Classic Literature Reading Group

THERE IS NO BOOK IN MAY, as this book is about 700 pages.

Remember to RSVP 'yes' to access the Zoom link. Please get the 2022 Modern Library translation by Michael E. Moore.

The Betrothed (I promessi sposi ) is an Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni which was first published in 1827 in three volumes, then significantly revised until the definitive version was published between 1840 and 1842.

In the Duchy of Milan in 1628, during the years of Spanish Habsburg rule, two young lovers are forced to flee their village on the shores of Lake Como after a powerful lord prevents their marriage, plunging them into the maelstrom of history. The novel is noted for its extraordinary description of the bubonic plague that struck Milan around 1630.

The novel deals with a variety of themes such as the illusory nature of political power and the inherent injustice of any legal system; the range of character among the Christian clergy from the cowardice of the parish priest Don Abbondio to the heroic sanctity of others (the friar Padre Cristoforo, the cardinal Federico Borromeo); and the unwavering strength of love (the relationship between Renzo and Lucia, and their struggle to finally meet again and be married). The novel is renowned for offering keen insights into the workings of the human mind.

While the novel is often described as the most widely read work in the Italian language, many Italians believe that the novel is not fully appreciated abroad. In Italy the novel is considered a true masterpiece of world literature and a basis for the modern Italian language. In the early 19th century, there was still controversy as to what form the standard literary language of Italy should take. Although a native of Milan, the regional capital of Lombardy, Manzoni was firmly in favor of the dialect of Florence (in Tuscany) and, as he himself put it, after "washing his clothes in the Arno [the river passing through Florence]", he revised the novel's language for its republication in 1842, cleansing it of many Lombard regionalisms. The original name of one of the protagonists, Fermo, was changed for the same reason to Lorenzo.

The novel is widely studied in Italian secondary schools, usually in the second year, when students are 15. Many expressions, quotes and names from the novel are still commonly used in Italian, such as Perpetua (meaning a priest's house worker) or Questo matrimonio non s'ha da fare ("This marriage is not to be performed", used ironically).

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If on a winter's night a traveler (Italian: Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore) is a 1979 novel by the Italian writer and journalist Italo Calvino (1823-1985). Calvino was much admired in Britain, Australia and the United States, and at the time of his death was the most translated contemporary Italian writer.

Using shifting structures, a succession of tales, and different points of view, the book probes the nature of change, coincidence, and chance and the interdependence of fiction and reality. It examines living and reading as interchangeable metaphors for each other, as well as the expectations of the reader, the intentions of the author, and the tension between the two.
The novel, which is nonlinear, begins with a man discovering that the copy of a novel he has recently purchased and is about to begin reading is defective: a Polish novel has been bound within its pages. He returns to the bookshop the following day and meets a young woman who is on an identical mission. They both profess a preference for the Polish novel. The act of reading has brought these two strangers together; the balance of the novel juxtaposes scenes from their lives with the fiction that they read. Interposed between the chapters in which the two strangers attempt to authenticate their texts are ten excerpts that parody genres of contemporary world fiction, such as the Latin American novel and the political novel of eastern Europe. When the titles of the fragmentary fictions are read in order—as they are by a character near the end of the narrative—they form a sentence: "If on a winter's night a traveler, outside the town of Malbork, leaning from the steep slope without fear of wind or vertigo, looks down in the gathering shadow in a network of lines that enlace, in a network of lines that intersect, on the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon around an empty grave— What story down there awaits its end?—he asks, anxious to hear the story."

"The loops of their impossible journey are postmodern, but the tone isn’t abstract or cerebral—it’s funny and sweet. The metafiction of Calvino’s novel, literally addressed to “you,” dramatizes the difficulty of paying attention and finding just the right book. Ironically, it’s totally easy to read, as the Reader’s choices flip from romance to thriller to realist novel, all interwoven with one man’s journey to find his love."

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The chapter selections are at the bottom of this description.

We will be using the Edith Grossman translation; the paperback was published by Ecco in 2005. Reviewing the novel in The New York Times, Carlos Fuentes called Grossman's translation a "major literary achievement" and another NYT reviewer called it the "most transparent and least impeded among more than a dozen English translations going back to the 17th century."

Don Quixote, the great Spanish epic by Miguel de Cervantes, was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. It is considered a founding work of Western literature, often labelled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. Don Quixote is also one of the most translated books in the world and one of the best-selling novels of all time. It stands in a unique position between medieval romance and the modern novel. The former consists of disconnected stories featuring the same characters and settings with little exploration of the inner life of even the main character. The latter are usually focused on the psychological evolution of their characters.

The book had a major influence on the Spanish language as well as on the Western literary community, as is seen by direct references in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers (1844), and Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897). It gave the English language the adjective "quixotic" as well as a number of idioms including "tilting at windmills" and "the pot calling the kettle black". Although burlesque on the surface, the novel, especially in its second half, has served as an important thematic source not only in literature but also in much of art and music, inspiring works by Pablo Picasso and Richard Strauss.

As near 1000 pages is daunting, and some of the episodes may seem repetitive, our Laura McGirr has consulted with a friend who teaches the book to her AP Spanish class and received a list of key chapters to read. Laura then augmented those with a few more to give some of the stories more continuity. Total number of pages to read is 203.

• Prologue pp 3-9
• Book of Don Quixote pp 11-18
• Part 1:
• Ch I - IX pp 20-70
• Ch LII pp 438-449
• Part 2:
• Ch I - IV pp 459-485
• Ch XV - XVI pp 548-558
• Ch XXII - XXIII pp 597-614
• Ch LXII - LXXIV pp 964-940