'We're not Christians, Christ stopped short of here, at Eboli.' Exiled to a remote and barren corner of Italy for his opposition to Mussolini, Carlo Levi entered a world cut off from history and the state, hedged in by custom and sorrow, without comfort or solace, where, eternally patient, the peasants lived in an age-old stillness and in the presence of death - for Christ did stop at Eboli.
Christ Stopped At Eboli - The Story Of A Year
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"[Levi is] a sensitive and gifted writer with a great sense of style." --Alfred Kazin
About the Author
The Italian-Jewish writer, journalist, artist and doctor Carlo Levi was born in Turin in 1902 where he practised medicine until 1930. In 1935 he was exiled to the province of Lucania because of his antifascist activities. Levi lived in France between 1939 and 1941 and his documentary novel, CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI, was an international success. Levi also wrote non-fiction and worked as an editor, journalist and painter. He was elected to the Senate in 1963, and served until his death in 1975.
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First Sentence
Many years have gone by, years of war and of what men call History. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Many years have gone by, years of war and of what men call History. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By mike7337
Format:Paperback
I came across this book by chance when we were sorting out a vast collection of books belonging to my late father in law. It was a very early Readers Union edition published in 1949 and printed on thin 'austerity' paper within a green linen hardback cover. The book was throughout a rivetting read, describing acutely and sensitively not only the peasants' lives as well as that of the 'gentry' in Gagliano (now Aliano) and Carlo Levi's previous exile village, Grassano. Levi's descriptions of the landscape are fantastic considering the landscape around Gagliano consists of not much more than ridges and ravines, also the stories, seasonal events and customs and supernatural presences - all brought excitingly and humourously alive. Amazingly the solution he suggests for the poverty-ridden south of Italy in the mid thirties is not Marxist dogma but a carefully thought out sustainability scheme more reminiscent of the anarcho-syndicalists of Spain at that time. I've read the book three times - still finding more, and found his paintings done during exile on an excellent website marchebonsecours.qc.ca/ex_expo/levi/eng/cataloa.htm - they are for me as an artist brilliant! What a genius! I 'm following Levi's footsteps and exploring the area this October on foot - it's amazing what a book can do...
58 of 60 people found the following review helpful
By Born to Read
Format:Paperback
This brilliant book is an account of Carlo Levi’s banishment to a remote village in southern Italy for his opposition to Fascism in 1935. Unless you have gone to “Search inside the Book” and read page three, the title may be a bit misleading: this is not about an incarnation of the deity that alighted in a place called Eboli. Eboli, a town of no consequence to the action of the book, is, rather, the farthest south Christianity (read: civilization) got. Gagliano, the town in which Levi arrives to carry out his exile, is as far south from Eboli as Eboli is from Naples, and is the end of the road in more than one respect.
In Gagliano, Levi lives a somewhat enviable (for an exile, at least) existence painting, writing, and, as a doctor, administering to the sick and injured. But the book is not about Levi’s good works among the peasants. Rather, it is a series of sublime sketches about a people so grim, so primitive, so impoverished, so imbued with superstition and pagan ritual (Gagliano has a village priest, but he’s drunk most of the time) that they seem an alien species. Levi doesn’t so much understand them as observe them and paint them with words.
Levi’s artistic gifts extend to his descriptions, and phrases such as “Grassano…is a streak of white at the summit of a bare hill” make the book come alive. It is clear that Frances Frenaye, the translator, deserves no small credit in this respect. This is a haunting work, and one of the most memorable books I have ever enjoyed.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Good things often come in small packages, and in an era where words like 'genius' are tossed casually around it will suprise some that one of the greatest books of the twentieth century should come in the form of a slim paperback as opposed to a phonebook fat epic.
In some ways this is a autobiographical travelogue, though in many ways a million miles away from Bryson et al (as good as they get). The author, Carlo Levi, wrote this while in exile during the period of Mussolini's rule.
Documenting life the peasants of Southern Italy, who were not Christians and therefore not even human for 'Christ stopped at Eboli' it is testament to Levi's brilliance that he makes such unrelenting bleakness so readable. This is not an upbeat book, but it is ultimately a very rewarding one, never pulling punches while showing the innate dignity of a beaten people when confronting a system that is both completely alien and hostile to them.
The book has many lessons for contemporary Italy, for whilst the poverty has disappeared, the problems of those brigand ridden days remain. Read this alongside Lampedusa's magesterial work "The Leopard" for an understanding of Italy that is deeper than a hundred books by Mario Puzo.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insight into Mussolini's fascist state
This is a personalised true story. It depicts his exile to the poor remote rural south. The characters he meets are well described and you feel for them. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Barbara M
4.0 out of 5 stars
spoilt by poor editing
A classic but the kindle edition has so many typo's/spelling mistakes. One wouldn't expect this in such a quality book
Published 1 month ago by Hema
5.0 out of 5 stars
I did love it
Quite harrowing, the lives of people in this 'forgotten area of Italy. One does wonder how people can live and still enjoy parts of their lives. Well written
Published 2 months ago by Marianna Lutyens
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant!
awesome, eye opening read that really helps to explain why so many people left Italy during this period of the 20th century
Published 5 months ago by JA
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not really for me...
Well, I may as well tell the truth and be out of step with everyone else. I bought this because I was about to stay in a couple of caves in Matera and wanted to know about the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Cheshire Dave
4.0 out of 5 stars
Southern Italy
An interesting insight into pre war life in the South of Italy.Based around the time Carlo Levi spent exiled in the hills of the South. Read more
Published 14 months ago by MART
4.0 out of 5 stars
Christ Stopped at Eboli
During a recent tour of southern Italy, our tour guide introduced us to the work of Carlo Levi as background information to a visit to the Sassi caves at Matera. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Nick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christ stopped at Eboli
A fascinating insight into life in remote southern Italy in the 1930s. I really enjoyed Carlo Levi's classic work and also bought the DVD.
Published on 14 Mar 2011 by Rosemary
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece
This book is a literary masterpiece and a great testament to the greatness to which man can aspire. I bought it for my son (28) and he loved it.
Published on 19 Nov 2010 by Elena
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
This is a wonderful work. The book was a used paperback but its condition did not spoil the enjoyment. Carlo Levi writes like an angel!
Published on 4 Jun 2010 by Mr. M. Donovan
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