Valerio & Friends
Born in Florence in 1913, Vasco Pratolini had a great literary run that included three nominations for a Nobel Prize and one for an Oscar. His Wiki profile lists 22 of his titles. I was fortunate that his 1943 work, translated as The Naked Streets, was among a batch of 1950’s paperbacks I found while cleaning out the basement of the old house. It’s the story of a group of teenagers living in an impoverished quarter of the author’s hometown, a first person account by one, Valerio, who has the soul of a poet. The prose is descriptive, often florid. There’s no plot. This is an account of a small area of 1930’s Florence and young lives, their strong bond, realistically rendered, a sort of precursor to Italy’s post war neo-realism cinema. The signet edition is only 143 pages but reads like more, as the print is small. Although it makes no pretense toward intellectualism, it is existential in nature. Here’s an excerpt from early in the narrative: “… For the first time I began to see that men carry secrets around with them, that in the heart of every man there may be something hidden even from his dearest friend, behind a mask, deep down.” The translation by Peter and Pamela Duncan is solid, although there were a few instances where I thought an incorrect word was used. My only quibble with the novel is Valerio’s proud acceptance of poverty. I prefer a protagonist who will fight his way out of it. Oddly, Mussolini is never mentioned, and the word “Fascist” is used only once. One of the friends is gay. Although he is loved by the others, he loathes himself, views his sexuality as depraved, an aspect that may offend certain modern folks. Many of Pratolini’s works have been adapted to either the big or small screen. There are 22 titles listed under his name at IMDb, including three mini-series. He fought with the partisans against the Nazi occupation during WWII. That experience is the basis for The Four Days of Naples (1962), for which he was part of the team that received a screenplay Oscar nomination. He was also part of the collaborative effort that came up with one of Italy’s all-time great films, Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers (1960). The original cost of the paperback was 25 cents. Copies of various editions are being offered at Amazon from $20-$903.66. I’m always amused by the cents added to such a large figure. The copy in question will sell for a buck at the floating book shop. It held up nicely but I believe it will fall apart after a few more readings. Pratolini passed away at 77 in 1991.
Here’s an interesting headline from foxnews.com: “DC’s Emancipation Memorial, target of protests, was funded by former slaves…” I believe that’s an example of irony… And, in case there’s anyone out there who still has confidence in government, there’s this one: “GAO chief says IRS knew it was sending stimulus payments to dead people.” Add to that those undeserving of one, such as yours truly, and it adds up to more than Ralph Kramden’s “mere bag’o shells.” Mine remains uncashed.
My thanks to the three kind folks who combined to buy six books in Russian, and to Wolf and the woman who donated a total of about a dozen titles between them in that language; and to Gary, who donated two hardcovers in English. As a thank you I asked him, as I did the others, to take a book in return, and he chose my latest novel, Vito’s Day. The others chose books in Russian.
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