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wynkyn's review against another edition
5.0
Atmospheric novella concerning a young girl losing her innocence. Def worth seeking out more Pavese.
chiaroscuraa's review against another edition
5.0
l'entrata nell'adolescenza e il limite dell'innocenza verginale - lo si oltrepassa oppure lo si preserva
sottola99's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
claire_fuller_writer's review against another edition
2.0
Pavese captured a young girl's obsession with an artist, and her fallings-out and fallings-in with a friend who rather leads her astray, but that's about it. I did wonder about the translation into English (it's not clear who did this) in 1955, and whether it might be more enjoyable with a newer translation. It's full of poorly expressed cliches - for example, 'Ginia was in her seventh heaven'. And at one point, 16 year old Ginia says 'Poor blighter' about her friend Amelia, which seems like something an English man would have said in the '50s, and not an Italian girl in the 1930s. And then there are just sentences which are confusing: 'They did not go and sit in a cafe because Amelia was already fed up with standing all day.' I don't even understand what that means.
Still, it was very short, and quick.
Still, it was very short, and quick.
aina99cr's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
natreadsthings's review against another edition
3.0
This could've been a lovely coming of age story - I mean, it WAS a lovely coming of age story, technically, if you just look at the series of events - only I found the writing to be very strange. Sixteen-year-old Ginia longs for adventure in the midst of a long Italian summer in the 1930s, and so she meets Amelia, an artist's model.
A premise right up my alley, but alas! Maybe it was a translation thing, but it felt very jumbled and difficult to follow, which unfortunately made it a lot less enjoyeable. I didn't care for neither the protagonist nor any of the other characters, and couldn't for the life of me understand anyone's attachment to anyone else, as we didn't really get to see many fleshed out, interesting conversations (in my opinion at least). From what I've understood this writer is pretty loved, and I'm not against reading him again, so maybe it was simply a lost in translation thing? But at the same time, a book this short shouldn't be this messy and lowkey boring.
Things I DID like: The prospect of being a young woman in the 30s who poses as a model for a living. I'm sure that was very frowned upon (or?), so I think it was a fascinating choice, which paired up well with the protagonist's feelings toward it as a character study. I also liked her relationship with Amelia, even though I didn't always understand it. I think it's good to show complex friendships between girls and women. And maybe that was the point of the book all along?
A premise right up my alley, but alas! Maybe it was a translation thing, but it felt very jumbled and difficult to follow, which unfortunately made it a lot less enjoyeable. I didn't care for neither the protagonist nor any of the other characters, and couldn't for the life of me understand anyone's attachment to anyone else, as we didn't really get to see many fleshed out, interesting conversations (in my opinion at least). From what I've understood this writer is pretty loved, and I'm not against reading him again, so maybe it was simply a lost in translation thing? But at the same time, a book this short shouldn't be this messy and lowkey boring.
Things I DID like: The prospect of being a young woman in the 30s who poses as a model for a living. I'm sure that was very frowned upon (or?), so I think it was a fascinating choice, which paired up well with the protagonist's feelings toward it as a character study. I also liked her relationship with Amelia, even though I didn't always understand it. I think it's good to show complex friendships between girls and women. And maybe that was the point of the book all along?
anjolaoluwa_j's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lee_foust's review against another edition
4.0
I suppose it's a bit unfair to rate this short novel on its own, given that Pavese published it in a collection of three short novels of adolescence (under the eponymous general title La bella estate). However, since I snagged an old Einaudi hardcover from a Florentine circolo (Communist social center/coffee shop) library that was closing, well, here I am. I do own a ratty old pocketbook of the full trilogy and, since I enjoyed this one so much, I've already committed to reading all three. Yeah, although the quality here is terrific, four stars only for the text's humble scope, more than anything--if all three are as good as this one and their juxtaposition makes a whole greater than the individual sections, this could easily be an overall 5 star collection.
Pavese is probably the best Italian author of the 20th century who seems largely unknown to the English-speaking world. Although I've come across translations of some of his works here and there, it's usually rather rare and they always seem to be remaindered. I haven't read the English translations so not sure why he's not as well known as Calvino, Eco, or now Ferrante (yes, a better writer than all three combined if you ask me), but there's also no accounting for taste.
Anyway, La bella estate is a tender story of a young woman's entrance into adulthood through her friendship with a couple of artists and a model friend, which brilliantly uses nudity as a metaphor for crossing the sexual boundary that cultures put so much emphasis on in their attempt to control and police reproduction--with the added emphasis on public vs. private intimacy that is perhaps more confusing to young people than just pure intimacy, given that young people particularly travel in packs. The gentle melancholy and deceptively simple everyday language (Pavese is, to me, Hemingway's greatest student in ANY language--yes, better than Carver--maybe even better than Hemingway himself often, certainly the later, mediocre Hemingways) work perfectly as we watch Amelia's incremental movement into society, friendship, love and sex. And if this sounds unlikely to be convincing at 80 years distance, I have to say that the female point of view is handled really well and that the novelette also treats of lesbianism and venereal disease honestly and without any sort of embarrassing fanfare. Pavese is one of the best at realistic narrative on sensitive and intimate issues--I'm consistently impressed by his writing.
Pavese is probably the best Italian author of the 20th century who seems largely unknown to the English-speaking world. Although I've come across translations of some of his works here and there, it's usually rather rare and they always seem to be remaindered. I haven't read the English translations so not sure why he's not as well known as Calvino, Eco, or now Ferrante (yes, a better writer than all three combined if you ask me), but there's also no accounting for taste.
Anyway, La bella estate is a tender story of a young woman's entrance into adulthood through her friendship with a couple of artists and a model friend, which brilliantly uses nudity as a metaphor for crossing the sexual boundary that cultures put so much emphasis on in their attempt to control and police reproduction--with the added emphasis on public vs. private intimacy that is perhaps more confusing to young people than just pure intimacy, given that young people particularly travel in packs. The gentle melancholy and deceptively simple everyday language (Pavese is, to me, Hemingway's greatest student in ANY language--yes, better than Carver--maybe even better than Hemingway himself often, certainly the later, mediocre Hemingways) work perfectly as we watch Amelia's incremental movement into society, friendship, love and sex. And if this sounds unlikely to be convincing at 80 years distance, I have to say that the female point of view is handled really well and that the novelette also treats of lesbianism and venereal disease honestly and without any sort of embarrassing fanfare. Pavese is one of the best at realistic narrative on sensitive and intimate issues--I'm consistently impressed by his writing.