#Nobel Prize 1926 Grazia Deledda

by Grazia Deledda

Finish date: 06.12.2024
Genre: novella (190 pg)
Rating: F
#Nobel Prize 1926

Good News: The narrative is clear.. Elias is trapped in a love triangle with his brother and his fiancée. I don’t have to reveal any spoilers…this will not turn out well.

Bad News: 53% of the book and we’ve reached the point of no return. Elias feels all is lost (brother marries Maddalena) and we have pages and pages of doom, gloom, sobbing, moaning and wanting to rip one’s heart out. To make matters worse…Elias is constantly overwhelmed with religious guilt.

Bad News: This book is about the emotional rollercoaster Elias Portolu is on filled with sudden impulsiveness; the pride and the shame; the soaring joys and the deep despairs.
I had the hope that the the best character in the book, Uncle Martinu would knock some sense to our lovesick protagonist. Elias seeks his good advice but fails to follow through on any of it.

Personal: Elias is a real drama queen. The drama was becoming so repetitious, I found myself getting a bit annoyed with and critical of the novel for its monotony. Elias is suffering from “Catholic guilt” and it dictates his day-to-day life.
Nobel Prize 1926? I’m not impressed with G. Deledda’s (1871-1936) writing.

• It was long-windedly and hairpullingly boring.
• Reading time: 3,5 hr