Hi, Elllie. I fell in love with Italy after teaching a summerschool course in Rome recently on the philosophy of film. A slow reading of any of the works you propose would be a great joy for me. I'm sorry I missed the slow reading of the Leopard, but I did read it on my own in November, 2023, albeit quickly, and posted a superficial reflection about it here: https://robertboydskipper.substack.com/p/the-leopardgiuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa
Since I have taught medieval philosophy and Greek philosophy I may be able to contribute something when we get to The Name of the Rose.
Those were some great observations on The Leopard, Robert, I especially love how you enjoyed the plot being secondary to Fabrizio's inner life. And it would be an honor to have your contribute during our Name of the Rose slow read, you're definitely more of an expert that I'll ever be!
Wow. Arturo’s Island by Elsa Morante — I saw someone mention it last year somewhere and then I bought it impulsively, but I’d totally forgotten about this book till now. Now excited to read it with you all.
How exciting! The two books you’ve chosen are super interesting to me. I confess I have tried to read The Name of the Rose twice and given up both times, but I am sure I will succeed with your guidance! As for the poll… I will give it some thought. But I’d be happy with either! Looking forward to reading with you in 2025 and very happy that you have lots of new followers - well deserved. 👏👏🇮🇹
Dear Ellie, Happy New Year. 🎉 Thank you for introducing me to The Leopard. Although I wasn't a very diligent reader in the club, and I haven't quite finished the book yet, I really like it and I've learned a lot of new things. I'll finish it soon and I want to watch the film too.
From the proposed list, I 100% want to read your articles and comments on The Name of the Rose. It's one of my favorites, I read it in one breath, then played games based on it, I absolutely love this detective story.
About Morante, I don't know anything, I haven't come across any of her books, and I will definitely join the reading.
About Pirandello I know little, he was briefly covered in my university foreign literature course, but I don't remember anything. We read one play: "Six Characters in Search of an Author". I don't know anything else.
My knowledge of Pinocchio is limited. I watched the Disney cartoon in childhood, and in Russia (in the USSR, to be precise) this character was adapted into Buratino (Буратино) and is very popular till today. Everyone knows him. There are films.
Oh, I know a bit about Buratino, the kid with the red and white cap, right? I always found it funny / fascinating that Russia produced so much Pinocchio content. Actually I've come to believe that Italian and Russian cultures have quite a few things in common.
But it seems like we are going to go with Pirandello instead, so you'll get more on the guy and Morante too later this year. And I'm SO excited that you love The Name of the Rose, it's one of my favorite books too!
I also believe that cultures have many similarities, but in the USSR, they weren't shy about stealing since copyright law didn't exist. Buratino was "written" by Alexey Tolstoy, a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy, and his version became more popular.
Pirandello - fantastic, I've already found the book, so I'm ready to read.
I was originally planning to recommend Weaver's more modern translation, but actually the '33 open source translation is not bad at all! It feels authentic to the time period, and I can add more context when needed. It also has the great advantage of being free and readily available, so yes, we will probably go with this one.
Hi, Elllie. I fell in love with Italy after teaching a summerschool course in Rome recently on the philosophy of film. A slow reading of any of the works you propose would be a great joy for me. I'm sorry I missed the slow reading of the Leopard, but I did read it on my own in November, 2023, albeit quickly, and posted a superficial reflection about it here: https://robertboydskipper.substack.com/p/the-leopardgiuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa
Since I have taught medieval philosophy and Greek philosophy I may be able to contribute something when we get to The Name of the Rose.
Those were some great observations on The Leopard, Robert, I especially love how you enjoyed the plot being secondary to Fabrizio's inner life. And it would be an honor to have your contribute during our Name of the Rose slow read, you're definitely more of an expert that I'll ever be!
Wow. Arturo’s Island by Elsa Morante — I saw someone mention it last year somewhere and then I bought it impulsively, but I’d totally forgotten about this book till now. Now excited to read it with you all.
It's a beautiful book, intimate but universal at the same time, like only coming of age stories can be. It'll be great to have you along, Dinesh!
How exciting! The two books you’ve chosen are super interesting to me. I confess I have tried to read The Name of the Rose twice and given up both times, but I am sure I will succeed with your guidance! As for the poll… I will give it some thought. But I’d be happy with either! Looking forward to reading with you in 2025 and very happy that you have lots of new followers - well deserved. 👏👏🇮🇹
We're getting through it this time Sharon, I swear 💪💪💪💪💪 Seriously though, it's such an amazing book, we're going to have fun!
Dear Ellie, Happy New Year. 🎉 Thank you for introducing me to The Leopard. Although I wasn't a very diligent reader in the club, and I haven't quite finished the book yet, I really like it and I've learned a lot of new things. I'll finish it soon and I want to watch the film too.
From the proposed list, I 100% want to read your articles and comments on The Name of the Rose. It's one of my favorites, I read it in one breath, then played games based on it, I absolutely love this detective story.
About Morante, I don't know anything, I haven't come across any of her books, and I will definitely join the reading.
About Pirandello I know little, he was briefly covered in my university foreign literature course, but I don't remember anything. We read one play: "Six Characters in Search of an Author". I don't know anything else.
My knowledge of Pinocchio is limited. I watched the Disney cartoon in childhood, and in Russia (in the USSR, to be precise) this character was adapted into Buratino (Буратино) and is very popular till today. Everyone knows him. There are films.
Oh, I know a bit about Buratino, the kid with the red and white cap, right? I always found it funny / fascinating that Russia produced so much Pinocchio content. Actually I've come to believe that Italian and Russian cultures have quite a few things in common.
But it seems like we are going to go with Pirandello instead, so you'll get more on the guy and Morante too later this year. And I'm SO excited that you love The Name of the Rose, it's one of my favorite books too!
I also believe that cultures have many similarities, but in the USSR, they weren't shy about stealing since copyright law didn't exist. Buratino was "written" by Alexey Tolstoy, a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy, and his version became more popular.
Pirandello - fantastic, I've already found the book, so I'm ready to read.
Hi Ellie. I found the Pirandello book on Gutenberg. Translated by Samuel Putnam. Is this okay? Or do you recommend some other edition?
https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks16/1600681h.html
I was originally planning to recommend Weaver's more modern translation, but actually the '33 open source translation is not bad at all! It feels authentic to the time period, and I can add more context when needed. It also has the great advantage of being free and readily available, so yes, we will probably go with this one.