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Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto — book review
“This story you’re reading contains my memories of the final visit I made to the seaside town where I passed my childhood—of my last summer at home.” Goodbye Tsugumi is the quintessence of Yoshimoto. Written in her quietly poetic prose Goodbye Tsugumi is a novel that is light on the plot. Yoshimoto introduces us to…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3 STARS, Banana Yoshimoto, coming of age, favourite authors, female authors, female friendships, friendships, Goodbye Tsugumi, growing up, illness, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, light reads, LITERARY FICTION, mumblecore, published in 1989, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, read in Italian, tokyo, TRANSLATED FICTION -
The Lying Life of Adults (La vita bugiarda degli adulti) by Elena Ferrante — book review
“L’amore è opaco come i vetri delle finestre dei cessi.” (I’m no Ann Goldstein but the above quote can be roughly translated to: “Love is as opaque as the windows of a shit-house”). In this latest novel by Elena Ferrante, La Vita Bugiarda degli Adulti (or The Lying Life of Adults in its English translation)…
1990s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, Ann Goldstein, beauty, bilingual review, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, elena ferrante, family, growing up, identity, Italian Author, Italy, La vita bugiarda degli adulti, LITERARY FICTION, Naples, psychological, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, read in Italian, SEXUALITY, teen angst, terrific prose, The Lying Life of Adults -
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg — book review
From the first page I was drawn by Natalia Ginzburg’s incredibly vivid prose. The title of this memoir encapsulates much of Ginzburg’s recollection of her family. She remembers in minute detail the way in which within her family certain words and phrases had a particular significance or meaning, one that is known only by a…
1930S, 1940s, 1st pov, 20th century, 4.5 STARS, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, CHILDHOOD, CLASSICS, family, Family Lexicon, fascism, female authors, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, Italian Author, Italian classics, Italy, Jewish, Lessico famigliare, MARRIAGE, MEMOIR, modern classics, Natalia Ginzburg, Nonfiction, politics, published in 1963, READ IN 2019, read in Italian, REVIEW, war, WWII -
L’Arminuta (A Girl Returned) by Donatella Di Pietrantonio
In spite of its short length Arminuta packs a real punch. I was almost hypnotised by its incredibly unsentimental narrative. Although Di Pietrantonio uses a seemingly direct and unadorned language, she’s able to brilliantly evoke the narrator’s world. However stark and unpleasant, everything was depicted in such a sharp and vivid way that I was entranced even…
1970s, 1980s, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, belonging, CHILDHOOD, cold tone, coming of age, Donatella Di Pietrantonio, family, growing up, identity, incest, introspective, Italian Author, Italy, L’Arminuta, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MEMORY, mothers & daughters, Poverty, psychological, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2020, read in 2022, read in Italian, REVIEWS, SISTERS, unnamed city, unnamed narrator
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