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Voices in the Evening

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Voices in the Evening by Natalia Ginzburg is a poignant narrative set in a small Italian village post-World War II. It explores the intimate, interconnected lives of its inhabitants as they grapple with love, loss, and the lingering shadows of war. Through a tapestry of vignettes, the novel captures the complexities of human relationships and the enduring impact of the past on the present.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are drawn to evocative narratives set in post-war Italy and appreciate the intricate portrayal of small-town life, with its vivid characters and their interconnected stories. Through poignant insights and memorable dialogue, the author crafts a rich tapestry of human experience, capturing the essence of a community filled with love, loss, and resilience.

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'Ginzburg gives us a new template for the female voice and an idea of what it might sound like.' Rachel Cusk

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In a hushed, Italian town after the Second World War, Elsa lives with her parents in the house where she was born. Twenty-seven and unmarried, she is of constant concern to her mother, whose status anxiety manifests itself in acute hypochondria.

Elsa hopes to live a life different to the one she's always known, and when she meets Tommasino, it seems possible. Tommasino belongs to the De Francisci family, who owns the cloth factory where Elsa's father works, and whose lives and stories Elsa has known all her life. In the course of their secret meetings, Elsa and Tommasino begin to imagine another future for themselves, free from the constraints of shared history and expectation. But all of this is threatened when their relationship is revealed.

An elegant, spare novel reminiscent of Chekhov, Voices in the Evening captures Italy after the war, and a new generation struggling against its legacy. Ginzburg's doomed love story comes to us as though whispered between friends, and carried on an evening breeze.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781911547310

Publisher: Daunt Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 February 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Daunt Books

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 184

About the Author

Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991) was born in Sicily and became one of the most important Italian writers of the twentieth century. She published her first short stories at the age of eighteen, and went on to write dozens of novels, plays and essays, including The Little Virtues, Voices in the Evening, All our Yesterdays, and Family Lexicon, which won the prestigious Strega Prize in 1963. She was the first person to translate Proust into Italian. As well as being a prolific writer, she was involved in politics and activism throughout her life, and served in the Italian parliament from 1983-1987.

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