The House by the Medlar Tree [Hardcover]

Giovanni Verga (Author), Raymond Rosenthal (Translator), Giovanni Cecchetti (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1984 | ISBN-10: 0520048466 | ISBN-13: 978-0520048461

Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) is the most important of the Italian Realist School of novelists. This new edition of The House by the Medlar Tree (I Malavoglia) makes the complete English version of his masterpiece available once more. The story of the Malavoglia, a family of poor Sicilian fisherman, is Verga's moving rendering of the theme of mankind's struggle for self-betterment, the dignity of the struggle in the face of poverty and hardship, and the tragedy that the struggle inevitably incurs.
D. H. Lawrence described Vega's work as "Homeric." Rayond Rosenthal's translation of I Malavoglia is the only complete version of this novel in English and conveys Vega's lyrical realism and the flavor of Sicialian village life superbly.
The book is introduced by Giovanni Ceccheti, whose own translations of Verga, Mastro-don Gesualdo and The She-Wolf and Other Stories, are also available from California.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Realist (verismo) novel of Sicilian life by Giovanni Verga, published in 1881 as I Malavoglia. The book concerns the dangers of economic and social upheaval. It was the first volume of a projected five-novel series that Verga never completed. The author's objective narrative and extensive use of dialogue to advance the action and reveal character represented a new style in Italian fiction. The action centers on the Malavoglia family, who borrow money from the local usurer against unreceived goods they expect to resell. When the shipment is lost at sea, the family must nonetheless repay the debt. A series of setbacks and losses follow, as the family encounters trouble from every quarter. The house is lost and heroic sacrifices are required of both the men and women until the debt is repaid. At the novel's end the family retakes possession of the house by the medlar tree. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (March 2, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520048466
• ISBN-13: 978-0520048461
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,043,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE HEART OF SOUTH-ITALY, September 12, 2001

By 

Spinillo Patrizio "patspinillo" (Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The House by the Medlar Tree (Paperback)

"I Malavoglia" is one of the most beautiful novels about the life in South-Italy in 19th century. I personally am grown up on the countryside in South-Italy and, even if I live a century later than the Malavoglia, I still can find in the place where I live some of the colours and sounds that I love in this book. Someone may find the style disturbing, because of the lack of participation by the writer, but it is something Verga purposedly tried to achieve ( it is the Realism ), and it should not prevent you from enjoying the story told in this book ( even if it is a sad story, like are all the stories, that try to be truthfull). If you really want to get nearer to the heart of such a beautiful country like Italy ( and especially South-Italy)is you really should read this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You had to be there..., November 3, 2000

By 

Paul C "Paul" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The House by the Medlar Tree (Paperback)

How many times have you heard a story recounted, not gotten as excited about it as the teller, and had them say "You had to be there."

Verga's novel was a classic in it's day. It's stark portrayal of life in the small fishing town of Aci Trezza at the turn of the century is considered to be groundbreaking Italian fiction. The translation and Verga's own pacing may not appeal to the average modern reader. When it was written, it was in the vanguard of neo-realist fiction. It is laudable for that fact alone. But it has a deeper hidden treasure that can be spirited out to a select few.

If you're one who has actually been to southern Italy or Sicily and witnessed small fishing villages on the beautiful coasts, this book is for you. I lived in the small town of Aci Trezza where this book transpired and can honestly say the sights, sounds, people, and rituals are still intact as they're described in the book. If you have been there, this book will rekindle memories of places and sights you've seen before, though now personified. If you have not but plan to, either read this book before you go or take it with you and read it while eating a briosche from Eden Bar in Aci Trezza. The walk down to the rocks off the coast that night will have a different and more beautiful meaning.

You had to be there!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My family history in a novel, May 13, 2010

By 

Cheryl Sigona "Phillip Tibbits" (Stockton CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The House by the Medlar Tree (Classic Reprint) (Paperback)

This novel was written in 1889 and set in 1863 in a Sicilian fishing village within walking distance of Verga's native Catania. My paternal great-grandparents spent their lives in a similar village on the northern coast of Sicily. Reading this novel brought back my Grandmother's voice telling stories of the fishermen with variations on the proverbs, superstitions, Catholicism and village gossip of Verga. In Verga's novel, ownership of the house is lost through payment of a debt to preserve the Malavoglia's family honor. In my family, the two fishing boats were sold to protect the family honor from a false accusation. In the Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel, Verga is written about extensively in a chapter about realism. This book is a delightful validation of social history in post-unification Sicily. These peasants were hard-workers whose family and religion gave meaning to their lives.