Al onze gisterens

by Natalia Ginzburg

Other authorsHenny Vlot (Translator), Arjan Peters (Afterword)
Hardcover, 2018

Library's rating

½

Publication

Amsterdam J.M. Meulenhoff 2018

ISBN

9789029092463

Language

Description

From "one of the most distinguished writers of modern Italy" (New York Review of Books), a classic novel of society in the midst of a war. This powerful novel is set against the background of Italy from 1939 to 1944, from the anxious months before the country entered the war, through the war years, to the allied victory with its trailing wake of anxiety, disappointment, and grief. In the foreground are the members of two families. One is rich, the other is not. In All Our Yesterdays, as in all of Ms. Ginzburg's novels, terrible things happen--suicide, murder, air raids, and bombings. But seemingly less overwhelming events, like a family quarrel, adultery, or a deception, are given equal space, as if to say that, to a victim, adultery and air raids can be equally maiming. All Our Yesterdays gives a sharp portrait of a society hungry for change, but betrayed by war. During the period described in the novel, Natalia Ginzburg was married to the writer Leone Ginzburg. Because of his underground activities, he was interned under Mussolini's reign, along with his family, in a restricted area in the Abruzzi. When the Ginzburgs later moved to Rome, Leone was arrested and tortured by the fascists, and killed, leaving Natalia alone to raise her three children. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction--novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
"This was a war in which no one would win or lose, in the end it would be seen that everyone had more or less lost."

This is a novel about what life was like for families in Italy during World War II. The focus is on two neighboring families whose children connect in various ways. One, with son
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Emanuel, daughter Amalia, and younger son Giuma, owns the factory in the small town in which they live, and is wealthy. They are headed by the rather flighty Mamacita. The other family is middle class and consists of four children. Concettina, the oldest, is constantly pursued by suitors, and ends up marrying a Black Shirt fascist (though the family itself is covertly anti-Mussolini). Eldest son Ippolito, who had 'the soul of a slave' waited hand and foot on their father while the father was still alive, and has a sad life indeed. Youngest son Giustino ends up being conscripted and having to fight. The younger daughter is most like the main character, although all play prominent roles, and we see much of the story from her pov.

I enjoyed this engaging look at life in Italy from 1939 to 1944. It was interesting that the author was able to convey how most people were usually able to just get on with their lives during the war, although these periods of mundaneness were regular intense brief interludes where the horror of war intruded.

3 1/2 stars
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Original publication date

1956
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