Canne al vento
Author | Grazia Deledda |
---|---|
Original title | Canne al vento |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
Genre | novel |
Publisher | L'Illustrazione Italiana (serial) |
Publication date | 1913 |
Preceded by | Colombi e sparvieri |
Followed by | Le colpe altrui |
Canne al vento ([ˈkanne al ˈvɛnto]; Italian for "Reeds in the wind") is a novel by the Italian author and Nobel Prize winner Grazia Deledda. After being published by episodes on L'Illustrazione Italiana, in the period January 13–27, 1913, it was released as a volume by editor Fratelli Treves in Milan. It's considered the most notable work written by Deledda. The title of the book is an allusion to human frailty and sorrow, which was already found in Elias Portolu, written in 1900: Uomini siamo, Elias, uomini fragili come canne, pensaci bene. Al di sopra di noi c'è una forza che non possiamo vincere. («We are human, Elias, as frail as reeds: think carefully. There's a force we can't defeat above us.»)
About the work
Set in the barren lands of
It is not a story for its own sake, neither is it enclosed within the Sardinian borders. What was valid for the island was also for Italy at the time, and the world.
An English translation of this work by Martha King was published in 2008 by Italica Press.
Plot
A Sardinian village called
The narration begins years later, when the no longer young Pintor ladies (Ruth, Ester and Noemi) live in a by then crumbling house and are still the owners of a small estate, barely sufficient to their maintenance. Their existences pass in a mournful sadness that is overthrowing their
In popular culture
In 1958, a TV series was produced by RAI for Italian broadcast.
External links
- Canne al vento on Wikimedia Commons (in Italian)
- Canne al vento public domain audiobook at LibriVox (in Italian)