Fontamara

by Ignazio Silone

Book Overview

Fontamara is one of the Italian classics of the twentieth century. It was written in 1933 and was well-known in translation before it could be published in Italy. In England it was very popular in its... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451515250
• ISBN13: 9780451515254
• Release Date: September 1981
• Publisher: Signet Classics
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Long live who?

Fontamara is the symbol of an Italian village of cafoni (day laborers). The cafoni of Fontamara have been duped by clever entrepreneurs supported by the banks; in other words, by capitalists who apply the U.S. model, from there the slogan: "It's America here now." They signed, without really understanding it, an agreement with the entrepreneurs which stipulated that the bed of the river that runs through their village could be moved. But this really meant that their poor arable land couldn't be irrigated anymore. They try by all means to get the agreement cancelled, also with petitions and appeals to politicians. But, they fall into the hands of the black jackets (the fascists), who discover that their names are recorded on blacklists of anarchists, communists or socialists. The leaders of the 'conspiracy against the State' are put in prison. This tragic story is told in a dramatic-humoristic tone. The cafoni have to pass a political exam by answering the question: 'Long live who?' Of course, nobody can answer that question. They are all branded as enemies of the fascist State. When the postman brings them an official letter, they really think that it is a document to impose new taxes on them. The central theme of this brilliantly written novel is a major political problem: democracy. With his blend of humor, sarcasm and cynicism, the author demonstrates remarkably how an anti-democratic regime can exclude entire segments of a population from the political process and strangulate them economically. Fontamara is an unforgettable masterpiece.

Tale of Fascism in a Small Village

A short, semi-autobiographical account by Silone of how the fascist government in Italy squeezed, exploited and finally crushed a small town in the Abruzzi. Not as good as Bread and Wine, but a good read.