The New Italian Novel

by Zygmunt G. Barański (Editor)

Three names dominate the Italian novel in the English speaking world - Italo Calvino, Primo Levi and Umberto Eco. Yet, since the late 1960s, and particularly in the 1980s, there have been many more important Italian writers whose work has remained unknown outside Italy. This book brings their writings to a wider audience. It gives general critical introductions to fifteen of the most noteworthy contemporary Italian writers. Central to most of these writers is a preoccupation with the nature of the relationship between writing and the world. The authors deal with a vast range of topics and periods including present-day events, the past, the problems faced by women and by society as a whole, but nearly all look at the question of how such matters might be dealt with in literature. Each chapter is written by an Italian specialist and a full introduction sets the novelists in their historical and cultural context. The New Italian Novel is intended for anyone wanting an English introduction to the best of Italian writing.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 1994