Christ Stopped at Eboli

I bought this incredible book for a friend whose Italian ancestry he celebrates every day...but I suspect he probably hasn't read this illuminating, humanistic and vivid novel of a part of Italy "that Christ forgot". This southern part of Italy was largely ignored by northern Italians & particularly by Mussolini's fascist government....but I found this wonderful novel transcends history & politics. HIGHLY recommend.

英語の勉強になります。当時の世相やイタリア国内の南北の違いなどがわかり興味深い内容です。

After having read Primo Levi heap glowing praise on Carlo Levi I thought it really was time to search out a good starting point for his works. As Christ Stopped at Eboli got such warm praise from the other readers here I thought I really should begin with this. This book is a fascinating, if at times slightly paternalistic, insight into peasant Italy under the Fascist dictatorship of Mussolini. It gives us a glimpse of an older Italy which no longer exists where the feudal classes were still in control and the influence of American expatriates had not brought about any change in Italy's social balance. One reader's comments about Anarcho Syndicalism drew me to compare it with Homage To Catalonia (peasants in Feudal Spain as opposed to peasants in Feudal Italy) but I found Orwell's descriptions to be far less sympathetic, far more patronising, and far more obviously from the perspective of an outsider. Carlo Levi's book is very enjoyable, beautifully written, and from the warmth of his warts and all descriptions; it is obvious that he became a part of the community in which he lived for the years of his political exile. A truly admirable book and an enjoyable read.

Love the book

This moving memoir describes Carlo Levi's time as a political prisoner in 1935-1936 during the Mussolini fascist regime in Italy. His beautiful writing depicts his daily routines while he served his term in the most remote and inaccessible areas of the Basilicata region. if you are interested in rural Italy during this time period, it is a portrait of the people of this region. The cave dwellers of Matera are mentioned, and Levi's book, which was published in 1945, was instrumental in bringing awareness of their terrible living conditions to the attention of the new government, which began relocating the people to healthier areas. One of the best books I have ever read on Italian history. It has never been out of print since its publication.