمان، بار دیگر بوی دیوارهای آن سالها را استشمام کردم. فکر کردم حالا هیچکس نمیداند که تو همان کلهلیای قدیمی هستی. جرئت نمیکردم بایستم و به بالا، پنجرههای قدیمی، نگاه کنم."
"... مائوریتزیو همیشه میگوید:《آدم هر چیزی را که بخواهد به دست میآورد، اما زمانی که دیگر به دردش نمیخورد.》"
"... به مادرم فکر کردم. آیا او هم چنین بوده است؟ آیا میتوان با کسی زندگی کرد و او را تر و خشک کرد، بیآنکه بخواهید نقشی در ذهن و روان او باقی بگذارید؟ من خود به موقع از دست مادرم گریخته بودم. آیا واقعاً چنین بود؟ مادرم مدام غر میزد که یک مرد یا یک شوهر، موجودی زبون و بینواست. بد نیست، بلکه احمق است و چنانکه پیداست من نصیحتش را آویزهی گوش کردهام. آیا جاهطلبی من، اشتیاقم به تکروی و ایستادن روی پای خود از او نشئت نمیگرفت؟"
"با شتاب به سوی تورین در حرکت بودیم و فکر میکردم که نه روزتا، نه مومینا، هیچ یک معنای کار را نمیدانند. هیچگاه مجبور نبودهاند برای یک وعده غذا، یک جفت جوراب یا سفرهای خود پولی به دست آورند. اندیشیدم که مسخره است چون همهی ما کار میکنیم تا مجبور به کار کردن نباشیم و وقتی با کسی مواجه میشویم که مجبور به کار کردن نیست، چه زود از کوره در میرویم. به مادر روزتا فکر کردم و کارش که مراقبت از دخترش بود، مدام در پی او دویدن و برآوردن خواستههایش تا کمبودی احساس نکند؛ در عوض دختر به او چه میداد: ترس و دلهره..."
"چهرهاش از هم شکفت. پرسید:《به کتاب علاقه داری؟ زیاد میخوانی؟》
《زمان جنگ میخواندم. آن موقع آدم نمیدانست چه کار کند. ولی حالا اصلاً نمیتوانم بخوانم. مدام احساس میکنم که دارم توی زندگی کسی دیگر سرک میکشم.》
روزتا مات و مبهوت نگاهم میکرد.
《به نظرم کاری ناشایست میآید، مثل باز کردن پاکت نامهی دیگران...》"
"آسوده خاطر پا به خیابان گذاشتیم. آنجا در آن روز یکشنبه، چیز زیادی برای دیدن وجود نداشت، ولی شهرهایی که آدم برای اولینبار به آنها سفر میکند همیشه تأثیرگذارند. آسمان با چند تکه ابر، محشر بود و بوی دریا به مشام میرسید. بیهدف در خیابانها قدم میزدیم. وارد کافهای شدیم، کیک خوردیم و به زنها و افرادی که نگاهمان میکردند نگاه کردیم. بعد بیرون آمدیم و تا جایی از بندرگاه قدم زدیم که دیگر خانهای پیدا نبود و فقط کشتیهای زرد و سیاه زشت به چشم میآمد.
مومینا گفت:《اینجا آخر خط است. همه چیز به آخر میرسد.》"
"... همچنین به او گفتم که عاشق من آدمی نالایق و به دردنخور بوده و مدام در خانه میخورده و میخوابیده، در حالیکه من از این سر رم به آن سر رم سر میزدهام تا کار کنم. ولی با تمام این تفاصیل، تا با کسی همراه نشوی و زندگی نکنی، نمیتوانی راه و رسم اتکا به خود را بیاموزی. هیچچیز کثیفی هم در آن نمیتوان یافت. فقط نوعی معصوميت – اگر دوست داری نام آن را معصوميت حیوانی بگذار – در آن به چشم میخورد. شاید هم میتوان آن را معصوميت افراد کمتجربهای نامید که از راههای دیگر نمیتوانند به شناخت خود برسند."
"روزتا خطاب به من گفت که هنوز پدرش را به درستی نمیشناسد.
مومینا گفت:《من میشناسم. او از جمله مردانی است که ابتدا ریش میگذارند، اما بعد شبی یک زن ریش آنها را میتراشد و هر دو باقی عمرشان را به بازیابی شخصیت پیشین خود و دوران گذشته میگذرانند.》"
January 5, 2022
Herkesin yapısının, yolunun ayrı olduğunu anlamak için bir gece aynı yastığı paylaşmış olmak yeterliydi.”
August 9, 2025
"همه چیز حکایت از آن داشت که در زندگی باید با کسی همراه شد و حتی با وجود بی میلی با او سر بر یک بالش گذاشت پول داشتن به معنای آن است که انسان میتواند به تنهایی خود را اداره کند و به دیگران نیازی نداشته باشد. پس چرا حتی افراد وقت گذران و بی دغدغه با آن همه پول مدام چشمشان در پی یک همراه یا یک مجلس پر سروصد است؟"
September 19, 2025
Curiosamente el único personaje menos definido aquí, casi etéreo e inasible, es Rosetta. Pero alrededor de ella gravita la novela. Rosetta intenta suicidarse con una sobredosis de barbitúricos en una habitación de hotel. Pero el narrador no es ella, no, ella está vista con cierta distancia, como si en realidad todo esto no se tratase de ella sino de Clelia, que es la narradora en primera persona intradiegética, es decir, es testigo y parte de la historia. Clelia regresa a su Turín natal, luego de muchos años viviendo en Roma y teniendo éxito como modista. Va a abrir una tienda exclusiva de moda y los preparativos de adecuación del local son a la vez hilo conductor de la trama y narración paralela. Se hospeda en el mismo hotel en el que está Rosetta, y esa mañana, apenas llegar, Clelia ve sus manos sobresaliendo de la camilla cuando la sacan inconsciente. Pero Rosetta vive esta vez.
A partir de aquí la trama muestra el encuentro de Clelia con una serie de personajes del mundillo cultural y de élite de Turín, con quienes departe y sale casi en modo automático pero manteniendo siempre una mirada algo irónica sobre ese modo de vida con el que no se identifica (el ocio, los placeres, el vivir sin trabajar), pues ella proviene de abajo. En gran medida, la novela es como una esponja gigante que va limpiando y absorbiendo los últimos rastros de una sociedad que ya no existe, de tiempos ya fueron y que terminaron casi de un tajo después de la 2da Guerra Mundial. Esto, que apenas se insinúa sutilmente, es quizás lo más crucial de la novela y lo más autobiogr��fico (pese a una escena explícita que, como un augur, sucedió en la vida de Pavese), ya que como cita Pierre Adrian en su libro biográfico sobre Pavese, Hotel Roma, al escritor turinés lo que le pasaba era que se hallaba en un anacronismo vital respecto al presente, en el que el mundo del campo y los oficios artesanales y manuales agonizaban como si fuese el fin de una civilización. Esto se puede ver claramente en una escena de esta novela, en la que un ebanista se niega a trabajar porque no merece la pena hacer muebles tan bonitos para un local comercial. De hecho, el ebanista ya no acepta encargos, cede ante la modernidad de los muebles de aglomerado. Una escena potente y simbólica que no obstante, fluye con la misma sutileza del resto de imágenes. Porque es una novela llena de imágenes, como un fresco de una ciudad, de una época, de unas gentes. En Pavese, como dice el escritor Pierre Adrian, lo que importa no es la trama de sus novelas, ni su estilo ni su lenguaje (aunque hace un trabajo pulidísimo, armónico y de gran belleza), sino la vida misma abriéndose paso entre la ficción. Y sí, pese a su vocación suicida y su pesimismo, y a pesar de la visión cínica y desencantada de la protagonista y voz narradora, Clelia, esta novela está llena de vigor, nostálgica sí, pero conservando ese maravillarse ante la vida misma.
Ahora, aunque este retrato de un mundo que agoniza subyace a la narración y es mostrado de forma mínima e indirecta, lo que más sobresale es una crítica social en apariencia contenida y desapasionada sobre aquellas élites sociales y quizás, de las mujeres propiamente, aunque los hombres salgan mucho menos favorecidos en esta novela. “Lo ensucian todo”, dice Rosetta al referirse a los hombres. Y es que los personajes masculinos aquí son medio fantoches, fatuos, pusilánimes y algo ridículos. Las mujeres, son. Simplemente son. Pavese hace el ejercicio de meterse en el pellejo de no una, sino varias mujeres, y eso es lo interesante, porque termina sin importar que está tomando la voz femenina desde su lugar de enunciación literario masculino y en verdad logra darle una cualidad única a cada personaje, de tal forma que no destacan por su característica femenina, sino por su propia construcción dramática dentro de la ficción. Está hablando de mujeres y de un mundo femenino, de amigas, de intimidades de chicas pero no hay atisbo de intrusivismo ni de apropiación o proyección de lo femenino como constructo masculino. No. Pavese sobrepasa esos niveles al hacer literatura pura, desde una honestidad de creador de ficciones que poco deja de sí mismo o de su idiosincrasia en sus personajes (o quizás ese era su verdadero sentir). Ellos son entes independientes. Cómo diría Pierre Adrian, “Pavese había comprendido que las mujeres eran el mejor filtro de la realidad”.
Y señalo todo esto porque precisamente Pavese ha sido calificado (y autocalificado) de misógino por sus conocidos problemas en sus relaciones y sus opiniones contradictorias sobre las mujeres, expresadas sobre todo en su célebre diario El oficio de vivir. Aunque quizás ello era también una puesta en escena de sí mismo. Como puesta en escena (o representación) es lo que los personajes de ese mundillo de clase alta y culturetas de esta novela hacen. En principio, Rosetta estaría harta de representar, a decir de Clelia, y por eso intentó suicidarse, aunque eso no termina de cuajar. Ni eso, ni la posible decepción amorosa (primero heterosexual luego lesbiánica). Hay algo más en ese paso al vacío de Rosetta y es el mismo que el de Pavese. Su acto final. Porque “cómo podía ser que quien como Rosetta tenía tanta necesidad de vivir, quisiera morir”. Lo mismo Pavese. La muerte de Rosetta es una prefiguración de la muerte de Pavese. Un plan. Una representación. En un mundo que los mira desde lejos y no los comprende.
Recomendada sin duda. 4.5 🌟
A partir de aquí la trama muestra el encuentro de Clelia con una serie de personajes del mundillo cultural y de élite de Turín, con quienes departe y sale casi en modo automático pero manteniendo siempre una mirada algo irónica sobre ese modo de vida con el que no se identifica (el ocio, los placeres, el vivir sin trabajar), pues ella proviene de abajo. En gran medida, la novela es como una esponja gigante que va limpiando y absorbiendo los últimos rastros de una sociedad que ya no existe, de tiempos ya fueron y que terminaron casi de un tajo después de la 2da Guerra Mundial. Esto, que apenas se insinúa sutilmente, es quizás lo más crucial de la novela y lo más autobiogr��fico (pese a una escena explícita que, como un augur, sucedió en la vida de Pavese), ya que como cita Pierre Adrian en su libro biográfico sobre Pavese, Hotel Roma, al escritor turinés lo que le pasaba era que se hallaba en un anacronismo vital respecto al presente, en el que el mundo del campo y los oficios artesanales y manuales agonizaban como si fuese el fin de una civilización. Esto se puede ver claramente en una escena de esta novela, en la que un ebanista se niega a trabajar porque no merece la pena hacer muebles tan bonitos para un local comercial. De hecho, el ebanista ya no acepta encargos, cede ante la modernidad de los muebles de aglomerado. Una escena potente y simbólica que no obstante, fluye con la misma sutileza del resto de imágenes. Porque es una novela llena de imágenes, como un fresco de una ciudad, de una época, de unas gentes. En Pavese, como dice el escritor Pierre Adrian, lo que importa no es la trama de sus novelas, ni su estilo ni su lenguaje (aunque hace un trabajo pulidísimo, armónico y de gran belleza), sino la vida misma abriéndose paso entre la ficción. Y sí, pese a su vocación suicida y su pesimismo, y a pesar de la visión cínica y desencantada de la protagonista y voz narradora, Clelia, esta novela está llena de vigor, nostálgica sí, pero conservando ese maravillarse ante la vida misma.
Ahora, aunque este retrato de un mundo que agoniza subyace a la narración y es mostrado de forma mínima e indirecta, lo que más sobresale es una crítica social en apariencia contenida y desapasionada sobre aquellas élites sociales y quizás, de las mujeres propiamente, aunque los hombres salgan mucho menos favorecidos en esta novela. “Lo ensucian todo”, dice Rosetta al referirse a los hombres. Y es que los personajes masculinos aquí son medio fantoches, fatuos, pusilánimes y algo ridículos. Las mujeres, son. Simplemente son. Pavese hace el ejercicio de meterse en el pellejo de no una, sino varias mujeres, y eso es lo interesante, porque termina sin importar que está tomando la voz femenina desde su lugar de enunciación literario masculino y en verdad logra darle una cualidad única a cada personaje, de tal forma que no destacan por su característica femenina, sino por su propia construcción dramática dentro de la ficción. Está hablando de mujeres y de un mundo femenino, de amigas, de intimidades de chicas pero no hay atisbo de intrusivismo ni de apropiación o proyección de lo femenino como constructo masculino. No. Pavese sobrepasa esos niveles al hacer literatura pura, desde una honestidad de creador de ficciones que poco deja de sí mismo o de su idiosincrasia en sus personajes (o quizás ese era su verdadero sentir). Ellos son entes independientes. Cómo diría Pierre Adrian, “Pavese había comprendido que las mujeres eran el mejor filtro de la realidad”.
Y señalo todo esto porque precisamente Pavese ha sido calificado (y autocalificado) de misógino por sus conocidos problemas en sus relaciones y sus opiniones contradictorias sobre las mujeres, expresadas sobre todo en su célebre diario El oficio de vivir. Aunque quizás ello era también una puesta en escena de sí mismo. Como puesta en escena (o representación) es lo que los personajes de ese mundillo de clase alta y culturetas de esta novela hacen. En principio, Rosetta estaría harta de representar, a decir de Clelia, y por eso intentó suicidarse, aunque eso no termina de cuajar. Ni eso, ni la posible decepción amorosa (primero heterosexual luego lesbiánica). Hay algo más en ese paso al vacío de Rosetta y es el mismo que el de Pavese. Su acto final. Porque “cómo podía ser que quien como Rosetta tenía tanta necesidad de vivir, quisiera morir”. Lo mismo Pavese. La muerte de Rosetta es una prefiguración de la muerte de Pavese. Un plan. Una representación. En un mundo que los mira desde lejos y no los comprende.
Recomendada sin duda. 4.5 🌟
February 6, 2017
Clelia'dan tiksindim. ve her intiharın illa keskin bir anlamı olmak zorunda değil. kadın başlıklı kitapların başlığına çok takılmayın.
Clelia biraz benim gibi ya da ben onun. Clelia ve ben gibiler bok attığımız yaşamları yaşamaya ve sonra onlara bok atmaya devam ederiz çünkü bizim için başka bir anlam yok.
gerçi sizin de pek bi farkınız yok.
her ne ise.
kitabı fazla süründürdüm biliyorum. okumadım okumadım sonra pat diye bitirdim. bu yüzden ne kadar doğru ifade edebilirim bunu bilemiyorum. yine de yazacağım.
bu pavese'nin okuduğum ilk romanı, üslubu olarak yabancıyım haliyle, romanlarına. arka kapak yazısına pek katılamıyorum ama. Clelia'nın dostluk kurduğu falan yok, ne "çevre"lerde ne de Rosetta'yla. Clelia benim gibi, hatta bir yerde (çemkirgenliğin eksik olarak) senin gibi çevre koşullarına uyum sağlayan, bulunduğu habitata adapte olan, sonradan yeni orta sınıf eskiden alt sınıf elemanı yalnız ve yalnız bir kadın.
bunlar ne alaka demeyin çünkü bunlar insanı, haliyle kitabı şekillendiren şeyler. özellikle çevreler: yaşam biçimleri. kitapta baskın olan bi orta sınıf ve sanat dolayları olsa da, roma'dakiler, işverenler, esnaf-işçiler, meyhaneciler, otel çalışanları, orospular ve geri kalan tüm ayaktakımı da bir çevre; mekandan bağımsız söylüyorum.
Pavese'nin, ne Clelia'yı, ne Rosetta'yı ne de ötekiler üzerinden eleştiri yaptığını söylemeyemem, her ne kadar kitap Clelia'nın ağzından yazılsa da. çünkü dediğim gibi, Clelia çoktan "ortam kızı" olmuş bile, diğerleri zaten öyle. evet aptal bi tabir ama ne demek istediğimi şu an başka türlü ifade edemiyorum. şey gibi bu, Tyga'nın kalkıp Kanye'ye gavat demesi gibi bişi. e sen nesin ki? o yüzden, en azından benim için, kitap daha çok ortamı, çevreyi (yaşamın kendisini) ve gizliden gizliye pavese'nin buna olan kızgınlığı, kırgınlığı veya nefreti: kendi uyumsuzluğu.
sanatçı Nene, intihar meyilli Rosetta, ukala Clelia, zalim Momina, sorumsuz Mariella, acınası aptal Gisella ve ezik kızları, maydonoz Mariuccia, gereksiz yaşlı Clementina, orospular ve adını anmadığım diğerleri, kadınların hepsi bir bütün aslında, tek tek ele alamadım ben kitapta okurken. zaten pavese hep kadın düşmanı olarak adlandırılır, bence değil. kitapta bir kadın karakter olamadım. (intiharına rağmen Rosetta bile. olabildiysem en fazla Becuccio olabilirim.) demek istediğim, sanki pavese kendini kadınlara bölmüş de dikkatimizi dağıtmış gibi. tek bir sonuç var, ne kadar kalabalık ve çeşit çeşit "tip"ten oluşursa oluşsun çevren (ister aynı sınıfa mensup olsun ister olmasın) ya ayak uydur, ya çekil. ne dediğiniz bir şey ifade etmiyor, ediyor mu? değiştirmek adına ne yapıyoruz? değişim de değil yani, sadece eleştirdiğimiz yönlerinin tersinin olması için neler yapıyoruz? ben ne yapıyorum mesela bok atmaktan başka; attığım boku tutuyorum, ve kastettiğim derin felsefik sosyopsikolojik meseleler değil; ömrü oluşturan günlük yaşam. pavese biyografisine 'yaşama uğraşı' adını vermedi mi? ve yazdığı son eserden biri bu olduğu düşünülürse, tek derdi bu. yaşamın boşluğu, nasıl doldurduğumuz, ne bok yediğimiz, bunları yaparken ne olduğumuz. çünkü kitap boyunca bir şekilde gerek Clelia'nın insanlara bok atarak, gerek onların içine girerek, gerek eski yaşantısını düşünerek (geçici de olsa Roma'daki hayatı da eski, ve tabi çocukluğu), gerekse diğerlerinin sürekli hayat üzerine "birşeyler" dediğini veya yaptıklarını okuyoruz.
(şuradan net bir örnek vereyim, kitaptaki eşcinsellik, ne yazar- yani ne Clelia'nın gözleminden ne de karakterlerin kendi ağzından net bir sonuca ulaştırılmış değil. iki kadın arasındaki ilişkinin etiket sorgusu bile bir anlam yaratma çabası hayat için)
ters düşünmeye, farklı konuşmaya çalışmıyorum ifade kıtlığı sanırım of. nys.
kitapta bir de önemli olan bir şey varsa, mekanlar. atölyeden otele, meyhaneden bahçelere, cafelerden genelevlere, vitrinlerden sokaklara: mekanlar değiştikçe hiçbir şey değişmiyor ama her şey aynı da değil. yarattığı değişmezlik beni daha çok çarptı.
yani kitapta bir şey olduğu yok (o anlamda yok). ne karakter, ne olay. zaman-mekan düzleminde hayattan hayat adına çıkarttıkları pavese'nin. ve olmazsa olmazı: gerçekçiliği ile melankolisi.
ki bence çok da melankolik bi kitap değil...
ahah kesinlikle ifade kıtlığı. özürler diliyorum.
haricinde, şahane bir çeviri ve tertemiz bir basım. aro can yay.!
Pavese'nin ağzından bir Becuccio öyküsü okumak ne güzel olurdu!
xoxo
iko
November 27, 2024
Pavese riesce ad immedesimarsi con delicatezza e lucidità nell'animo femminile. Le protagoniste del romanzo sono donne indipendenti, che vivono la loro vita per sé stesse, non per altri. La loro sofferenza nasce da una solitudine esistenziale che accomuna tutti, uomini e donne, nel dopoguerra. Il mondo si è rivelato un luogo sterile, in cui nessuno si salva, perché nessuno appartiene più a niente e cercare di tornare al passato espone alla cattiveria dello sguardo di chi un tempo sembrava essere un amico. Il suicidio assume la connotazione ascetica di chi lascia il mondo, non per troppo dolore, ma per la completa assenza di emozioni che facciano sperare nella felicità.
February 25, 2021
Barátnők? Ezek? Hát akkor inkább egy karantén.
Cléliát Rómából szülővárosába, Torinóba küldik, hogy nyisson meg egy divatcentrumot. Gondolnánk, ez egy "találkozás saját ifjúságunkkal"-regény, de nem: Clélia összeütközése múltjával csak egy igen erőtlen aspektusa a szövegnek. Helyette viszont ott vannak a csajok, akikkel hősünk bandázásba bonyolódik: többek között Momina, az alfanőstény, és Rosetta, aki épp most lábadozik egy Veronállal végrehajtott öngyilok-kísérlet után.
Szeretem amúgy az ehhez hasonló elbeszélőtípusokat, akik egyfajta kívülállóként, az események uszályán sodródva kommentálják a konfliktusokat. És Clélia pont ilyen. Ki is akar maradni az egészből, meg azért ott is akar lenni, őrzi tárgyilagosságát, de azért időnként kibillentik belőle... határhelyzeti pozíciója alighanem abból fakad, hogy két léthelyzet között lebeg. Egyfelől munkájából él ("barátnőivel", e bájos burzsoákkal ellentétben, akik sose hámoztak még kolompért), másfelől viszont épp munkája révén folyton a legfelsőbb körökben mozog - naná, hisz belőlük él. Gyanítom, Pavese pont e "köztes állapot" miatt pécézte ki őt elbeszélőnek, hisz így félig-meddig belső emberként tudja közvetíteni nekünk azt a finom, arisztokratikus szétesést, azt az ernyedt, lábszagú enerváltságot, ami Torinót felülről rohasztja meg.
Cléliát Rómából szülővárosába, Torinóba küldik, hogy nyisson meg egy divatcentrumot. Gondolnánk, ez egy "találkozás saját ifjúságunkkal"-regény, de nem: Clélia összeütközése múltjával csak egy igen erőtlen aspektusa a szövegnek. Helyette viszont ott vannak a csajok, akikkel hősünk bandázásba bonyolódik: többek között Momina, az alfanőstény, és Rosetta, aki épp most lábadozik egy Veronállal végrehajtott öngyilok-kísérlet után.
Szeretem amúgy az ehhez hasonló elbeszélőtípusokat, akik egyfajta kívülállóként, az események uszályán sodródva kommentálják a konfliktusokat. És Clélia pont ilyen. Ki is akar maradni az egészből, meg azért ott is akar lenni, őrzi tárgyilagosságát, de azért időnként kibillentik belőle... határhelyzeti pozíciója alighanem abból fakad, hogy két léthelyzet között lebeg. Egyfelől munkájából él ("barátnőivel", e bájos burzsoákkal ellentétben, akik sose hámoztak még kolompért), másfelől viszont épp munkája révén folyton a legfelsőbb körökben mozog - naná, hisz belőlük él. Gyanítom, Pavese pont e "köztes állapot" miatt pécézte ki őt elbeszélőnek, hisz így félig-meddig belső emberként tudja közvetíteni nekünk azt a finom, arisztokratikus szétesést, azt az ernyedt, lábszagú enerváltságot, ami Torinót felülről rohasztja meg.
March 11, 2025
“Chi non si salva da sé, non lo salva nessuno”.
‘Tra donne sole’ fu scritto da Pavese nel 1949, a un anno dal suo suicidio, e, non a caso, nel racconto vibra intensamente la duplice tematica del suicidio e del pettegolezzo. (Come sappiamo: “Non fate pettegolezzi”, furono le ultime parole che lo scrittore lasciò ai posteri).
Clelia è una donna forte, volitiva, che si è guadagnata l’indipendenza economica (ma anche quella affettiva) lavorando come modista in un atelier romano e che ora ritorna a Torino, sua città natale, con l’incarico di aprirvi un negozio di moda.
Clelia, che narra in prima persona questa storia, se n’era andata diciassette anni prima e tornare ora diventa una sorta di rivalsa verso la società provinciale e ottusa da cui era fuggita, un riscatto della donna matura ormai autosufficiente rispetto alla bambina e all’adolescente povera che era stata.
In hotel, a poche ore dal suo arrivo, accade un fatto scabroso: Rosetta, una ragazza di buona famiglia, ha tentato il suicidio.
Verrà salvata in extremis e Clelia la ritroverà nei giorni successivi, quando parteciperà a una serie di incontri mondani dove conoscerà altre donne che diventeranno le coprotagoniste del racconto: l’affascinante Mariella, l’ironica e disincantata Momina, l’eccentrica Nené.
Intorno a loro si muove un mondo maschile perlopiù vanesio e insignificante e tutti sono coinvolti in una dispersione esistenziale che si esprime attraverso il luccichio dei party e dei veglioni, le velleità artistiche, le avventure squallide, gli amori superficiali e proibiti.
Attraverso gli occhi di Clelia Pavese descrive una borghesia decadente e fatua che indossa una serie di maschere per nascondere il vuoto di significato di una vita inutile, basata su valori effimeri.
L’indignazione dell’emancipata Clelia e la ripulsa della fragile Rosetta sono forse le ultime parole di Pavese su un mondo che lui stesso non ha potuto né cambiare né accettare.
In appendice l’interessante scambio di lettere tra Pavese e il giovane Calvino (che criticò il romanzo) e, diversi anni dopo, tra Calvino e Antonioni che da questo libro trasse il film “Le amiche”, vincitore del Leone d’argento nel 1955.
‘Tra donne sole’ fu scritto da Pavese nel 1949, a un anno dal suo suicidio, e, non a caso, nel racconto vibra intensamente la duplice tematica del suicidio e del pettegolezzo. (Come sappiamo: “Non fate pettegolezzi”, furono le ultime parole che lo scrittore lasciò ai posteri).
Clelia è una donna forte, volitiva, che si è guadagnata l’indipendenza economica (ma anche quella affettiva) lavorando come modista in un atelier romano e che ora ritorna a Torino, sua città natale, con l’incarico di aprirvi un negozio di moda.
Clelia, che narra in prima persona questa storia, se n’era andata diciassette anni prima e tornare ora diventa una sorta di rivalsa verso la società provinciale e ottusa da cui era fuggita, un riscatto della donna matura ormai autosufficiente rispetto alla bambina e all’adolescente povera che era stata.
In hotel, a poche ore dal suo arrivo, accade un fatto scabroso: Rosetta, una ragazza di buona famiglia, ha tentato il suicidio.
Verrà salvata in extremis e Clelia la ritroverà nei giorni successivi, quando parteciperà a una serie di incontri mondani dove conoscerà altre donne che diventeranno le coprotagoniste del racconto: l’affascinante Mariella, l’ironica e disincantata Momina, l’eccentrica Nené.
Intorno a loro si muove un mondo maschile perlopiù vanesio e insignificante e tutti sono coinvolti in una dispersione esistenziale che si esprime attraverso il luccichio dei party e dei veglioni, le velleità artistiche, le avventure squallide, gli amori superficiali e proibiti.
Attraverso gli occhi di Clelia Pavese descrive una borghesia decadente e fatua che indossa una serie di maschere per nascondere il vuoto di significato di una vita inutile, basata su valori effimeri.
L’indignazione dell’emancipata Clelia e la ripulsa della fragile Rosetta sono forse le ultime parole di Pavese su un mondo che lui stesso non ha potuto né cambiare né accettare.
In appendice l’interessante scambio di lettere tra Pavese e il giovane Calvino (che criticò il romanzo) e, diversi anni dopo, tra Calvino e Antonioni che da questo libro trasse il film “Le amiche”, vincitore del Leone d’argento nel 1955.
January 1, 2022
İlginç başlayıp ilerledikçe etkisini yitiren bir kitap oldu. Kitabın adıyla ilgili de soru işaretleri var, kitabın bazı dillerdeki çevirilerinde sıfat anlamındaki “yalnız”, bazılarında ise “sadece/yalnızca” anlamı kullanılmış. Türkçe çevirisi iki anlamı da veriyor gibi ancak yazarın hangisini kast ettiği hala bir muamma. Patti Smith’in favori yazarı olduğu için Pavese’yi uzun zamandır merak ediyordum ve bu sebeple okumaya karar verdim. Kitap Torino’ya mağaza açmak için yerleşen Clelia ve arkadaşları arasındaki “gıybet” ve bolca eleştiri ağırlıklı arkadaşları üzerine kurulu. Diyaloglar fazla sığ ve çeviride kaybolmuş gibi hissettirdiği için hayal ettiğim keyfi alamasam da farklı bir okuma deneyimi olduğunu söyleyebilirim.
2.5/5
2.5/5
January 14, 2014
The title of this book in Italian is Tra donne sole which transliterates as ‘Among Single Women’. I’m not sure why R.W. Flint went with Among Women Only but then there were a few translation issues in this book, at least I’m putting them down to issues of translation considering Pavese’s reputation—certainly within his home country—as being one among the major authors of the 20th century. I mean, “he touched her cheek caressingly” is just bad. In Wikipedia I see the book’s has been translated as Women on Their Own which I think is probably more what Pavese had in mind not that the book is without men—far from it—but it does focus on a group of mainly unattached women.
There’s not much of a plot here. A fashion designer, Clelia Oitana, returns to Turin, her hometown in northern Italy, after making a name for herself in Rome. She’s been sent to oversee the setting up of a new shop. Somehow she finds herself hobnobbing with the women who will be her shop’s intended clientele: moneyed and bored. One in particular catches her interest, a young girl called Rosetta Mola who is rushed out a hotel room close to the one Clelia’s moved into on her first night in town after having attempted to commit suicide. Rosetta’s friends—although she actually acknowledges no friends—rally round her and over the next few weeks Clelia finds herself whisked away to parties and events and on road trips and all the time Rosetta is there at her side or in the background and what everyone is wondering is: Will she try again?
Eventually the question is posed:
What’s particularly interesting about this book—albeit in a morbid way—is that we know Pavese committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates in 1950, a year after this novella was published. I found myself thinking of the character of Trish in Willy Russell’s Educating Rita as I read this, especially Rosetta’s explanation of what happened. Rita asks Trish why she attempted suicide and Trish replies, “Darling, why not? […] When I listen to poetry and music, then I can live. You see, darling, the rest of the time it's just me. And that's not enough.”
It took me a wee while to get into this book. Pavese doesn’t explain a lot—I didn’t even realise the narrator was a woman at first—but bit by bit he fills in the background and that kept my attention. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters really apart from Clelia as my proxy, the detached observer. She’s a bit of a cold fish actually. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book. I’m never going to get people like these but that doesn’t mean they’re not fascinating and literature is full of them, the Daisy Buchannans and Sebastian Flytes of this world, people more concerned with what they seem to be than what they actually are.
There’s not much of a plot here. A fashion designer, Clelia Oitana, returns to Turin, her hometown in northern Italy, after making a name for herself in Rome. She’s been sent to oversee the setting up of a new shop. Somehow she finds herself hobnobbing with the women who will be her shop’s intended clientele: moneyed and bored. One in particular catches her interest, a young girl called Rosetta Mola who is rushed out a hotel room close to the one Clelia’s moved into on her first night in town after having attempted to commit suicide. Rosetta’s friends—although she actually acknowledges no friends—rally round her and over the next few weeks Clelia finds herself whisked away to parties and events and on road trips and all the time Rosetta is there at her side or in the background and what everyone is wondering is: Will she try again?
Eventually the question is posed:
Rosetta, surprised, said that she had no idea herself why she went to the hotel that night. In fact she had gone in happy. She was feeling relieved after the dance. For a long time, nights had made her shudder, the idea of having got through another day, of being alone with her disgusts, of waiting for morning, stretched out in bed—all became unbearable. That night, anyhow, was nearly over. But then, precisely because she hadn't slept but paced around the room thinking of night, of all the stupid things that had happened at night, and now she was alone again and couldn't do anything, little by little she became desperate, and finding the Veronal in her bag...The thing is she’s not alone with thoughts like this. Momina, an older woman with whom Rosetta had had some kind of sexual dalliance, feels much the same. Clelia reports:
Momina was telling me how strongly she was overcome at times by disgust—not just a nausea from this or that person, from an evening or a season, but a disgust with living, with everything and everyone, with time itself that goes so fast and yet never seems to go.Still an outsider Clelia struggles to understand these women:
Having money means you can isolate yourself. But then why do leisured people with money always look for company and noise? […] At bottom it was true she had no motive for wanting to kill herself, certainly not because of that stupid story of her first love for Momina, or some other mess. She wanted to be alone, to isolate herself from the uproar; and in her world you can't be alone or do anything alone unless you take yourself out of it completely.So this is a study not so much of women but of a lifestyle. We’ve all read in the papers what the rich and famous get up to when they’re bored and that’s what we have here, a bunch of people—granted, mainly women—with too much time on their hands and nothing to fill it with. Clelia has worked her way up. She comes from a poor neighbourhood and now she can afford furs; work has done this for her and yet she sees in these women what life might be like if she could ever afford not to work.
What’s particularly interesting about this book—albeit in a morbid way—is that we know Pavese committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates in 1950, a year after this novella was published. I found myself thinking of the character of Trish in Willy Russell’s Educating Rita as I read this, especially Rosetta’s explanation of what happened. Rita asks Trish why she attempted suicide and Trish replies, “Darling, why not? […] When I listen to poetry and music, then I can live. You see, darling, the rest of the time it's just me. And that's not enough.”
It took me a wee while to get into this book. Pavese doesn’t explain a lot—I didn’t even realise the narrator was a woman at first—but bit by bit he fills in the background and that kept my attention. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters really apart from Clelia as my proxy, the detached observer. She’s a bit of a cold fish actually. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book. I’m never going to get people like these but that doesn’t mean they’re not fascinating and literature is full of them, the Daisy Buchannans and Sebastian Flytes of this world, people more concerned with what they seem to be than what they actually are.
January 8, 2022
Κοπέλες ευτυχείς, κοπέλες δυστυχείς, αλλά προπάντων κοπέλες μόνες, που στροβιλίζονται ανήσυχα στην αγκαλιά του μεταπολεμικού Το(υ)ρίνου. Συνδιαλέγονται, σχεδόν περιφρονούν την ανδρική συντροφιά και αναζητούν στιγμές μακαριότητας στην εφήμερη απόλαυση μιας βόλτας, ενός δείπνου, μιας πολύβουης ομήγυρης. Δείχνουν ανεξάρτητες, αλλά είναι εξαιρετικά ευάλωτες. Και προπάντων μόνες.
Ενδιαφέρουσα νουβέλα, φαινομενικά χωρίς σπουδαία πλοκή, μ’ έναν αργό ρυθμό που σε συνεπαίρνει κυρίως λόγω της λογοτεχνικότητας του κειμένου. Ένα από τα τελευταία έργα ενός σπουδαίου συγγραφέα (ακολούθησε το κατά πολλούς θεωρούμενο ως αριστούργημά του «Το φεγγάρι και οι φωτιές») μέσα από τα ωραία ελληνικά ενός άλλου σπουδαίου λογοτέχνη, του Στρατή Τσίρκα.
Ενδιαφέρουσα νουβέλα, φαινομενικά χωρίς σπουδαία πλοκή, μ’ έναν αργό ρυθμό που σε συνεπαίρνει κυρίως λόγω της λογοτεχνικότητας του κειμένου. Ένα από τα τελευταία έργα ενός σπουδαίου συγγραφέα (ακολούθησε το κατά πολλούς θεωρούμενο ως αριστούργημά του «Το φεγγάρι και οι φωτιές») μέσα από τα ωραία ελληνικά ενός άλλου σπουδαίου λογοτέχνη, του Στρατή Τσίρκα.
February 19, 2018
Yazarın okuduğum ilk kitabı olan bu romanda Pavase, yaşamına son verme isteğinin sinyalini bir karakteri aracılığı ile bize veriyor. Kadınlar, yaşam, ölüm, eşcinsellik, gençlik ve yaşlılık üzerine aforizmalarla dolu olan kitapta doğduğu yer olan Torino'ya dönüp, mağaza açmaya gelen Clelia'nın yaşamından küçük bir kesit anlatılıyor. Arka planda ise erkekler, sanatçılar ve dönemin bohem hayatı yer alıyor.
Eğer yazar veya kitap ilginizi çekiyorsa kitaptan uyarlanarak yönetmenliğini Michelangelo Antonioni'nin yaptığı 1955 yapımı "Le Amiche" filmine de göz atabilirsiniz.
Eğer yazar veya kitap ilginizi çekiyorsa kitaptan uyarlanarak yönetmenliğini Michelangelo Antonioni'nin yaptığı 1955 yapımı "Le Amiche" filmine de göz atabilirsiniz.
November 23, 2019
«او حتی به مردهها شباهت ندارد. فقط دور لبها کمی باد کرده، انگار اخم کرده باشد.»
و تو را پیدا کردهاند، مرده، در اتاقی کرایهای در ویاناپیونه.
و تو را پیدا کردهاند، مرده، در اتاقی کرایهای در ویاناپیونه.
August 10, 2025
Çok çok etkileyici….
Okur olarak sayfa sayfa gelecek olanı biliyorsunuz, hazırsınız ama yüreğinize bir bıçak yarası almaktan kaçamıyorsunuz. Ara ara kendimi TRT ekranı karşısında buldum, balodan baloya koşan kırık kalpleri izledim. Bu kadar sade bir anlatımla türümüzün bitmeyen var oluş sancısı, sızım sızım sızladı…
Çevirmenin ellerine sağlık. Duyguyu çok güzel aktarmış.
Okur olarak sayfa sayfa gelecek olanı biliyorsunuz, hazırsınız ama yüreğinize bir bıçak yarası almaktan kaçamıyorsunuz. Ara ara kendimi TRT ekranı karşısında buldum, balodan baloya koşan kırık kalpleri izledim. Bu kadar sade bir anlatımla türümüzün bitmeyen var oluş sancısı, sızım sızım sızladı…
Çevirmenin ellerine sağlık. Duyguyu çok güzel aktarmış.
December 29, 2020
“...îmi povestea cât de tare o cuprindea uneori dezgustul - nu scârba de asta sau de aia, de o serată sau de un sezon, ci sila de a trăi, sila de toți și de toate, de timpul care trece așa de repede și totuși rămâne împietrit.”
June 22, 2017
Un libro que me ha gustado, agradable con una temática sencilla y de muy fácil lectura. Una obra tardía de este autor Italiano quien en su tiempo consiguió el reconocimiento unánime de la crítica y del público; sin embargo por alguna causa su obra ha caído en el olvido, excepto en algunos círculos literarios en donde sigue siendo una figura reconocida de la literatura italiana.
La narración se desarrolla en la ciudad de Turín y alrededores, poco después de la segunda guerra mundial y el personaje principal es Clelia Oitana, quien es una mujer que ha luchado por abrirse paso como modista y este esfuerzo constituye su gran orgullo. A través de Clelia y de otros 3 o 4 personajes femeninos que conforman el núcleo de la novela, el autor reproduce con acierto la voz y la esencia femeninas.
La prosa de Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) es directa y accesible, llena de frases cortas y de agudas ideas que parecen entrecortarse, dejando a nuestra imaginación algunas conclusiones. También se aprecia una mezcla de nociones y acontecimientos en un solo párrafo, una especie de collage de ideas que hacen dinámica la exposición pero que nos puede dejar con dudas en la trama dada la intermitente carencia de continuidad. Esto nos lleva a pensar que el autor escribió de prisa esta historia.
Dentro del texto creo distinguir los ejes sobre los que se apoya la novela: la ponderación del esfuerzo por ganarse la vida contra la inequidad de quien no trabaja y lo tiene todo. El segundo sería la banalidad de la vida de la gente pudiente que privilegia las apariencias sobre el ser y esto las lleva a vivir en un ambiente superficial, plagado de soledad y desconcierto ante la vida.
Cesare Pavese pertenece a esa casta de autores malditos que nacen condenados a vivir y quienes hacen de la existencia un motivo de desesperanza y de sufrimiento con un final trágico. Una de sus admiradoras principales, Natalia Ginzburg, describe en su relato “Retrato de un amigo” (contenido en su libro “Las Pequeñas Virtudes”): “Para morir eligió un día cualquiera de aquel tórrido agosto, y la habitación de un hotel cerca de la estación: en la ciudad que le pertenecía, quiso morir como un forastero.”
La narración se desarrolla en la ciudad de Turín y alrededores, poco después de la segunda guerra mundial y el personaje principal es Clelia Oitana, quien es una mujer que ha luchado por abrirse paso como modista y este esfuerzo constituye su gran orgullo. A través de Clelia y de otros 3 o 4 personajes femeninos que conforman el núcleo de la novela, el autor reproduce con acierto la voz y la esencia femeninas.
La prosa de Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) es directa y accesible, llena de frases cortas y de agudas ideas que parecen entrecortarse, dejando a nuestra imaginación algunas conclusiones. También se aprecia una mezcla de nociones y acontecimientos en un solo párrafo, una especie de collage de ideas que hacen dinámica la exposición pero que nos puede dejar con dudas en la trama dada la intermitente carencia de continuidad. Esto nos lleva a pensar que el autor escribió de prisa esta historia.
Dentro del texto creo distinguir los ejes sobre los que se apoya la novela: la ponderación del esfuerzo por ganarse la vida contra la inequidad de quien no trabaja y lo tiene todo. El segundo sería la banalidad de la vida de la gente pudiente que privilegia las apariencias sobre el ser y esto las lleva a vivir en un ambiente superficial, plagado de soledad y desconcierto ante la vida.
Cesare Pavese pertenece a esa casta de autores malditos que nacen condenados a vivir y quienes hacen de la existencia un motivo de desesperanza y de sufrimiento con un final trágico. Una de sus admiradoras principales, Natalia Ginzburg, describe en su relato “Retrato de un amigo” (contenido en su libro “Las Pequeñas Virtudes”): “Para morir eligió un día cualquiera de aquel tórrido agosto, y la habitación de un hotel cerca de la estación: en la ciudad que le pertenecía, quiso morir como un forastero.”
August 18, 2022
Κ Ο Π Ε Λ Ε Σ Μ Ο Ν Ε Σ
/ Cesare Pavese
Η Κλέλια, γυρνώντας ξανά στο Το(υ)ρίνο όπου μεγάλωσε και αφήνοντας πίσω την ζωντανή και κοσμική Ρώμη θα ανακαλύψει πολλά για εκείνη και την ζωή της. Η επιτυχία και η προσπάθεια για καλύτερη ζωή που αναζητούσε, δεν της δίνουν πλέον κανένα νόημα, έτσι όταν γίνεται μέρος της κοσμικής παρέας της πόλης, θα συνειδητοποιήσει ότι, ότι λάμπει δεν είναι χρυσός.
‘’Το πραγματικό μου βίτσιο, ήταν η ευχαρίστηση που έβρισκα να μένω μόνη’’
Όπως φαίνεται και από τον τίτλο το βιβλίο μιλάει για τις γυναίκες, τι θέλουν και τι αναζητούν, οι άντρες είναι σαν διασκεδαστές που αχνοφαίνονται, κάτι σαν οι σκιές τους. Ο συγγραφέας δεν αποκαλύπτει τον ψυχισμό των χαρακτήρων του, καθώς δεν μας αναφέρει τίποτα από το παρελθόν ώστε να σχηματίσουμε μια εικόνα, αλλά επιλέγει να μείνει στα συναισθήματά τους, στην έντονη και ταυτόχρονα στην άσκοπη αίσθηση της ζωής τους.
Αν και ήταν μια μελαγχολική ιστορία, με αργό ρυθμό και με μια ιδιαίτερη ομορφιά, κρατά τον αναγνώστη στη θέση του ως το τέλος.
/ Cesare Pavese
Η Κλέλια, γυρνώντας ξανά στο Το(υ)ρίνο όπου μεγάλωσε και αφήνοντας πίσω την ζωντανή και κοσμική Ρώμη θα ανακαλύψει πολλά για εκείνη και την ζωή της. Η επιτυχία και η προσπάθεια για καλύτερη ζωή που αναζητούσε, δεν της δίνουν πλέον κανένα νόημα, έτσι όταν γίνεται μέρος της κοσμικής παρέας της πόλης, θα συνειδητοποιήσει ότι, ότι λάμπει δεν είναι χρυσός.
‘’Το πραγματικό μου βίτσιο, ήταν η ευχαρίστηση που έβρισκα να μένω μόνη’’
Όπως φαίνεται και από τον τίτλο το βιβλίο μιλάει για τις γυναίκες, τι θέλουν και τι αναζητούν, οι άντρες είναι σαν διασκεδαστές που αχνοφαίνονται, κάτι σαν οι σκιές τους. Ο συγγραφέας δεν αποκαλύπτει τον ψυχισμό των χαρακτήρων του, καθώς δεν μας αναφέρει τίποτα από το παρελθόν ώστε να σχηματίσουμε μια εικόνα, αλλά επιλέγει να μείνει στα συναισθήματά τους, στην έντονη και ταυτόχρονα στην άσκοπη αίσθηση της ζωής τους.
Αν και ήταν μια μελαγχολική ιστορία, με αργό ρυθμό και με μια ιδιαίτερη ομορφιά, κρατά τον αναγνώστη στη θέση του ως το τέλος.
September 10, 2020
اول از همه این که این کتاب خیلی سرد و خشکه من دقیقا نمیتونم متوجه بشم که چه چیزی باعثش شده ولی یه سردی آزار دهنده ای داره که من میخواستم کتاب رو نیمه کاره رها کنن اصلا،جای تعجب نیست که آنتونیونی ازش اقتباس کرده،جهان اون و پاوزه به هم بی شباهت نیستن.
نگاه پاوزه هم،نگاه بدبینانه ای به زندگی هستش و از ترس از زندگی کردن و پوچی زندگی و تکراری بودنش و رنج و عذاب خیلی حرف زده میشه طبیعتا(گویا خودکشی دغدغه اصلی پاوزه است).
مسلما با این یک کتاب نمیتونم به داوری خاصی از پاوزه دست پیدا کنم،ضمن این که من خیلی دلم میخواد یادداشت هاش رو بخونم(بعد از خوندن نوشته سوزان سونتاگ درموردش خیلی مشتاقم براش).
با این حال خوشحالم که بالاخره خوندمش هرچند تجربه چندان خاص و تکان دهنده ای ��بود.
March 15, 2020
نقطهای احتمالی از زندگی هست که به آدمهای اطرافت نگاه میکنی و میبینی پیر تر ها کودن، همسنهایت ابله و کوچکتر ها جلفاند. راوی داستان در چنین شرایطی، پس از سالها به تورین، شهر کودکیاش برگشته تا برای کارفرمایش شعبۀ جدید فروشگاه لباس افتتاح کند. در همین حین با گروهی از زنان طبقۀ فرادست شهر دوست و وارد مهمانیها و گردشهایشان میشود. زنانی که پیشتر از دور ستایششان میکرده و آرزو داشته روزی مثل آنها شود از نزدیک بیهویت و باریبههرجهت به نظرش میرسند و حاضر نیست حتی لحظهای جای آنها باشد. در جمع زنان، به نوعی داستانی در ستایش استقلال فکری و مالی است و پاوزه از این طریق نقد خود را به زنان ایتالیا در دوران پس از جنگ وارد میکند. پاوزه هرچیزی را در کتاب به مقایسه میگذارد؛ از مقایسه آدمها گرفته تا تغییر تحول آنها در طول زمان
May 22, 2024
Le vergini suicide.
July 26, 2021
Tezer Özlü okuduysanız muhakkak ki merak edeceğiniz bir kitapla merhabalar.
Kadınların dünyası gerçekten büyülü ve şahanedir, kimi insanlar bunu farkeder Marquez gibi kimisi farkına bile varmadan göçer gider.
İşte bu kitapta da bize vaadedilen bu büyülü dünyanın kapılarının aralanışı, ister başınızı uzatıt bakar hayran olur ister bakar ama yine de anlayamazsınız.
Umudun, yalnızlığın, biten aşkların, hayatın tüm renklerinin üç kadının hayatı ile birlikte kesişmesini okumaya hazırsanız buyrunuz. Okurken yazarın erkek olduğuna inanasınız gelmeyecek, İtalyan edebiyatının en güzel örneklerinden birini okumanın hazzı ise bambaşka olacaktır.
Bu kitabın tesirini aldığı ödül ve ödül sonrası yazarın intiharı daha da arttırıyor bence.
Keyifli okumalar diliyorum.
#readingismycardio #aslihanneokudu #okudumbitti #2021okumalarım #okuryorumu #kitaptavsiyesi #neokudum #cesarepavese #yalnızkadınlararasında #siakitap #italyanedebiyatı
Kadınların dünyası gerçekten büyülü ve şahanedir, kimi insanlar bunu farkeder Marquez gibi kimisi farkına bile varmadan göçer gider.
İşte bu kitapta da bize vaadedilen bu büyülü dünyanın kapılarının aralanışı, ister başınızı uzatıt bakar hayran olur ister bakar ama yine de anlayamazsınız.
Umudun, yalnızlığın, biten aşkların, hayatın tüm renklerinin üç kadının hayatı ile birlikte kesişmesini okumaya hazırsanız buyrunuz. Okurken yazarın erkek olduğuna inanasınız gelmeyecek, İtalyan edebiyatının en güzel örneklerinden birini okumanın hazzı ise bambaşka olacaktır.
Bu kitabın tesirini aldığı ödül ve ödül sonrası yazarın intiharı daha da arttırıyor bence.
Keyifli okumalar diliyorum.
#readingismycardio #aslihanneokudu #okudumbitti #2021okumalarım #okuryorumu #kitaptavsiyesi #neokudum #cesarepavese #yalnızkadınlararasında #siakitap #italyanedebiyatı
March 2, 2025
more like "acımasız kadınlar arasında"
January 3, 2021
This is one of those books that you have to judge as a whole rather than looking at the plot details because the lack of real movement, the pure inescapable repetitiveness of the lives in the story is largely the point. If you've seen Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita", you know the atmosphere; if not, I can tell you that it takes place in the post-WW II society of the young rich Italians in Turin who have absolutely nothing to do in life but go from party to party and is told from the perspective of a woman who started life in Turinese poverty but worked her way up in Rome as a dress designer and now returns, sent to open a boutique. The title in Italian translates better as "Among Single Women" but the English title serves equally well because the story revolves around a group of single women who are very much alone. While the protagonist grew up working to elevate her station in life, and continues to work as she prepares the boutique, the others were born rich with nowhere to go in life since work is not something one actually does, the men are similarly vacant and only obsessed with enjoying life and children only ruin things by growing older. Even the protagonist who came from a lower economic class shows this snobbishness towards lower classes and takes her pleasure where she can. The book opens in her hotel where she encounters a young member of this rich class who has just attempted suicide and this serves as her entrance to this entourage of pretentious and bored rich girls (and their similarly bored and pretentious "toy boys") on a fast track to nowhere. The book is a succession of parties but there are revelations that give a sense of the wild desperation that the characters live with. A novella with an ironic twist in that suicide is a theme and the author committed suicide no long after its publication. Certainly an interesting read but one that needs a step back to appreciate.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews