ITALIANS

by David Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 1986

An Italophile journalist's subtle yet thorough exploration of that country through its people. Unlike most Italian portraits, this one is clean of hazy romanticism and full instead of straight facts, giving a very vivid, at times romantic, view of Italy today. What fascinates Willey, and rightfully so, is the double leap Italy has made in this century from a highly illiterate, agricultually-based society to a literate, industrial and service-based one. Former BBC correspondent in Rome, Willey wrote this book in conjunction with a BBC series of the same name. The book has all the color, immediacy and impact of the best film documentaries. It moves gracefully from Studs Turkel-style portraits, with individuals giving their own life schemes in first-person narrative, to hard facts, background information on literacy growth, changing attitudes towards women, the new affluence, problems of government authority, the decline of the priesthood, and Mafia expansion. The individual narratives and the background facts are always complimentary. The strength of the book is the people and their truly singular portraits. And the range of personalities selected by Willey is astonishing, and well beyond any class boundaries imaginable. They include a fresco restorer, a nun who tends to the mentally ill and handicapped, a steelworker, a communist mayor, the Benetton founder, a pastashape designer, an actress, a Sicilian fisherman, a political cartoonist, and the playwright Dario Fo. Each story is unique, and each one, really, is fascinating. Twenty-four pages of color photographs enchance their stories, although the selection is sometimes repetitive. A positive and refreshingly full-sided portrait of the Italians and their wonderful, still luscious country.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Parkwest (P.O. Box A-10, Cathedral Station, New York, NY 10025)

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION