Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Amsterdam Koppernik 2022
User reviews
LibraryThing member moss_icon
This is the first Eastern Front book that I have read, and perhaps it is not the best place to start for a military over-view, but Malaparte provides a fascinating look at an aspect of war in the Russian campaign that I suspect has precious little coverage in English. The first half of the book
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sees Malaparte following the front east, a few miles from the "action", encountering civilians and writing in a very detached, almost dreamlike fashion about his experiences. There are no recurring characters, there is little criticism of the German actions or policies that brought about the campaign (he does write about communism and how it has affected the civilians he meets to quite some extent), and it is an eery, poetic recount of snapshots into the life and death that he encountered on a daily basis. Half way through, and German intervention sees Malaparte "re-deploy" to the fight for Stalingrad, and we see a different situation, but still told in his thoroughly engaging style. I would not recommend this book to people who want maps, orders of battle, and discussions of tactics or grand strategies, but I would suggest that anyone interested in this campaign who wants to delve a little deeper than usual give this a read. It's quite short too, so won't take you long. Show Less
LibraryThing member Big_Bang_Gorilla
Being the first portion of the author's lyrical and insightful eastern front reportage on WWII. This is a very good book which largely lacks the poetry and insight of the other portion, yclept Kaputt.
LibraryThing member EricCostello
Intriguing collection of despatches from an Italian war correspondent who was on the Eastern Front in the Ukraine in 1941, and then on the Leningrad front in 1942. Very keenly observed vignettes, with a balanced attitude that got the author in trouble with German authorities. The collection only
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came out first in 1951 because of various mishaps. Only the reference to a German soldier with an Athenian owl is well known; more deserves to be. Show Less
Language
Original language
Italian
ISBN
9789083212739