The Beautiful Summer (Penguin European Writers)

by Cesare Pavese (Author), Cesare Pavese (Author), Elizabeth Strout (Introduction)

New
Paperback
2018
$12.22

'An astonishing portrait of an innocent on the verge of discovering the cruelties of love... there are whispers here of the future work of Elena Ferrante' Elizabeth Strout, from the introduction 'Life was a perpetual holiday in those days...' It's the height of summer in 1930s Italy and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in a dazzling new world of bohemian artists and intoxicating freedom. Under the spell of her new friends, Ginia soon falls in love with Guido, an enigmatic young painter. It's the start of a desperate love affair, charged with false hope and overwhelming passion - destined to last no longer than the course of a summer. The Beautiful Summer is a gorgeous coming-of-age tale of lost innocence and first love, by one of Italy's greatest writers. 'Pavese, to me, is a constant source of inspiration' Jhumpa Lahiri 'One of the few essential novelists of the mid-twentieth century' Susan Sontag '[Pavese writes books of] extraordinary depth where one never stops finding new levels, new meaning' Italo Calvino 'For my trip to Los Angeles, I'm packing The Beautiful Summer, a slender account of love in 1930s Italy' Jessie Burton, bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse

Synopsis

'An astonishing portrait of an innocent on the verge of discovering the cruelties of love... there are whispers here of the future work of Elena Ferrante' Elizabeth Strout, from the introduction 'Life was a perpetual holiday in those days...' It's the height of summer in 1930s Italy and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in a dazzling new world of bohemian artists and intoxicating freedom. Under the spell of her new friends, Ginia soon falls in love with Guido, an enigmatic young painter. It's the start of a desperate love affair, charged with false hope and overwhelming passion - destined to last no longer than the course of a summer. The Beautiful Summer is a gorgeous coming-of-age tale of lost innocence and first love, by one of Italy's greatest writers. 'Pavese, to me, is a constant source of inspiration' Jhumpa Lahiri 'One of the few essential novelists of the mid-twentieth century' Susan Sontag '[Pavese writes books of] extraordinary depth where one never stops finding new levels, new meaning' Italo Calvino 'For my trip to Los Angeles, I'm packing The Beautiful Summer, a slender account of love in 1930s Italy' Jessie Burton, bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse

$12.22

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20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 112
Edition: 1
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 07 Jun 2018
ISBN 10: 0241983398
ISBN 13: 9780241983393
Book Overview: Over the course of a long Italian summer, a young girl falls in love for the first time, with devastating consequences.

Media Reviews

An astonishing portrait of an innocent on the verge of discovering the cruelties of love... an inimitable read... there are whispers here of the future work of Elena Ferrante -- Elizabeth Strout, from the introduction
One of the few essential novelists of the mid-twentieth century -- Susan Sontag
[Pavese writes books of] extraordinary depth where one never stops finding new levels, new meanings -- Italo Calvino
There is something about [Pavese] that is insinuating, haunting and lyrically pervasive * New York Times Book Review *
Cesare Pavese's cool, contemplative voice was the most important among postwar Italian writers -- W. S. DiPiero
Pavese, to me, is a constant source of inspiration -- Jhumpa Lahiri
For my trip to Los Angeles, I'm packing Cesare Pavese's The Beautiful Summer, with an introduction by Elizabeth Strout, a slender account of love in 1930s Italy -- Jessie Burton, bestselling author of 'The Miniaturist' * Guardian Best Summer Books 2018 *
Reminds one very much of the trajectory of the relationship between two young people at the heart of Andre Aciman's Call Me By Your Name * RTE Recommended Summer Reads *
Penguin's re-release of Cesare Pavese's The Beautiful Summer (as choice a pick as its title implies) is simply gorgeous * Marie Claire - Best Books to Read This Summer *
We must be grateful to the Penguin European Writers series, a precious venture in these dark times -- John Banville

Author Bio

Cesare Pavese was born in northern Italy in 1908. Exiled by the Fascist regime to Calabria in 1935, Pavese eventually returned to Turin to work for the publishing house Einaudi. Pavese won the Strega Prize for fiction, Italy's most prestigious literary award, for The Beautiful Summer in 1950. Later the same year, after a brief affair with an American actress, he took his own life. His suicide note reads: I forgive everyone and ask everyone's forgiveness. O.K.? Don't gossip too much.