Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes - 3.5 stars (Steeplechase, BWF Extra)

[Joy D]

Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes - 3.5* - My Review

“My life always appeared rather insignificant, without remarkable events, apart from my marriage and the birth of the children. Instead, ever since I happened to start keeping a diary, I seem to have discovered that a word or an intonation can be just as important, or even more, than the facts we’re accustomed to consider important.”

Set in Italy in 1950, forty–three-year-old Valeria Cossati purchases a notebook from a tobacconist. It is forbidden to sell anything other than tobacco, but the owner surreptitiously sells one to Valeria. She takes it home and begins writing entries related to her daily life, observations, reflections, and aspirations. Her life up to this point has been centered on her family, including husband Michele, and two young adult children, Riccardo and Mirella. After the war, their finances changed for the worse, and Valeria began working, which has not been well-accepted by her mother (who is from a wealthy family and feels women should not work).

It is obvious from the journal entries that Valeria has felt confined by her traditional role, and desires more freedom, but she feels guilty about this “selfish” desire. She is not assertive enough to ask for more personal agency, believing it would disrupt her family’s equilibrium. “Stronger than the desire to confide is the fear of destroying something that I’ve been constructing day by day, for twenty years, the only thing I possess.”

Valeria hides the journal and goes to great lengths to safeguard it. She writes at night after the others have retired and expresses extreme anxiety that it might be discovered. It is obvious that writing gives her an outlet for her frustrations, but she is unable to truly enjoy her self-expression due to her fears of being found out.

This book provides insight into the life of a woman who lived through World War II, when the opportunities for women were extremely limited and sweeping changes were taking place. It provides a historical perspective on society of the time period, including class divisions, social expectations, and generational disparities. We see Valeria’s mother disapproving of her working life, and her daughter desiring even greater freedom than Valeria could envision.

Originally published in 1952, it has only recently been translated into English. I enjoyed this glimpse into the past. It is not a flashy book. It is one for those who enjoy subtlety and spending time in the head of one (unhappy) person. I enjoyed it but found it rather repetitive and wish it had ended differently.

3.5

PBT Steeplechase: Tagged "Translated" x30:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...
BWF Extra - Fits letter "C" but not tag