Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Eland Publishing Ltd (2002), Edition: New Ed, 192 pages
Description
The basis for the powerful documentary narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Lewis's memoir of the Italian city after Nazi occupation is a "masterpiece" (Will Self). "Vivid, lucid, elegant, often funny," Naples '44 is the starkly human account of the true cost of war as seen through the eyes of a young, untested man who would never again look at his world the same way (The New York Times Book Review). With his gift for linguistics, Norman Lewis was assigned to the British Intelligence Corps' Field Security Service, tasked with reforming civil services, dealing with local leaders, and keeping the peace in places World War II had devastated. After a near-disastrous Allied landing at Salerno, Italy, Lewis was stationed in the newly liberated city of Naples. But bringing the city back to life was unlike anything he had been prepared for. Much of the populace was far from grateful, stealing anything they could, not only from each other but also from those sent to help them. Local vendettas and endless feuds made discerning friend from Nazi collaborator practically impossible, and turned attempts at meting out justice into a farce. And as the deprivations grew ever harsher, a proud and vibrant people were forced to survive on a diet of prostitution, corruption, and a desperate belief in miracles, cures, and saviors. But even through the darkness and chaos, Lewis evokes the essential dignity of the Neapolitan people, their traditions of civility, courage, and generosity of spirit, and the indefatigable pride that kept them fighting for life during the greatest calamity in human history. Praised by Graham Greene as "one of the best writers . . . of our century," Norman Lewis presents a portrait of Naples that is a "lyrical, ironic and detached account of the tempestuous, byzantine and opaque city in the aftermath of war" (Will Self). His Naples '44 "reads like prose . . . sings like poetry" (The Plain Dealer). … (more)
Media reviews
New Republic
“Naples is extraordinary in every way,” says Lewis. It has always been a theater, and in 1944 it combined Grand Guignol with Fellini (we hear of “the famous midget gynaecologist Professore Dottore Salerno”). Its thieves and black-marketeers exhibited an audacity perhaps unequaled until
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Vietnam...
Lewis dwells also on the starvation, the quasi-medieval religious credulity, the epidemics, the madness and deformities, the fraud and bribery and flagrant injustice, the syphilis and child prostitution, the open banditry, the wholesale rape, and the cruelty. A boys’ pastime was to ignite gasoline-soaked rags tied to bats and release them prettily into the night sky; a grave adult Neapolitan “was full of praise for the ingenuity with which they made their own small pleasures.” Show Less
The Guardian
On 19 March 1944 Vesuvius erupted, "the most majestic and terrible sight I have ever seen, or ever expect to see", Lewis wrote. Overhead rose a cloud in the form of Pliny's famous pine-tree, apparently quite solid. While steadily growing larger, it remained entirely immobile. That still shape,
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hanging above the city, was full of menace. Recently, when I was writing my book Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World (Profile, £15.99), I reread Naples '44. Of perhaps a dozen resounding accounts of the volcano as it erupted down the centuries, no one has bettered Lewis's description...
Early-21st-century leaders are frequently seduced by credible tribal warlords; their mid-20th-century counterparts seemed unable (or unwilling) to tell a gangster king from a social democrat. For all that, Lewis wrote about the values, ingenuity and extraordinary spirit in many of the individuals he encountered. Tragically, behind them the stage for modern Italy was being set on shifting moral sands guided by little more than ignorance, naivety and astonishing misjudgement. Lewis, a figure in the shadows, was the most profound witness to that process. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member wandering_star
This is a diary (edited/reconstructed later) of just over a year in Naples, from September 1943 to October 1944. Norman Lewis arrives in Naples from war work with the Field Security Service in North Africa. Over the course of the year, he feels compassion for the dire poverty and deprivation around
He and his colleagues are supposed to be investigating Nazi collaborators, but find themselves bombarded with allegations - some true, some based on dislike of a neighbour, some intended to get rid of a rival (in legitimate or illegitimate business). He comes to love Italy, although it's clear that far from all of his colleagues share his attempts to understand the place or to behave respectably.
This is wonderfully written, whether Lewis is describing an air-raid ("The windows blew in, the blackout screens flapping like enormous bats across the room") or the eruption of Vesuvius: The lava was moving at a rate of only a few yards an hour, and it had covered half the town to a depth of perhaps thirty feet. A complete, undamaged cupola of a church, severed from the submerged building, jogged slowly towards us on its bed of cinders. The whole process was strangely quiet. The black slagheap shook, trembled and jerked a little and cinders rattled down its slope. A house, cautiously encircled and then overwhelmed, disappeared from sight intact, and a faint, distant grinding sound followed as the lava began its digestion.
But it's more than just a travel book with an unusual angle. I couldn't help thinking that its portrait of life as a foreign occupier - friendly but out of one's depth in the local society - has a lot of resonance with more current situations.
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him, amazement at the sexual habits of the Neapolitans (which he periodically has to interpret for one British lover), growing disillusionment with the way the occupying forces crack down on petty theft of Allied army property while doing nothing at all about the dealers and profiteers who buy what they have stolen (he believes the black market is largely run by Vito Genovese, New York mafioso turned advisor to the American Military Government).He and his colleagues are supposed to be investigating Nazi collaborators, but find themselves bombarded with allegations - some true, some based on dislike of a neighbour, some intended to get rid of a rival (in legitimate or illegitimate business). He comes to love Italy, although it's clear that far from all of his colleagues share his attempts to understand the place or to behave respectably.
This is wonderfully written, whether Lewis is describing an air-raid ("The windows blew in, the blackout screens flapping like enormous bats across the room") or the eruption of Vesuvius: The lava was moving at a rate of only a few yards an hour, and it had covered half the town to a depth of perhaps thirty feet. A complete, undamaged cupola of a church, severed from the submerged building, jogged slowly towards us on its bed of cinders. The whole process was strangely quiet. The black slagheap shook, trembled and jerked a little and cinders rattled down its slope. A house, cautiously encircled and then overwhelmed, disappeared from sight intact, and a faint, distant grinding sound followed as the lava began its digestion.
But it's more than just a travel book with an unusual angle. I couldn't help thinking that its portrait of life as a foreign occupier - friendly but out of one's depth in the local society - has a lot of resonance with more current situations.
Show Less
LibraryThing member John_Vaughan
In a great profile in the Guardian newspaper in 2000 – when Lewis was already 93 - Nicholas Wroe writes that Lewis's career as a writer started when he was asked by the British Secret Services to go and photograph the Yemen. Strange then that after travelling around the region (he was actually
This in-depth exposure to Arabic, despite the author’s relatively lack of formal education … he never attended college… led to his discovering an aptitude for languages, and he was a gifted linguist, speaking French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, German, and Italian. This early entry, in WWI, into a ’spying career” also led to his recall, in the second world war into the Field Security Service, rather than Secret Service – the author himself said, the difference being the FSO’s actually "got their boots dirty" – and as Lewis mentions, rather smugly in the book, he was issued with a pass that bore the legend; "The bearer is entitled to be in any place, at any time and wearing any uniform he chooses” …so he did indeed, just go wherever he liked, and this allowed him to get the material and experiences that he later used to write what is considered his masterpiece, Naples '44. After a rather logical deployment in North Africa, to use his Arabic, he was deployed – and subsequently, with his colleagues, totally ignored - to the USA Headquarters of General Clark for the invasion of Italy, landing at Salerno.
Clark was subsequently criticized by British historians and General Montgomery for the near-failure of the landings at Salerno, as a result of poor planning and at one stage, the author states, the General actually planned to withdraw from the hard-won beach-head, deserting his own men and retreating to the off-shore battle fleet. Clark's conduct of operations remains controversial, particularly his later actions in ignoring orders from his Army Group Commander and rapidly advancing towards Rome to be the first to enter and thereby allowing a large number of German troops to escape. Lewis also mentions his horror at the order passed to the troops that any Germans surrendering were to be killed by the US troops using the butts of their rifles. War, of course is brutalizing and provides the evidence that all of us can become dehumanized by it and discards our morals.
But not – by his own and his contemporaries accounts – not Lewis, who as rapidly as he becomes disenchanted by his peers becomes enamored of the Italians, those starving, grasping, mafia exploited “scugnizzi’ of Naples he meets and treats.
The author evidences his compassion and that engages ours.
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denied entry to the Yemen!) he instead wrote and published his first book, “Sand and Sea In Arabia”.This in-depth exposure to Arabic, despite the author’s relatively lack of formal education … he never attended college… led to his discovering an aptitude for languages, and he was a gifted linguist, speaking French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, German, and Italian. This early entry, in WWI, into a ’spying career” also led to his recall, in the second world war into the Field Security Service, rather than Secret Service – the author himself said, the difference being the FSO’s actually "got their boots dirty" – and as Lewis mentions, rather smugly in the book, he was issued with a pass that bore the legend; "The bearer is entitled to be in any place, at any time and wearing any uniform he chooses” …so he did indeed, just go wherever he liked, and this allowed him to get the material and experiences that he later used to write what is considered his masterpiece, Naples '44. After a rather logical deployment in North Africa, to use his Arabic, he was deployed – and subsequently, with his colleagues, totally ignored - to the USA Headquarters of General Clark for the invasion of Italy, landing at Salerno.
Clark was subsequently criticized by British historians and General Montgomery for the near-failure of the landings at Salerno, as a result of poor planning and at one stage, the author states, the General actually planned to withdraw from the hard-won beach-head, deserting his own men and retreating to the off-shore battle fleet. Clark's conduct of operations remains controversial, particularly his later actions in ignoring orders from his Army Group Commander and rapidly advancing towards Rome to be the first to enter and thereby allowing a large number of German troops to escape. Lewis also mentions his horror at the order passed to the troops that any Germans surrendering were to be killed by the US troops using the butts of their rifles. War, of course is brutalizing and provides the evidence that all of us can become dehumanized by it and discards our morals.
But not – by his own and his contemporaries accounts – not Lewis, who as rapidly as he becomes disenchanted by his peers becomes enamored of the Italians, those starving, grasping, mafia exploited “scugnizzi’ of Naples he meets and treats.
The author evidences his compassion and that engages ours.
Show Less
LibraryThing member krago
This is one of the best, if not 'the best', narratives / memoirs of the fighting in Italy during WW II.
LibraryThing member AlanWPowers
This is a fine book, accurate daily participation in history with the addition of Lewis's fine irony. For example, put in charge of Naples security by the Allies, he is given the same offices the Germans had--with all their files. The persons reporting to German security, snitching on their
His account of the workings of Italian courts are vivid, sometimes heartbreaking, as when a father of three is jailed for a year for having army rations. Or when a woman is raped because there are army blankets in her apartment. His descriptions of soldiers, such as the Canadians who use first names with their superior officers, are perceptive, often amusing.
Here's his definition of democracy after Mussolini: "The glorious prospect of being able one day to choose their rulers from a list of powerful men, most of whose corruptions are generally known and accepted with weary resignation" (169)
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neighbors, were the same ones who reported to Norman Lewis.His account of the workings of Italian courts are vivid, sometimes heartbreaking, as when a father of three is jailed for a year for having army rations. Or when a woman is raped because there are army blankets in her apartment. His descriptions of soldiers, such as the Canadians who use first names with their superior officers, are perceptive, often amusing.
Here's his definition of democracy after Mussolini: "The glorious prospect of being able one day to choose their rulers from a list of powerful men, most of whose corruptions are generally known and accepted with weary resignation" (169)
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LibraryThing member chrisgalle
The book provides a good insight in what happened in Naples and the south of Italy in the years '43-44 when the Allied Liberation Army settled there while preparing their way to Rome. As it is a diary it focuses on the events of the day in the immediate surroundings of its writer. Written with a
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great deel of sympathy for the Italian people, which is why I liked it. "A year among the Italians had converted me to such an admiration for their humanity and culture," writes Lewis, "that I realise that were I given the chance to be born again and to choose the place of my birth, Italy would be the country of my choice." Still I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless he is deeply interested in Italian history. Show Less
LibraryThing member DramMan
Diary type reminiscences of a year spent in the region of Naples, 1943-44, by an intelligence officer. Searing account of the hardship and hunger after the allied invasion of Italy, resulting in a host of sordid human failings. Brutal in places, yet the author does find redeeming features amid the
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tragedies. Show Less
LibraryThing member languagehat
One of the best books I've read about any war, and it gets better and better as it goes on. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member starbox
This was one of a job lot of books I was given. Felt I should read it, but having no interest in war, it got relegated to a bookcase, After a recent trip to Naples, Igave it a go...and it's actually very interesting.
The author was sent over with British forces to Naples - in a state of ruin,
The author was sent over with British forces to Naples - in a state of ruin,
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starvation and lawlessnessafter the recent German occupation. And while war still continues, with delayed-action mines going off, German bombers flying over, and suspected Nazis hiding in the catacombs - Lewis' duties are more concerned with keeping order, flushing out collaborators and handling situations. It is thus much more of a social history, focussing on bandits and mafiosi, plagues and superstition, the locals trying to keep body and soul together, whether they're plundering the aquarioum for a fish dinner, stealing everything in sight or selling their daughters into prostitution. By turns very funny and tremendously sad, as the author observes the unjust legal system, where the 'Mr Bigs' get away with everything and the petty criminals are given lengthy sentences. Show Less
LibraryThing member untraveller
The best book about Italian culture I’ve ever read. Combine that with a book dealing with the conclusion of WWII, and that makes for an absolute winner. Finished: 24.04.2021.
LibraryThing member wbell539
Of special interest to me for its descriptions of Canadian soldiers in the days after the Italian campaign.
LibraryThing member emed0s
Brilliant memories of a Brit dropped in the middle of mafia land, and a mafia land that had just finished being ruled by fascists and occupied by national-socialists (or as one of the Italians in the book put it by "barbarians").
And in this case, saying a Brit is pretty much saying a
Again, the author is brilliant at writing the vignettes (orphan kids fighting for survival, the various approaches to sex for pay, the rarity of a good meal, ...) paint that quaint society pushed to the limits of survival, and how the efforts to police it could only go so far.
And in this case, saying a Brit is pretty much saying a
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protestant-values-infused northern European who is also a realist and adapts to the daily work with the Mediterranean spirit, that crazy half catholic, half moor, and half rundown-aristocratic blend that produces people seemingly pre-prepared for the hardships of wartimes but at the same time makes building any semblance of a society ruled by law&order extremely hard.Again, the author is brilliant at writing the vignettes (orphan kids fighting for survival, the various approaches to sex for pay, the rarity of a good meal, ...) paint that quaint society pushed to the limits of survival, and how the efforts to police it could only go so far.
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Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1978
Physical description
192 p.; 5.55 inches
ISBN
0907871720 / 9780907871729