History

January 1, 2001
Written in 1974 but first published in the United States in 1977, this was Morante's first novel in 18 years. As the cryptic title indicates, the theme of this novel, said LJ's reviewer, is how "history obscures individual lives." Though the book portrays the brutal existence of one Italian family after World War II, LJ's reviewer added that "there is so much to praise in this long, wonderfully rich novel, including the effortless translation, that its flaws--occasional clumsiness of narration, repetition--are minor indeed" (LJ 4/15/77). The edition contains a new foreword by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison.

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