IL GATTOPARDO

Il Gattopardo   
by Tomasi Di Lampedusa 
(La Biblioteca KCIC #99) 

This is a highly praised Classic by a well-respected Sicilian author.  It has been translated into many languages and has been made into a film.  It is generally agreed by reviewers, that the original Italian text is the best as the descriptions are the most evocative. 
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La Storia: 

Siamo in Sicilia, all’epoca del tramonto borbonica e di scena una famiglia della piu alta aristocrazia isolana, colta nel momento rivelatore del trapasso del regime, mentre gia incalzano i tempi nuovi.  Accentrato quasi interamente intorno a un solo personaggio, il principe Fabrizio Salina, lirico e critico insieme, il romanzo nulla concede all’intreccio e al romanzesco tanto cari a tutta la narrative europea dell’ottocento.  L’immagine della Sicilia che invece ci offer e una immagine viva, animate da uno spirito alacre e modernissimo, ampiamente consapevole della problematica storia, politica et letteraria contemporanea. 

Translation: 

In Italy, in 1860, Sicily was controlled by a handful of aristocratic families who governed as feudal lords.  When Giuseppe Garibaldi arrives with plans to unify a divided Italy, he begins the overthrow of the social order.  We meet Don Fabrizio, the Prince of Salina, last of the reigning families of Sicily who faces the end of his privileged lifestyle but seems unable to do anything to change what lies ahead.  Lampedusa’s writing has been described as luxuriously descriptive and his powers of political analysis have made this novel an enduring and relevant Classic.   

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