In this magical novel a Milanese count stumbles upon a desolate community of lost noblemen on an uncharted island off the coast of Portugal. When he discovers, to his utter amazement, that their ill-treated servant is in fact a maiden iguana, and then proceeds to fall in love with her, the story of Aleardo, Estralitta and don Ilario becomes universal -- the fantastic merges with the commonplace until a resonant reality emerges with subtle distillation. From first page to last, the reader is given a tale of tragic love and delusion that ranks among the most affecting in contemporary literature. The Iguana has the force of "The Tempest," and is written with a grace comparable in every way to the works of Izak Dinesen and Djuna Barnes. Little wonder, then, that this novel was called by the noted critic Pietro Citati, "one of the very few books destined to redeem the honor of Italian literature since the Second World War." First published in Italian in 1965, where it was awarded the Fiuggi Prize, this masterpiece is by one of the original Italian "magic realists."

The Iguana (English Edition) (English and Italian Edition)

Literature & Fiction

Anna Maria Ortese

Henry., Martin

Translator

Contemporary

McPherson

The ten stories in this first of two volumes in English translation touch nearly all of the modes Anna Maria Ortese developed during her long and productive creative life, from the early "magical realism" to the late work which lies, as the translator notes, "at the edge of fable . . .[where] one listens to an otherworldly tale while casting a vigilant, questioning eye about the room in which it is being told." Ortese plumbs the strangeness of the world, its mysterious reality, and the dramatic emotion containing within the solitary imagination. She is truly a unique writer, and is rightly considered one of the great figures of 20th century Italian literature.

A Music Behind the Wall: Selected Stories, Vol. 1

Short Stories & Anthologies

Gathers short stories by the noted Italian writer that combine satire, the fantastic, and autobiographical material

A Music Behind the Wall: Selected Stories, Vol. 2

A stunning classic set in Italy’s most vibrant and turbulent metropolis – Naples – in the immediate aftermath of World War Two. These lively and superbly written stories helped inspire Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Ortese’s work was also championed by Italo Calvino, who was her Italian editor.\nThe stories and reportage collected in this volume form a powerful portrait of ordinary lives, both high and low, family dramas, love affairs, and struggles to pay the rent, set against the crumbling courtyards of the city itself, and the dramatic landscape of Naples Bay.

Evening Descends Upon The Hills

Literary

Pushkin Press

Le murmure de Paris

Terrain Vague

Il monaciello di Napoli: Il fantasma (Fabula)

Adelphi

Il mare non bagna Napoli

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Books by Anna Maria Ortese