Status Updates From La Storia

The German soldier raping Ida is narrated almost dispassionately, relying on facts and surroundings, more than morals. The narrator stays neutral and detached, making the clinical telling of Ida's rape more palpable and brutal. I had an intense emotional reaction while reading it.
With this novel, Elsa Morante is peeling back layers of how war decimates lives at all levels and in all ways.