Narrative
America primo amore
Not translated into English
Mario Soldati · 1935
Synopsis
A young man from Turin goes to study and teach at Columbia University in New York, at the turn of the 1930s. He throws himself into the metropolis with feverish ardour, fascinated by American energy, and dreams of becoming a citizen of the United States. Between the giant city and the provinces, between puritan morality and the desires of the body, he lives a first love for this country, before leaving again, disappointed.
Context
The book appeared in 1935 and gathers the memories of the years the author spent in the United States. He kept returning to it, in several versions revised over forty years. The Sellerio edition, in 2003, is accompanied by an introduction by Salvatore Silvano Nigro, who regards it as the author's finest book. In French, Nathalie Bauer translated it for Gallimard under the title “Amérique, premier amour”.
Who it is for
A lively, personal narrative, which reads like a novel of formation and a testimony on the America of its time.
Prizes and reception
According to Pietro Citati, cited by Sellerio, it is perhaps the last “Treasure Island” of its time.
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