Novel
History: A Novel
La Storia
Elsa Morante · 1974
Synopsis
Rome, January 1941. Ida Ramundo, a widow, poor, epileptic, who hides her Jewish origins, is raped by a drunken young German soldier, Gunther; she will have a second son by him, Useppe. The book follows Ida, little Useppe and his elder brother Nino, increasingly rebellious, through the war and the post-war years, in a daily struggle to survive, while the narrative recalls, at each stage, what is happening in the world at the same time.
Context
The novel appeared from Einaudi in 1974 and enjoyed an extraordinary popular success. It also provoked a fierce debate: part of the left-wing critical establishment reproached it for its positions and its emotional register. Each of its eight parts opens with a summary of the year's historical events. Michel Arnaud translated it into French at Gallimard under the title “La Storia”; William Weaver translated it into English in 1977 under the title “History: A Novel”.
Who it is for
A long novel in eight parts, whose opening historical summaries form something like a second narrative.
Prizes and reception
Luigi Comencini adapted it for the cinema in 1986, and Italian television made a series from it in 2024.
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