The Beautiful Summer – Cesare Pavese (1949, trans. WJ Strachan 1955) 101 pages
Thinking back to when I bought The Beautiful Summer seems so foreign now even though it was at Birmingham New Street station. It’s unusual for me to buy a new book, I usually go to charity shops. But I’d finished my book on the train journey in so I needed something for the journey back. That book was Kate Atkinson’s Transcription, and in WHSmith I could get it with The Beautiful Summer half price (it’s part of Penguin’s European Writers Series). The thought of being in such a huge public space with people milling around, and wandering into a shop to browse and purchase on a whim seems a lifetime ago…
The Beautiful Summer opens with sixteen year old shop assistant Ginia enjoying the feeling that “Life was a perpetual holiday” in 1930s Turin. On the cusp of adulthood, she is also frustrated at knowing there is more life to be had, most likely away from her friends.
“Rosa was indispensable; with her easy, familiar ways and her high spirits she made Ginia’s superiority plain to the rest of the company.”
Ginia takes up with the older Amelia, an artist’s model, and her free-living friends. Ginia is both intrigued and intimidated:
“the excitement at the discovery that they were both made in the same mould and whoever had seen Amelia naked was really seeing her. She began to feel terribly ill at ease.”
Ginia falls for Guido, an artist who seems to do very little painting, if at all. Her naivete is almost painful to witness:
“He likes me a sweetheart; he loves me. He did not believe I was seventeen, but he kissed my eyes; I am a grown-up woman now”
As the summer progresses, so does their affair, and Ginia grows up. The story of The Beautiful Summer is a tale oft told, of lost innocence, heartache, and learning who you are as you forge your own path. What lifts it above cliché is the compassionate characterisation of Ginia, the non-judgemental portrayals of young people who do not always behave well, and the sense of sad survival rather than devastation.
“Ginia knew he would never marry her, however fond she was of him. She had known this from that evening when she first offered herself to him.”
To end, a Brummie band in honour of my copy’s origins (OK, a blatant excuse for a Duran Duran video as I don’t generally indulge my love of 80s pop during my NADIM posts.) Apparently Simon Le Bon nearly drowned filming this; they should have strapped John Taylor to the windmill instead, I’m sure the buoyancy of his hair would have kept him afloat:
I remember the buoyancy of John Taylor’s hair 😄
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Hard to forget 😀
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Thank you for starting my week with a laugh, much needed at the moment! I’ve a feeling we have a copy of the Pavese on our shelves, thanks to my partner. Must dig it out.
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You’re welcome Susan, glad it made you smile 🙂 Hope you find your copy & enjoy a vicarious trip to Turin!
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A city already on my travel list!
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Lovely write-up, one that really makes me want to revisit the book this summer to see how it feels a couple of years on.
While I liked this one, I also felt slightly disappointed at the time, possibly because my expectations of it were too high. The loss of innocence is one of my favourite themes in literature, so an Italian coming-of-age story set over a languid summer should have been right up street…but someone it didn’t quite fly for me. From memory, I recall having some concerns about the translation as some of the prose felt a bit clunky. I’ll have to go back to my post to see what I said at the time…
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Ah, you are right Jacqui, the translation is from the 1950s and I think we’re used to a more sophisticated translation now. I didn’t mind it because it added to the slightly dated feel generally as it’s set almost 90 years ago, but I think a sensitive, modern translation would probably be a good idea.
There’s an interesting article about the translation here: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/review-beautiful-summer-cesare-pavese/#
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Thanks for the link – that’s so interesting! I hadn’t seen that TLS article before, so it’s reassuring to see that I’m not alone in thinking that the translation felt somewhat dated. I would love to see a new translation of this book, maybe from someone like Jumpha Lahiri whose emotional register might be more attuned to a young woman’s inner life.
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Oh, great suggestion! Let’s hope Penguin think the same…
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I’ve read some Pavese, but not this one – remember his prose as being rather lovely, and oddly I often prefer older translations, so it will be interesting to see what I think when I eventually track down a copy!
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I’d be really interested to know how you get on with it Kaggsy!
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This sounds like a beautiful little novella, it definitely seems like book I would like I am also attracted by it being an older translation given my preference for older books. Another for the endless list.
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It is beautiful. I think you’d like this one Ali.
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It does seem long ago we could move through crowds and travel on public transport.
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The thought of doing it again is so strange…
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My favourite post so far – but totally distracted by the video. They really don’t make them like that any more. What was the book again…? 🤣
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😀 Glad you enjoyed it Liz!
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I read this one a year or so ago and was a bit underwhelmed by it. I’ve since read The Moon and the Bonfire and likewise found it ok-ish, but nothing special. Maybe it was the translation but I think not. I’d like to try it again though as it wasn’t really what I was expecting.
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Yes, sometimes when you’re expecting a certain thing it’s distracting not to have it, although if you found his other work the same maybe its his style. I’ve not read The Moon and the Bonfire but I’d be interested to after reading this.
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One of my all time favourites. I love Pavese. Nothing speaks to me quite like Italian novels. Guess having had an Italian mother might be a reason.
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Maybe that’s it! Great to hear how much you love this Caroline.
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Hahah. Nothing like some ’80s music humour to get us all giggling. And I like stories about summer love (and loss, as it sometimes goes). That would make a nice mini reading project actually. You’ll be needing another one shortly, no? Say, for June? LOL
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Haha! I’m definitely done with projects for now 😀 But that does sound a lovely one, maybe one day…
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I love Italian lit, this sounds great.
It reminds me of Agostino, have you read it?
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No, I’ll look out for it, thanks Emma! I’ve read Contempt by Moravia and I did really enjoy it, so I’d like to read more by him.
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