 "Breathtaking" | 2009-09-14 |
| - Reviewed By oregonreader from Eugene, OR |
| The Leopard is set in Sicily in the 1860's, around the time a united Italy was formed. The plot involves events in the lives of Fabrizio, Prince of Salina, and his family, set against a backdrop of revolution and the collapse of the old aristocracy. I read this in translation so my comments reflect that rather than the original Italian but the language is breathtaking. When Fabrizio walks into a room in the palace, the reader follows his eyes as they take in every detail and hear his reflections on the history of the objects there. There is such a strong sense of place. I was fascinated with his description of the Sicilian character. When a representative of the new national government asks him to join the Senate, describing all the improvements that will be coming to Sicily, Fabrizio declines, explaining that Sicilians don't want improvements. "They are coming to teach us good manners...But they won't succeed because we think we are gods." The story of his family is simple: love, marriage, jealousy, death, all seen through the old man's eyes and filtered through his understanding of the collapse around him. This is a marvelous book. |
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| "Il Gattopardo" | 2009-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By Amadeus from Pittsburgh, PA |
| If you are reading this review you are considering reading one of modern Italy's greatest literary achievements. Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) is one of those rare books you just don't want to miss. You've come this far, buy the book and prepare for some excellent reading. |
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| "One of the most beautiful novel ever written" | 2009-06-04 |
| - Reviewed By Pat from ny |
The novel focus on the figure of a Sicilian Prince and the sociatal changes during the historical Italian period called the Risorgimento.
Italy was going to be unified and the Kingdom to whom Prince Fabrizio, and his world, belonged to be changed for ever.
The Prince pessimistically sees the inevitable changes as negative. A new class is arising and not necesserly better than the one disappearing.
The Prince believes that the voracious appetite for money, power and status of the new class will erode inevitably the values he believes in.
He refuses the offered Senator seat at the Italian Parliament. He requests that it is given to a rich member of the Sicilian bourgesie as a symbolic passage of power to the new arising class. |
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| "Unsentimental, Unapologetic, and Uncompromising" | 2009-05-08 |
| - Reviewed By Obiwan from Houston, Texas USA |
This books dissects a series of relationships amid a rapidly changing social and political order. It is set during the unification of Sicily and Naples into Italy.
Favorite quote: "All will be the same though all will change."
The story is used to reveal larger issues of family, love, dying, the effect of the passing of time on our life outlook, and the role of faith and ritual in daily life. It also addresses the cycles of ascending and declining aristocratic families across multiple generations.
Slow at times, but always sure in its message and delivery. |
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| "A great classic about Sicily" | 2009-03-11 |
| - Reviewed By music lover from nyc |
| I found parts of this book a little hard to read, but it was worth sticking with, as it is a beautifully written masterpiece that sums up the essence of what it is to be Sicilian. This particular edition had some great material about the tragic circumstances in which this novel was not published until after the author's death. |
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 "Sun-baked Sicilian still life" | 2009-02-28 |
| - Reviewed By Tracy Fox from Illinois |
The Leopard is a lush series of vignettes set at the birth of a united Italy beginning in the 1860s. Its author, Guiseppe di Lampedusa, is the great grandson of Sicilian Prince Don Fabrizio, also know as "The Leopard" and the main character of the novel.
The novel captures the slow, sensual, sun-baked world of Sicily as characters maneuver to find love and happiness and preserve their way of life. Things move slowly and people change only reluctantly, understanding that "things must change in order to stay the same." The author uses the story to help readers place the Sicilian worldview in the context of the landscape and its history. The prince languidly discusses the coming political changes as the story moves forward. He confides his antipathy toward change to his ambitious nephew. He listens to the reasoned emotions of his faithful retainer who prefers royal generosity. He sees the opportunity for characters like the greedy mayor of the small town where his estates are located. His final decision on where to secure his place in the new regime gives the reader some insights into the politics of another time and culture.
In structuring the book, the author makes interesting choices about how to organize the chronological progression of events and what to include and exclude. For me the book started slowly but built in intensity and ended with a satisfying but unconventional resolution.
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