The Red Horse: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The end of May 1940. Slowly advancing, side by side, Ferrante and his son Stefano were cutting the meadow..." (more)
Key Phrases: little marble statue, observer corporal, distant hero, Father Mario, Father Turla, Don Mario (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1015 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press; Translated from Italian edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898707471
• ISBN-13: 978-0898707472
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #697,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama and the hope during World War II, November 27, 2000

By	Stefano Ratti (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This is the best book I have ever read! Corti gives us an incredibly deep insight into the Second World War and the immediately following years, the years of the "rebirth" in Italy. His characters' point of view starts always from the deepest and most human desires in a time where destruction and havoc seem to be dominating the world, reducing men to war machines. The pages of the Russian campaign will glue you to the book and will give you a sense of real drama. This book helped me to understand more the meaning of life and provoked me with more questions. Corti gives you a sense of real hope and, at the same time, of real commitment to life, even in the most dramatic circumstances. The size of the book is just an indication of how much you are going to get out of it and, except for a few pages at the beginning, never gets boring.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best WW2 novels in recent Years, February 14, 2001

By	Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Recently I was sent a copy of Eugenio Corti's novel `The Red Horse' to read. This looked like a daunting task as the book is over 1,000 pages in length. However I was amazed that the pages just seem to fly by. The novel is set in Italy during the Second World War and tells the story of how the war affected Italy and its people through the eyes of some of the participants. The first hundred pages may seem a little boring but I must tell you that after that the narrative moves along at an exciting pace. The story of the Italian soldiers fighting in Russia was magnificent and I don't think that I could go to far wrong in comparing this section of the book to Guy Sajer's `The Forgotten Soldier'. The descriptions of the men and fighting were excellent and I found it hard to put the book down.

I know that many historical authors tend to dismiss the Italian fighting soldier of World War Two but when consideration is given to the weapons and equipment used by the Italian Army it is understandable why they are compared in such bad light to the German soldier or the Allies. I must admit that this book opened my eyes to the misery suffered by the Italian soldiers in Russia and it also fired a desire to read more about the Italian Alpine troops and their campaigns during World War Two, especially in Russia. As I mentioned earlier the first hundred pages may seem boring initially but when you get into the book it makes sense why the author went into such detail about the central characters as we follow them and their families through the war and into the final peace.

I cannot help but feel how the author has used his personal experience of serving on the Russian Front to make this such a great story; it is compelling reading. The accounts of the retreat during the Stalingrad battle are magnificent; you can actually picture the frozen wasteland as the soldiers tiredly trudge through the wind swept villages being hounded by the advancing Soviet troops. The accounts of the many rearguard actions are excellent and I really felt for the men who fell during the fighting. Many other reviews have mentioned that this is a powerful and moving novel of World War Two and I must concur with those sentiments. This is a great story and anyone who has an interest in the fighting on the Russian Front will be truly taken by this account.

The book continues on another level with the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 and the subsequent campaign in Italy. We follow accounts of the Italian partisans, Communists, Royalist and bandits. This again is another interesting level of the story and one, which I had very little knowledge of. I enjoyed this section of the book as much as the account of the Russian Front. The book does not finish with the war's end in 1945 but continues with the surviving characters through the harsh years of peace and political turmoil that Italy found itself in with the conflict between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party.

Overall this book was a delight to read but at times towards the end maybe I felt that the author was trying to convert me to the Catholic Church however it must been read in the context of the times. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn about Italy during the war or anyone who has an interest in the Eastern Front during WWII. This is a great story and one of the best novels I have read in years, well done to the author!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dynamic historical novel of World War II and its aftermath, March 5, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

The Red Horse is a dynamic historical novel of World War II and its aftermath. The author, Eugenio Corti, drew upon his own experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter and actual events to bring realism to not only his narrative and characters, but the background events of the Russian campaign, Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and two decades of political life after the war's conclusion. The Red Horse is a compelling, highly recommended story of faith and hope amidst the barbarism and cruelty of war and its aftermath.