Conversations in Sicily
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| Author | Elio Vittorini |
|---|---|
| Original title | Conversazione in Sicilia |
| Translator | Alane Salierno Mason |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Cannongate |
| Released | 2000|2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | 1841954500 |
Conversazione in Sicilia first appeared in serial form in Letteratura in 1938. It was published as a novel in 1941 under the Title
Nome e Lagrime. It tells the story of Silvestro Ferrauto, and his return to Sicily after an absence of 15 years. It contains a
foreward & afterward by Ernest Hemingway.
Contents |
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
Conversazione in Sicilia literally translates as Conversation in Sicily. The translator here has taken the liberty of
pluralising the title.
[edit] Plot summary
The protaganist is a Sicilian working as a typesetter in Milan. Beset by a strange "hopelessness", he stirred into visiting Sicily by the
receipt of a letter from his father reporting that he (the father) has abandoned the mother. The protaganist, who has not returned to Sicily
since leaving at the age of 15 ends up on the train to Sicily without conciously making any such decision. The main subject of the novel is
then the conversations the protaganist has with various Sicilians on the way to, and in, Sicily.
[edit] Characters in "Conversations in Sicily"
- Silvestro Ferrauto - the protaganist
- The Father - never appears in person
- The Wife - never appears in person
- Sicilian orange pickers - first conversation is with a Sicilian labourer
- "With Whiskers" - a Sicilian on the train, a state functionary
- "Without Whiskers" - a Sicilian on the train, a state functionary
- The Big Lombard - a Sicilian on the train
- Concezione Ferrauto - the mother
- Grandpa - the father of the mother, deceased
- Calogera - the Knife Grinder
- Ezechiele - the saddlemaker
- Porfiro - the drapier
- Colombo - the vintner
- Liborio - the brother, deceased
[edit] Main themes
Contributors comment; not being very literary I'm just going to put in what I see as the main themes as a starting point.
- Detachment
- Poverty
- Exploitation
- Marital fidelity & respect
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
[edit] Allusions/references to other works
[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
- The protaganist & author share many of the same experiences - growing up in a railway family, travelling widely by rail around Sicily and
Italy, working in northern Italy as a typesetter, and illness.
[edit] Footnotes
- Conversations in Sicily, Elio Vittorini, translated by Alane Salierno Mason
