He is an Italian neorealist. What is a neorealist? Well, let
me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, in 1943 to be precise, the Allies were
marching on into Italy. As they marched, they encountered resistance from the
evil fascists. Eventually, the noble allies were able to drive back the enemy
and free the southern part of the magnificent boot of Italy.
However, there was still darkness in this fair land. The
Germans had occupied the northern part of Italy and perpetrated great evil
against the innocent people. Thus, the partisan movement was born. An
underground movement of brave civilians fighting for their honor and freedom,
these men and women were able to drive the invaders back, but at great
cost. Thousands died (about 35,000 out of 100,000) and those that were left
felt the impact of the Resistance for their entire lives.
A new movement developed out of this experience: neorealism.
It was an attempt to portray the realities of life during the war through
literature, while still keeping symbolism to express emotions of the time.
Italo Calvino is one of the most famous of these writers, and I have spent the
past two days in the library learning about him.
So, Italo Calvino. Responsible for keeping me from
adventures, but a great writer who captured a unique time in Italian history. I
am coming to have a great deal of respect for him, though I must admit
resenting being locked up in the library with him for hours.
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