Three days being covered in white dust, over 120 degrees inside the carriage, wearing all those proper clothes, good grief, I wonder why The Countess and the daughters don’t try to overthrow the prevailing, also. Or perhaps, they, too, believe that the more things change, the more they stay the same. So much description of decay but so far, decay is not fertilizing the future.
That's such a fascinating point Paula, if you think about it this family is absolutely not fertilizing anything, they don't achieve or produce anything, just sit around on their wealth watching the world go by, no wonder they're all so selfish and so depressed.
Re: the heat, I came across a shooting of a Netflix period drama once, it was August and you could tell the extras in Victorian petticoats were MISERABLE. But on the other hand, what were the Salinas girls supposed to do? Sicilian weather is what it is, and if they wanted to go on vacations carriages and dirt roads were the only options.
Thank you. I appreciate your notes and the history. I agree, don’t change anything! I find the story fascinating. It’s so rich in description and metaphor is this something typical of Italian writing at the time or a style particular to Lampedusa?
Lampedusa's writing is especially rich, isn't it? More than writers it reminds me of Italian poets such as Giacomo Leopardi. Thank you for stopping by 🙏
I appreciate the layout of your notes and concur with the comments suggesting no changes are necessary.
The political landscape still perplexes me, as I'm not entirely clear on who did what and why (though I simply need to read a few historical articles to clarify). It's puzzling that Garibaldi refers to himself as a Dictator, yet he's viewed as a liberal or liberator (?)—as is Salina's nephew Tancredi. Overall, I find 19th-century politics quite bewildering.
I find it intriguing—and somewhat disheartening from a broader human perspective—how Fabrizio's display of friendliness and kindness is immediately contrasted with his loss of authority.
On a related note, while browsing "The Novel Cure," I discovered "The Leopard" mentioned in the chapter on Loss of Appetite. I'd like to share a quote from it:
“Losing one’s appetite is a terrible thing. For one’s appetite for food is part and parcel of one’s appetite for life. A result of various kinds of physical and emotional sickness (the latter including lovesickness, depression, heartbreak, and bereavement), total loss of appetite can lead in only one direction. To bring it back, and solicit a reengagement with life, whet and tempt with one of literature’s most sensual novels.
The Leopard, Don Fabrizio Corbèra, Prince of Salina, feels as if he has been dying for years. But even now, in his old age, he is Appetite writ large. He still has the energy, at seventy-three, to go to brothels, and is still delighted to see his favorite dessert—a rum jelly in the shape of a fortress, complete with bastions and battlements—on the dining table (it’s rapidly demolished beneath the assault of his large, equally lusty family). There are ravishing descriptions of desire of many different kinds: the daily pursuit of a hare in the “archaic and aromatic fields,” and the intense and overwhelming attraction of young Tancredi and Angelica as they chase each other around the palace, forever finding new rooms in which to yearn and dream, for “these were the days when desire was always present, because always overcome.
One cannot help but revel in the old patriarch’s appreciation for the sensual world. This is a novel that will help you rediscover your appetite—for food, for love, for the countryside, for Sicily with all its history and rampant beauty. And, most important, for life itself.”
That's an excellent question Dana, I've been thinking about it all this past weekend. My guess is that on the 19th century the word "Dictator" didn't have the negative connotations we give it today. Everyone was obsessed with the ancient Roman republic / empire back then, it was considered the pinnacle of politics, philosophy, art etc. For example you can find fasces everywhere in the iconography of the time (there's two giant ones on the statue at the Lincoln Memorial!) Today it would be unthinkable considering their link to fascism.
A Dictator in Roman times was someone who took on special, temporary powers in a moment of crisis to help the Republic, and I'm sure that's what Garibaldi saw himself as. But The Leopard was written in the 20th century and I think us future readers are supposed to feel uncomfortable at that word, does that make sense? There's a duality in it, a menace that we can understand but people of the time, swept in all that heroic rhetoric, couldn't.
That quote you posted has a bit of a spoiler for the last chapters! But makes really good points we'll get too. What's "The Novel Cure", is it good? Should I read it?
The information about dictators is fascinating. I thought it is another oxymoron. Now, of course, the word "dictator" carries an entirely negative connotation for me.
Ooo, I copied everything written about the novel as it was. I didn't realize there was a spoiler, as the book still feels magical and mysterious to me. I'm not sure what exactly the spoiler is. I dislike when this happens—you can definitely delete that comment.
“The Novel Cure” isn't a book for reading per se; it's more of a reference dictionary listing various symptoms with literary examples, including The Leopard. While flipping through the book, I quickly found our novel under "A" for "Appetite, loss of". I didn't study it in depth. Dostoevsky appeared under "Guilt", which was my initial interest. Annd now I realized that they revealed the entire plot of Crime and Punishment with major spoilers. So I'll avoid reading about unfamiliar books. 😅
I've just begun exploring bibliotherapy, its prevalence, and applicability. I'm still undecided, but I've found a couple of books on the subject. And found that. **Ella Berthoud**, the author of Novel Cure, describes herself as a bibliotherapist.
Three days being covered in white dust, over 120 degrees inside the carriage, wearing all those proper clothes, good grief, I wonder why The Countess and the daughters don’t try to overthrow the prevailing, also. Or perhaps, they, too, believe that the more things change, the more they stay the same. So much description of decay but so far, decay is not fertilizing the future.
That's such a fascinating point Paula, if you think about it this family is absolutely not fertilizing anything, they don't achieve or produce anything, just sit around on their wealth watching the world go by, no wonder they're all so selfish and so depressed.
Re: the heat, I came across a shooting of a Netflix period drama once, it was August and you could tell the extras in Victorian petticoats were MISERABLE. But on the other hand, what were the Salinas girls supposed to do? Sicilian weather is what it is, and if they wanted to go on vacations carriages and dirt roads were the only options.
(Don't change anything Ellie! I am really enjoying these posts!)
Been on holiday for two weeks and just catching up! Thanks for the great notes, as always!
Welcome back Sharon! And take your time, books are better when you go to your own pace ❤️
Thank you. I appreciate your notes and the history. I agree, don’t change anything! I find the story fascinating. It’s so rich in description and metaphor is this something typical of Italian writing at the time or a style particular to Lampedusa?
Lampedusa's writing is especially rich, isn't it? More than writers it reminds me of Italian poets such as Giacomo Leopardi. Thank you for stopping by 🙏
I appreciate the layout of your notes and concur with the comments suggesting no changes are necessary.
The political landscape still perplexes me, as I'm not entirely clear on who did what and why (though I simply need to read a few historical articles to clarify). It's puzzling that Garibaldi refers to himself as a Dictator, yet he's viewed as a liberal or liberator (?)—as is Salina's nephew Tancredi. Overall, I find 19th-century politics quite bewildering.
I find it intriguing—and somewhat disheartening from a broader human perspective—how Fabrizio's display of friendliness and kindness is immediately contrasted with his loss of authority.
On a related note, while browsing "The Novel Cure," I discovered "The Leopard" mentioned in the chapter on Loss of Appetite. I'd like to share a quote from it:
“Losing one’s appetite is a terrible thing. For one’s appetite for food is part and parcel of one’s appetite for life. A result of various kinds of physical and emotional sickness (the latter including lovesickness, depression, heartbreak, and bereavement), total loss of appetite can lead in only one direction. To bring it back, and solicit a reengagement with life, whet and tempt with one of literature’s most sensual novels.
The Leopard, Don Fabrizio Corbèra, Prince of Salina, feels as if he has been dying for years. But even now, in his old age, he is Appetite writ large. He still has the energy, at seventy-three, to go to brothels, and is still delighted to see his favorite dessert—a rum jelly in the shape of a fortress, complete with bastions and battlements—on the dining table (it’s rapidly demolished beneath the assault of his large, equally lusty family). There are ravishing descriptions of desire of many different kinds: the daily pursuit of a hare in the “archaic and aromatic fields,” and the intense and overwhelming attraction of young Tancredi and Angelica as they chase each other around the palace, forever finding new rooms in which to yearn and dream, for “these were the days when desire was always present, because always overcome.
One cannot help but revel in the old patriarch’s appreciation for the sensual world. This is a novel that will help you rediscover your appetite—for food, for love, for the countryside, for Sicily with all its history and rampant beauty. And, most important, for life itself.”
That's an excellent question Dana, I've been thinking about it all this past weekend. My guess is that on the 19th century the word "Dictator" didn't have the negative connotations we give it today. Everyone was obsessed with the ancient Roman republic / empire back then, it was considered the pinnacle of politics, philosophy, art etc. For example you can find fasces everywhere in the iconography of the time (there's two giant ones on the statue at the Lincoln Memorial!) Today it would be unthinkable considering their link to fascism.
A Dictator in Roman times was someone who took on special, temporary powers in a moment of crisis to help the Republic, and I'm sure that's what Garibaldi saw himself as. But The Leopard was written in the 20th century and I think us future readers are supposed to feel uncomfortable at that word, does that make sense? There's a duality in it, a menace that we can understand but people of the time, swept in all that heroic rhetoric, couldn't.
That quote you posted has a bit of a spoiler for the last chapters! But makes really good points we'll get too. What's "The Novel Cure", is it good? Should I read it?
The information about dictators is fascinating. I thought it is another oxymoron. Now, of course, the word "dictator" carries an entirely negative connotation for me.
Ooo, I copied everything written about the novel as it was. I didn't realize there was a spoiler, as the book still feels magical and mysterious to me. I'm not sure what exactly the spoiler is. I dislike when this happens—you can definitely delete that comment.
“The Novel Cure” isn't a book for reading per se; it's more of a reference dictionary listing various symptoms with literary examples, including The Leopard. While flipping through the book, I quickly found our novel under "A" for "Appetite, loss of". I didn't study it in depth. Dostoevsky appeared under "Guilt", which was my initial interest. Annd now I realized that they revealed the entire plot of Crime and Punishment with major spoilers. So I'll avoid reading about unfamiliar books. 😅
I've just begun exploring bibliotherapy, its prevalence, and applicability. I'm still undecided, but I've found a couple of books on the subject. And found that. **Ella Berthoud**, the author of Novel Cure, describes herself as a bibliotherapist.