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Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) is the most important of the Italian Realist School of novelists. This new edition of The House by the Medlar Tree (I Malavoglia) makes the complete English version of his masterpiece available once more. The story of the Malavoglia, a family of poor Sicilian fisherman, is Verga's moving rendering of the theme of mankind's struggle for self-betterment, the dignity of the struggle in the face of poverty and hardship, and the tragedy that the struggle inevitably incurs. D. H. Lawrence described Vega's work as "Homeric." Rayond Rosenthal's translation of I Malavoglia is the only complete version of this novel in English and conveys Vega's lyrical realism and the flavor of Sicialian village life superbly. The book is introduced by Giovanni Ceccheti, whose own translations of Verga, Mastro-don Gesualdo and The She-Wolf and Other Stories, are also available from California.… (more)
User reviews
The book is the story of the Malavoglia family, who are poor fishermen in Sicily. A tragic accident sends their fortunes spiraling
It was difficult to get into this book at first-- there were a lot of characters and it was hard to keep everyone straight. I ultimately decided to read it without focusing on characters and just letting the story unfold. About midway through the book, the story really got going and the importance of the characters really sorted itself out. Glad to have continued on, as the book was worth the effort.