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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
HISTORY was written nearly 3 decades after Morante spent a year hiding from the Germans in remote farming villages in the mountains south of Rome. There she witnessed the full impact of the war and first formed the ambition to write an account of what history does when it reaches the realm of ordinary people struggling for life and bread. The central character in this powerful and unforgiving novel is Ida Mancuso, a schoolteacher whose husband has died and whose feckless teenage son treats the war as his playground. A German soldier on his way to North Africa rapes her and leaves her pregnant with a boy whose survival becomes Ida's passion, and her source of joy and meaning amid universal catastrophe.
About the Author
Born in Rome in 1918, Morante was married to the writer Alberto Moravia. During the last years of World War II, the couple were refugees in the countryside near Cassino. Her first novel, MENZOGNA E SORTILEGIO (1948) was a critical success and won the Viareggio Prize. She was not a prolific writer, with L'ISOLA DI ARTURO appearing nearly ten years later. At the time of publication in 1974 HISTORY was called the novel of the century. Morante died in Rome on November 25, 1985.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
ONE January afternoon in the year 1941, a German soldier was out walking, enjoying an afternoon's liberty, when he found himself wandering alone, through the San Lorenzo district of Rome. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ONE January afternoon in the year 1941, a German soldier was out walking, enjoying an afternoon's liberty, when he found himself wandering alone, through the San Lorenzo district of Rome. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a novel about war seen through the eyes of an Italian woman who is raped by a German soldier and becomes pregnant. The son she gives birth too becomes everything to her and the novel recounts her efforts to bring him up and ensure he survives the war. It will give you hope for humanity and break your heart at the same time.
This History is not about leaders and battles but about the effects of war on one person and their struggle to survive history. There is not another novel I can liken this book to, the closet in tone and effect would be the neo-realist films of Rossellini and De Sica.
This History is not about leaders and battles but about the effects of war on one person and their struggle to survive history. There is not another novel I can liken this book to, the closet in tone and effect would be the neo-realist films of Rossellini and De Sica.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
27 reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
The real thing . . .
12 Aug 2003
Format:Paperback
I read this book over four years ago, and I still come to this website to see if any new titles have been added to the "If you liked this book..." section. I have a B.A. and M.A. in literature, read voraciously, and this remains in my top 10 list of all novels (among others, "Gathering Evidence," by Thomas Bernhardt, "Maria Zef," by Paola Driga, "Independent People," by Halldor Laxness . . .). It is one of those books that, should you hear of it somehow and read it, you will think a long time about how lucky you are that you "met" this novel, and this author, if you've never read her before; and you will shudder to think you might have gone through your life and missed such a book, and you will begin to wonder how many other books there are out there like this, some that you know you will never find. This is a serious novel, and a deeply moving one, especially if you have a fondness for literature about children. But this is not a prerequisite. When I began the novel, I didn't believe I could come to care so deeply for a fictional character, much less a five-year-old boy who, for the majority of the novel, is too young to speak. And his dogs! This is a truly magical novel. During the last fifty pages, I could not possibly put this book down, and my whole being was affected for days after reading the book, and I can never really forget it. If you don't like to feel, don't read this book. But if you do, you will rarely, if ever, be so richly rewarded.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Incredible!
25 Feb 2005
Format:Paperback
When I first read this book, I cried so much that it was hard to breathe. Beautifully written, beautifully translated, this is one of the best books of the second half of the twentieth century. This is the story of a young Italian woman and her sons, mostly during World War II. The beautiful portrait of the young baby, and then young boy, was just so moving. And I loved the descriptions of their dog, Bella. As she looked at each of her puppies, she thought it was surely the most beautiful one in the world. Morante captured the essence of motherhood. Of course, life has tragedy, and this is a very, very sad book. But if you want a good story, and marvelous writing, writing that is so beautiful that you are just stunned, then read this book.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
heart-wrenching
12 Nov 1997
Format:Paperback
This is a story set in war-torn Italy that follows the life of a simple, good child-like woman, as she deals with widowhood, rape, and survival with her two sons.
The beauty of this stunning book, is in the descriptions of the characters, and the emotions each one is experiencing from the point of view of an anonymous bystander. As the years pass in this family's life, it's as though we were so intimately connected with their pain and anguish that we are somehow responsible because we do nothing but watch from afar. I was overwhelmed with such feelings of compassion for the struggling mother, her unruly eldest son, and most of all, for her innocent Useppe, the child born of her rape.
Elsa Morante's ability in touching my heart with words that helped me "experience" each moment with these special characters, is incredible. She describes fleeting moments of love, anguish, and sorrow, without naming them, and yet they are so recognizable, they just tug at your heart.
This writer has an extraordinary ability with words, that special ability to paint feelings so delicately, you are not aware that you have been touched until the end of the passage. And often I would have to pause before reading on, to wonder at the effect the words have had on me. I have never experienced that kind of thing in a book before, and I have read all my life. I'll never forget this delicate and sensitive work.
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