Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year

ByCarlo Levi,Frances Frenaye(Translator)

1945 • 294 pages

Ratings4

Average rating4.5

It was to Lucania, a desolate land in southern Italy, that Carlo Levi—a doctor, painter, philosopher, and man of letters—was confined as a political prisoner because of his opposition to Italy's Fascist government at the start of the Ethiopian war in 1935. While there, Levi reflected on the harsh landscape and its inhabitants, peasants who lived the same lives their ancestors had, constantly fearing black magic and the near presence of death. In so doing, Levi offered a starkly beautiful and moving account of a place and a people living outside the boundaries of progress and time.

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Gio'Supporter

The book was not what I expected, mostly because I didn't do my homework beforehand. I was expecting something more focused on fascism and persecution of the Jews, but these things are just in the background, while the book focuses on the “questione meridionale” that is a way to describe the long standing issues related to the south of Italy. Levi explores this complex matter through a series of episodes.
The style is very varied, there are flashbacks, philosophical and historical mini essays throughout the book and so on.
Certainly an original book but maybe a little cold in some places to really merit 5 stars. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading it.

November 20, 2019