In this little-known classic of Italian literature, young Arturo grows up in near-isolation on the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples. His mother died in childbirth and his wayward father, who left him as a child in the care of a servant on the island, returns only sporadically. Cut off from the island community, Arturo exists almost entirely in solitude: he roams the island with his beloved dog, sails in his boat and reads tales of virtuous heroes and adventurers whom he imagines resemble his father.
The boy's world is upended when his father arrives from Naples with his new wife Nunziata, who at sixteen is only a few years older than Arturo. Their presence shatters his childhood idyll, awakening passionate feelings and drawing the family towards painful conflict. Arturo's Island is a moving and dramatic portrayal of the loss of childhood idealism and the inescapable force of desire.
Publisher: Pushkin Press
ISBN: 9781782274957
Number of pages: 384
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
I deeply love the works of Elsa Morante... I try to learn from her books, but I find them unsurpassable - Elena Ferrante
This lovely translation... will hopefully go a long way toward re-establishing Morante's reputation among English-speaking readers. It's a magnificent novel, breathtaking in its psychological acuity... By turns devastating and otherworldly, Morante's novel is a classic, and Goldstein's new translation should return to it the attention it deserves - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Goldstein captures the blustery voice of an adolescent boy... Morante's style is well-suited to the adolescent narrator who, marooned on an island, experiences particularly intense bouts of enchantment and disillusionment, making for a captivating novel - Publishers Weekly
[Arturo's Island] is wonderfully rich... The genius of Elsa Morante's book is its investigation of the relationship between beauty and power... The whole novel presents itself as an enchantment that seizes the reader's mind - Tim Parks, New Statesman
A storyteller who spellbinds - Stephen Spender, New York Review of Books
Elsa Morante brings to her tale an almost Greek sense of fated inevitability... timeless - John Banville
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