An Italian Christmas: Festive Tales for La Dolce Vita

by Various

Buon Natale -- A Merry Christmas -- made all the more joyful with these literary treats filled with ancient churches, trains whistling through the countryside, steaming tureens, plates piled high with pasta, High Mass, dashed hopes, golden crucifixes, flowing wine, shimmering gifts and plenty of style.

In this collection, classic works by Boccaccio to Pirandello intertwine with more recent stories from writers like Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg and Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda to bring together the greatest festive tales from the land of Italy. Bursting with family chaos, carols and yuletide cheer, An Italian Christmas showcases stories that put the passionate, fiery side of the festive period back into Christmas.

Genres: Short Stories, Christmas, Fiction, Italy, Italian Literature

208 pages, Hardcover

Published October 5, 2023

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Farnz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

194 pages long

I read A German Christmas- Festive Tales from Berlin to Bavaria last year & liked it. I gave it 3⭐️ so when I saw they had an Italian version I def wanted to give it a read.
- A dream of Christmas: the guy follows Jesus around town. It’s weird, maybe I just don’t get it
- Family interior is very upsetting. Why is everyone so horrendous to Anastasia
- White dogs in the snow: the main guy is horrible & constantly thinking about cheating on his wife with this Maria woman. But an interesting read
- The golden cross: weird, I wasn’t a fan
- Black bread: Nena is a gem, I’m upset at everyone degrading her
- Winter in the Abruzzi: terrible. Why can’t I get one happy Christmas story in here
- Black bread: another depressing read, but longer & more interesting than the rest
And I’m going to be honest, many were boring and depressing. Not a single happy tale.

[Miss Jools · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a slog! "Festive tales for la dolce vita" - what? Who decided that was the tag line to go with? Who approved the cute and cosy cover design??

A collection of miserable, boring, and un-festive stories that were a chore to read.

Cannot recommend at all - surely Italy has better to offer than this!

[Ryan McNie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was the least Christmassy Christmas book I've read. Less 'An Italian Christmas' more 'A very bleak Christmas.'

This is a collection of short stories all by Italian authors and all having some loose connection to Christmas. Some are set at Christmas, in some Christmas is merely mentioned. But, ultimately, they are all pretty depressing. The closest we get in these pages to a typical Christmas is in the second story when a guy is wandering the streets listening to other peoples merriment whilst thinking about his dead wife and daughter and sulking over his terrible stomach illness. Throw in a good dose of poverty, a Jesus fever dream, orphans and adultery and you have the recipe for a perfect Christmas, right?

I am being unduly harsh. The stories in of themselves are not bad. White Dogs in the Snow was a particular highlight and To The Tenth Muse is a lengthy beautiful description of an Italian Christmas market. It just wasn't what it said on the tin. But as a cultural literary exploration I'm glad to have read it.

[historic_chronicles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautifully bound book, writers from all ages such as Boccaccio, Pirandello, Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg and Grazia Deledda are hand-selected to highlight the very best of Italy's traditional festive tales.

Christmas is a celebration of joy, love and wonder, however, it can also be a period of hardship for many. Not all can be hidden by the shine of a warm winter fire or perfectly crafted bow on a present. There can be family struggles, or personal challenges that don't just disappear come December 25, and I feel that many of these traditional tales often reflect the realism behind this in a way that ought to be respected.

With an immersion in culture, religion and folklore, these traditional stories embrace the history of Italy and the true meaning behind Christmas. There is a greater reflection upon one's own behaviour and I feel that these tales often capture the strength of the human spirit in a way that is evocative and inspiring.

I truly enjoyed these traditional tales (having also enjoyed A German Christmas last year also), and believe that there is a great deal to be learned from them.

Buon Natale and thank you to the team @vintagebooks for so kindly sending me a copy to review.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried, I finished it but I didn't really enjoy it. Hardly any of the stories had anything to do with Christmas. It was a really bleak read, all grim or depressing stories and none of them seemed to be making any sort of point (apart from the older religious stories). As others have said, the cover and blurb give you totally the wrong idea about what kind of read this is.

[Ellen Cotogni · Rating 1 out of 5]

The person who wrote the blurb had obviously not read the book, the most awful, depressing stories. Not one evoked the joy of the season, I couldn’t wait to finish it. Don’t waste your money.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend gave me this as a seasonal read - the blurb talks of carols and yuletide cheer with with festive tales from enchanting Italy. As Italy is one of my favourite countries I was looking forward to this.
In fact almost all the stories, whilst centered around the Christmas period, seemed to involve conflict, loss and/or family disagreement. There was very little 'Buon Natale' - Merry Christmas - in these offerings.
I should add that the stories were all well written by in some cases some very well known Italian writers - just not much festive cheer.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third in this series of Christmas books, the others being A Scandinavian Christmas and a German Christmas. This is the Italian version. I really want to write good things about this book as I think the premise is so good, but the stories are just not Christmassy enough for me, they deal with loss and conflict and are very much lacking in festive cheer. They need to have more of a feel good factor, old fashioned folk tales, fables, something more appropriate. Disappointing I am afraid.

[Jan Madden · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a strange little book. Ten stories supposedly about Christmas but they werent particularly. However it was very sweet and very Italian. Very easy to read. I will keep this book and read it every Christmas 🎄

[Caley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories that gave an insight into both the development of Italian literature and into the traditions and customs usual in Italy at Christmas - very appropriate given where I spent mine!

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it to story 3 and just couldn't continue. One story a man chips a woman's tooth on purpose to make her uglier and another a women is beating a child and threatening to kill her. Not my idea of Christmas stories at all.

[Melissa Kane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book. I was saving it to read at Christmas time, yet the stories within barely mention Christmas and were, for the most part, pretty depressing. I was hoping for some festive sparkle and cheer, but it was sadly lacking.

[Hanna Ashton-Lawson]

This book is challenging to rate because it fails miserably on the festive Christmas cheer vibe, but I did find the translated collection of Italian tales an interesting read! Many of the stories are quite bleak.

[Tudor Cosma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the short stories are not that Christmasy

[Marisa De Sousa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not bring myself to finish this book sadly 🙈

[Catie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Dream of Christmas - 2 Stars
Christmas Eve - 3 Stars
Canituccia -
Family Interior -
White Dogs in the Snow -
The Golden Cross -
Black Bread -
The Fifth Story, Day the Seventh -
To the Tenth Muse -
Winter in the Abruzzi -