The Little Virtues (with an introduction by Rachel Cusk) - Softcover

Natalia Ginzburg; Rachel Cusk; Dick Davis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1911547143 ISBN 13: 9781911547143

Publisher: Daunt Books, 2018

Synopsis

As far as the education of children is concerned I think they should be taught not the little virtues but the great ones.

Between 1944 and 1960, Natalia Ginzburg wrote The Little Virtues, a collection of eleven vivid portraits of life that are central to her legacy as one of the greatest Italian writers of the twentieth century. From the Italian countryside, where she and her husband lived in exile under fascist rule, to the melancholy streets of 1960s London, Ginzburg explores loneliness and belonging against the backdrop of post-war Europe.

In The Little Virtues, Ginzburg takes familiar objects and experiences - worn-out shoes, money boxes, meatballs, childhood, silence - and transforms them into subjects of great significance. While haunted by the political events of the time, Ginzburg rests her gaze on the human intimacies that shape and define our lives: friendships, marriage and parenthood. She describes her longest relationship with her writing in a definitive piece on vocation and motherhood, while her groundbreaking essay on raising children remains as vital as the day it was written.

The Little Virtues is a poignant portrait of Italy in the twentieth century and a singular work of memoir: intrepid, wise and dazzling.

'Powerful personal essays... from married life to the murder of her husband... the Italian author shows a deft lightness of touch in these moving pieces written between 1944 and 1960.'Guardian

'I have been stunned anew by the grace and depth of Natalia Ginzburg s collection about post-war Italy, The Little Virtues.' Emilie Pine, author of Notes to Self

'A glowing light of modern Italian literature... As direct and clean as if it were carved in stone, it yet speaks thoughts of the heart.' The New York Times Book Review

'A profound commentary on Italian life.' Tim Parks, London Review of Books

'This reissue of a 20th century classic contains 11 essays of wisdom that'll leave you seeing the world from a new perspective.' Emerald Street

About this title

Review:

'I really love and admire The Little Virtues.' --Zadie Smith

'A punch-you-in-the-stomach-with-grief-and beauty masterpiece.' --Maggie Nelson

'The book that taught me what I want to teach my daughter.' --Belle Boggs, The New Yorker

About the Author:

Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991) was born in Palermo, Sicily. She wrote dozens of essays, plays, short stories and novels, including Voices in the Evening, All Our Yesterdays and Family Lexicon, for which she was awarded the prestigious Strega Prize in 1963. She was involved in political activism throughout her life and served in the Italian parliament from 1983-1987.

About this edition

• Publisher: Daunt Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1911547143
• ISBN 13: 9781911547143
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192