Conversations in Sicily
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| Conversations in Sicily | |
| Author | Elio Vittorini |
|---|---|
| Original title | Conversazione in Sicilia |
| Translator | Alane Salierno Mason |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Cannongate |
| Publication date | 2000|2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | 1841954500 |
Conversazione in Sicilia first appeared in serial form in Letteratura in 1938, and was first published as the novel Nome e Lagrime in 1941. The story concerns Silvestro Ferrauto and his return to Sicily after a long absence. The work contains a foreword & afterword by Ernest Hemingway. "Conversazione in Sicilia" literally translates as Conversation in Sicily; the translator took the liberty of pluralising the title.
The major themes of the work include detachment, poverty, exploitation and marital fidelity & respect.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Silvestro Ferrauto is a Sicilian working as a typesetter in Milan, who beset by strange feelings of hopelessness, decides to visit Sicily after receiving a letter from his father which reveals that the father has abandoned Ferrauto's mother. Ferrauto has not visited Sicily since leaving at the age of 15 and ends up on the train to Sicily apparently without conscious thought. Ferrauto then has various conversations with a number of Sicilians on the way to, and in, Sicily.
[edit] Characters
- Silvestro Ferrauto - the protagonist
- The Father - appears in the end while his mother is washing his feet
- 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] Literary significance & criticism
The protagonist & 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] Adaptation
The novel serves as the basis for Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet's film Sicilia!.
[edit] Footnotes
- Conversations in Sicily, Elio Vittorini, translated by Alane Salierno Mason
