From Publishers Weekly
This vivid and beautifully written novel uses different voices to relate the days in 1480 when Turks attacked the small southern Italian fishing village of Otranto . Simple Colangelo describes how he and his fellow fishermen were enlisted to protect their home and reminisces about meeting with his future wife in secret . When Francesco Zurlo arrives to govern Otranto , he has to deal not only with unfriendly subjects but also with a stubborn son who dreams of fighting the Turks, and his only friend's infatuation with a much younger woman named Idrusa . Idrusa also speaks. The young widow of a fisherman she never loved, she carries on an affair with a Spanish officer under the watchful eyes of her neighbors . Another narrator, Nachira, hides out in a wine cellar to avoid the conquering Turks and then is threatened with death if he does not convert to Islam. A year later, Aloise de Marco describes the inhabitants of Otranto as they celebrate their liberation. A flawless translation maintains the individuality of each voice, and in an informative preface Bright cogently explains the choice to use modern speech in a tale that reverberates in the 20th century on different levels, making observations about class, gender and politics.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"...an inventive form that keeps replaying the historical event in a way that conveys the quicksilver shifts of reality;...a deft, sensitive translation by Jessie Bright." -- Small Press, Fall 1994
"Otranto is...a detailed and poetic inquiry into the small, everyday things of life to which we don't always pay the attention they deserve and which are, after all, the essence of existence." -- America Oggi, April 3, 1994
"This is an extraordinary, enjoyable novel with memorable characters. It is an excellent example of the historical novel.... With Otranto, Italica Press continues to bring readers translations of some of Italy's most outstanding authors." --L'Italo Americano, June 9, 1994
"Otranto is...a detailed and poetic inquiry into the small, everyday things of life to which we don't always pay the attention they deserve and which are, after all, the essence of existence." -- America Oggi, April 3, 1994
"This is an extraordinary, enjoyable novel with memorable characters. It is an excellent example of the historical novel.... With Otranto, Italica Press continues to bring readers translations of some of Italy's most outstanding authors." --L'Italo Americano, June 9, 1994
