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Stories of Southern Italy
This dazzling hardcover collection brings to life the magnificent southern regions of Italy, from Naples to Sicily, as seen through the eyes of literary greats from Ovid and Virgil to Elsa Morante and Elena Ferrante.
Southern Italy has long inspired one of the most vigorous literary traditions in Europe. Visitors since antiquity have sought to capture the extraordinary natural beauty and cultural riches of the region, and in this wide-ranging collection such notable foreign visitors as Goethe and Somerset Maugham sit alongside many of Italy’s finest writers, including Luigi Pirandello, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Elio Vittorini, and Anna Maria Ortese.
The stories here range across the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Apulia, and Basilicata. Theocritus, Virgil, and Ovid describe a Sicily populated by Cyclopes and sea monsters. In an excerpt from The Smile of the Unknown Mariner, Vincenzo Consolo depicts an island on the frontier of Italian unification. The South’s legendary legacy of organised crime enlivens the stories of Leonardo Sciascia and Joseph Conrad. Curzio Malaparte and Norman Lewis immortalize the wreckage of Naples and the indomitable spirit of its people during World War II, and Elena Ferrante gives us a spectacular portrait of a poor but vibrant Neapolitan neighborhood in an excerpt from the best-selling My Brilliant Friend. Collectively, these entertaining tales provide a portal into a fascinating place in all its drama and beauty.
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.
Southern Italy has long inspired one of the most vigorous literary traditions in Europe. Visitors since antiquity have sought to capture the extraordinary natural beauty and cultural riches of the region, and in this wide-ranging collection such notable foreign visitors as Goethe and Somerset Maugham sit alongside many of Italy’s finest writers, including Luigi Pirandello, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Elio Vittorini, and Anna Maria Ortese.
The stories here range across the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Apulia, and Basilicata. Theocritus, Virgil, and Ovid describe a Sicily populated by Cyclopes and sea monsters. In an excerpt from The Smile of the Unknown Mariner, Vincenzo Consolo depicts an island on the frontier of Italian unification. The South’s legendary legacy of organised crime enlivens the stories of Leonardo Sciascia and Joseph Conrad. Curzio Malaparte and Norman Lewis immortalize the wreckage of Naples and the indomitable spirit of its people during World War II, and Elena Ferrante gives us a spectacular portrait of a poor but vibrant Neapolitan neighborhood in an excerpt from the best-selling My Brilliant Friend. Collectively, these entertaining tales provide a portal into a fascinating place in all its drama and beauty.
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.
- GenresItalyItalian Literature
448 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2026
3.5 stars. It's always difficult to rate anthologies. In this particular case, I was tempted to bump my rating up because a) I read many of these stories while in Italy, which was excellent for my immersion process in both directions, and b) I loved "The Siren" by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (and its melodious translation by Stephen Twilley) so much that it's tipping the scales too hard. Never again will I allow a man to tell me I am beautiful; I want to be, as the siren was to the senator, the most vividly alive thing a man has ever looked at.
Most of these other stories were fine. The Sicilian stories, in particular, fall into an interesting pattern: Sicily formed the writer indelibly, then he (it seems to have usually been a he) goes to the mainland for a while and comes back and Sicily is wrong somehow, sad and fading. Or maybe this Sicily was only ever in the writers' heads. The stuff translated by Ann Goldstein mostly wasn't my cup of tea, but that's fine; I knew her translation style wasn't for me. This collection sent me on a quest to learn more about Italian literature, so that's certainly worthwhile in and of itself!
Most of these other stories were fine. The Sicilian stories, in particular, fall into an interesting pattern: Sicily formed the writer indelibly, then he (it seems to have usually been a he) goes to the mainland for a while and comes back and Sicily is wrong somehow, sad and fading. Or maybe this Sicily was only ever in the writers' heads. The stuff translated by Ann Goldstein mostly wasn't my cup of tea, but that's fine; I knew her translation style wasn't for me. This collection sent me on a quest to learn more about Italian literature, so that's certainly worthwhile in and of itself!
August 21, 2024
Anthologies are usually hit or miss but this one displayed a nice range of authors and stories from each region in Southern Italy. An honourable mention goes to the mythography chapter highlighting the oft-forgotten mythology of this region, which includes excerpts from the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses.
The Sicily chapter was my favourite and introduced me to some writers whose work I will have to check out in full, among these Elio Vittorini and further work by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa.
The Campania section held the worst thing I have ever read; an excerpt from Curzio Malaparte's "The Skin". Then again, it presents an equally valuable fascist perspective on the region during the 1940's.
The Sicily chapter was my favourite and introduced me to some writers whose work I will have to check out in full, among these Elio Vittorini and further work by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa.
The Campania section held the worst thing I have ever read; an excerpt from Curzio Malaparte's "The Skin". Then again, it presents an equally valuable fascist perspective on the region during the 1940's.
March 10, 2024
Beautiful little anthology! Loses a star though because I think it is missing some critical essays to explain/ shape each section; provide some more context etc
August 25, 2024
A gorgeous collection of excerpts and short stories from the ancients to the 80s. Particularly struck by the stories of the Allied arrival in Naples told from the Italian perspective.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews