Behind the Door
By (Author) Giorgio Bassani
Translated by Jamie McKendrick
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
15th August 2017
28th September 2017
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
853.914
Paperback
112
Width 131mm, Height 197mm, Spine 8mm
92g
A new translation of Bassani's moving novel of childhood friendship and the unexpected loss of innocence The years lived since then have not, in the end, been of any use- I haven't managed to remedy the suffering which has remained there like a hidden wound, secretly bleeding. In the fourth book of the Romanzo di Ferrara cycle, Bassani paints a moving portrait of a 1930s childhood in which even the familiar classroom and playground dramas begin to reflect the sinister forces at work in fascist Italy. This powerful tale of friendship and rivalry in the face of the ever encroaching spectre of adulthood adds yet another intricate thread to Bassani's rich tapestry of his native city, Ferrara.
Giorgio Bassani is one of the great witnesses of this century, and one of its great artists * Guardian *
Powerful new translations . . . Bassani began as a poet, and McKendrick's redelivery of this taut uncompromising fiction reveals resonance and generosity -- Ali Smith
No one else writes about time like this. Bassani is deeply unsettling and yet a joy to read. -- David Herman * Jewish Chronicle *
Giorgio Bassani (Author) Giorgio Bassani was born in 1916. From 1938 onwards he became involved in various anti-fascist activities for which he was imprisoned in 1943. His works include The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles, and Five Stories of Ferrara (Within the Walls), which won the Strega Prize. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis was awarded the Viareggio Prize in 1962 and was made into a feature film.