Name: The Little Virtues (Paperback)
SKU: 50602132
Price: 246.00 ZAR
Availability: InStock
Author: Natalia Ginzburg
ISBN: 9781911547143

Type

Physical Book

Author

Natalia Ginzburg

Publisher

Daunt Books, United Kingdom

Synopsis "The Little Virtues (Paperback) "

“As far as the education of children is concerned,” states Natalia Ginzburg in this collection of her finest and best-known short essays, “I think they should be taught not the little virtues but the great ones. Not thrift but generosity and an indifference to money; not caution but courage and a contempt for danger; not shrewdness but frankness and a love of truth; not tact but a love of one’s neighbor and self-denial; not a desire for success but a desire to be and to know.” Whether she writes of the loss of a friend, Cesare Pavese; or what is inexpugnable of World War II; or the Abruzzi, where she and her first husband lived in forced residence under Fascist rule; or the importance of silence in our society; or her vocation as a writer; or even a pair of worn-out shoes, Ginzburg brings to her reflections the wisdom of a survivor and the spare, wry, and poetically resonant style her readers have come to recognize. “A glowing light of modern Italian literature . . . Ginzburg’s magic is the utter simplicity of her prose, suddenly illuminated by one word that makes a lightning streak of a plain phrase. . . . As direct and clean as if it were carved in stone, it yet speaks thoughts of the heart.” —The New York Times Book Review

Natalia Ginzburg

(Author)

View Author's Page

Natalia Ginzburg (1916–1991) was a prominent Italian writer whose work spans novels, essays, plays, and translation. Born in Palermo and raised in Turin, she intensely experienced the effects of fascism and World War II, experiences that deeply marked her literature. Her style is characterized by a sober and precise prose, focused on everyday life and family relationships. Among her most recognized works are Family Lexicon (1963), which won the prestigious Strega Prize, The Little Virtues (1962), Dear Michael (1973), The City and the House (1984), and All Our Yesterdays (1952). She also ventured into theater with pieces like I Married for Joy (1966)

Ginzburg was a politically committed figure; she participated in the anti-fascist resistance and, later, was a deputy for the Italian Communist Party. Her work has influenced subsequent generations for its intimate and honest look at the domestic as a reflection of the universal. In addition to her work as a writer, she worked at the Einaudi publishing house, where she collaborated with figures like Cesare Pavese. Her legacy remains alive, especially for her ability to transform the everyday into literature of high ethical and aesthetic value.

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