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chefannette's review against another edition
4.0
The images of pre-Garibaldi Sicily are so vivid you can feel the scorching sun and dust on your skin. Note: There is a more recent translation (2007+/-) that is superior.
bonneyboys's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
christinaalex's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
sheisoceanblue's review against another edition
5.0
adoro tutto
narratore simpaticissimo
finale devastante, col lancio di Bendicò imbalsamato dalla finestra e che diventa cenere, almeno ero preparata (lo avevo già studiato per un esame)
Tancredi che si è allontanato da Concetta perché l’ha trattato come chiunque con dei valori morali lo avrebbe trattato dopo che ebbe raccontato la sua “frottola” sul convento, e il narratore che cerca di incolpare lei perché adesso è vecchia, sola e con i cinque bauli verdi del corredo di cinquant’anni prima intatti onestamente vaffanculo
(sì, la componente formale di questa recensione è voluta, tale e quale a com’è scritta, grazie)
narratore simpaticissimo
finale devastante, col lancio di Bendicò imbalsamato dalla finestra e che diventa cenere, almeno ero preparata (lo avevo già studiato per un esame)
Tancredi che si è allontanato da Concetta perché l’ha trattato come chiunque con dei valori morali lo avrebbe trattato dopo che ebbe raccontato la sua “frottola” sul convento, e il narratore che cerca di incolpare lei perché adesso è vecchia, sola e con i cinque bauli verdi del corredo di cinquant’anni prima intatti onestamente vaffanculo
(sì, la componente formale di questa recensione è voluta, tale e quale a com’è scritta, grazie)
tomleetang's review against another edition
4.0
Long, languid sentences frame the opulent world of a fading aristocratic family, one that is largely helpless in the face of changes wrought by the Risorgimento. I loved many things about this novel: the richness of the descriptions, the palpable heat of the Sicilian climes, the introspection of the grand old Prince.
Art is given personality, sculptures and paintings anthropomorphised into amused observers of the human condition. There is a lusciousness to these descriptions of the aesthetic that resembles a warm bubble bath, effervescent and comforting.
For all the wit and satire though, one is ultimately left with the desire to cry, to mourn for lost youth and lost opportunities.
This is a book about politics and religion, love and heartache, unity and separatism, all run through with wry commentary and resignation, a resignation that centres on realising one is obsolete, whether as a class, as a leader, as a lover or as a man.
Art is given personality, sculptures and paintings anthropomorphised into amused observers of the human condition. There is a lusciousness to these descriptions of the aesthetic that resembles a warm bubble bath, effervescent and comforting.
For all the wit and satire though, one is ultimately left with the desire to cry, to mourn for lost youth and lost opportunities.
This is a book about politics and religion, love and heartache, unity and separatism, all run through with wry commentary and resignation, a resignation that centres on realising one is obsolete, whether as a class, as a leader, as a lover or as a man.
cricca's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lindzlovesreading's review against another edition
4.0
Many have claimed that 'The Leopard' is the perfect novel. Not quite, in my humble opinion, but definitely a work of art.
Beginning in 1860 as Sicily is being annexed as a state of Italy, Prince Fabrizio watches his beloved island change and more importantly stay the same, over the course of 20 years. This is an incredibly well written book, so well written my chest welled up hurting a little over a brilliant sentence, like hills looking flaccid like breasts with no milk. The words, sentences, paragraphs, characters, similes, images melded together perfectly. They created, smell, texture, noise, colour, heat, and passion.
But this was not the perfect novel for me. Reading the Leopard I got the instinct impression I was on the outside looking in, not engrossed within the story, under its skin. In many ways it was looking as a painting. No doubt a master piece, like Titian, the way he could make colours meld together made angels sing, or looking at Michoangleo's David, the mussels are sculptured in a way that makes it look like he will walk out the door. But with art you are an observer, and with 'The Leopard', you are an observer. I was not sitting down at the table to eat Macaroni Pie with the characters I was looking over the balcony admiring the skill at which they did it.
If I could have lived underneath the skin of 'The Leopard' instead of admiring the genesis of di Lampedusa, this would have been the perfect novel. Close but no cigar.
Beginning in 1860 as Sicily is being annexed as a state of Italy, Prince Fabrizio watches his beloved island change and more importantly stay the same, over the course of 20 years. This is an incredibly well written book, so well written my chest welled up hurting a little over a brilliant sentence, like hills looking flaccid like breasts with no milk. The words, sentences, paragraphs, characters, similes, images melded together perfectly. They created, smell, texture, noise, colour, heat, and passion.
But this was not the perfect novel for me. Reading the Leopard I got the instinct impression I was on the outside looking in, not engrossed within the story, under its skin. In many ways it was looking as a painting. No doubt a master piece, like Titian, the way he could make colours meld together made angels sing, or looking at Michoangleo's David, the mussels are sculptured in a way that makes it look like he will walk out the door. But with art you are an observer, and with 'The Leopard', you are an observer. I was not sitting down at the table to eat Macaroni Pie with the characters I was looking over the balcony admiring the skill at which they did it.
If I could have lived underneath the skin of 'The Leopard' instead of admiring the genesis of di Lampedusa, this would have been the perfect novel. Close but no cigar.
altowns's review against another edition
4.0
I read this in Palermo because it was wonderfully evocative, but the last two chapters genuinely blew me away. A gorgeous read.
bibliophile_37's review against another edition
5.0
As historical novels go, there is a certain amount of preoccupation with royal families saturating many of them. Lampedusa’s novel, based upon his grandfather and his lineage from minor princes, is no different, but it is one of the richer novels of this genre for its language and descriptions.
Set during the time of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero of Italian unification, the story sees Don Fabrizio, a prince from a noble and powerful Sicilian family, leading his people during the Risorgimento. The Prince is a womaniser and foresees the downfall of his family and Italian nobility, but finds himself incapable of changing the course of events that are to follow.
When Naples comes under attack, the Prince knows that he will be the last Leopard; the last of his line to lead under the old ways as his people are in favour of change. His nephew Tancredi, whom the Prince believes to be a younger version of himself, advises his uncle that in order “for everything to stay the same, everything must change.” While the Prince understands this, his distaste for the new ways that have been seeping into the kingdom is obvious.
The Prince also suspects that Tancredi has fallen in with a bad crowd, namely the rebels who are fighting to overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. When Tancredi is recruited by Garibaldi to join his fighters in the mountains, the Prince attempts to dissuade him, but Tancredi believes he is fighting for a greater good. The Prince escapes the revolution by going to his estate in Donnafugata with Tancredi and his loyal dog Bendicò in tow. There they meet Don Calogero Sedàra and his daughter Anjelica, inviting a course of events that will change the lives of the entire family and for Italy itself.
The novel is extraordinary with language that is rare in its lusciousness and vitality. Even when describing the Prince’s long held belief that he has been dying for many years, the author relays how the Prince has felt “as if the vital fluid… life itself in fact and perhaps even the will to go on living, were ebbing out of him… as grains of sand cluster and then line up one by one, unhurried, unceasing, before the narrow neck of an hourglass.”
For a novel that was considered unpublishable by two major Italian publishers of the time, Lampedusa’s story has survived and was adapted into an opulent film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. Despite the controversy that surrounded it at the time of its publication, the novel has gone on to great acclaim. It is a much loved tale of mortality and its workings, but it is written with a deep-rooted intelligence and knowledge of the human psyche; these characters are just as fallible as you and me. With this knowledge comes poignancy and Lampedusa embraces all aspects of the frailty of the human condition, even in its most noblest of subjects. His writing is subtle, but noticeable. Witty and structured with a deadly precision, it is as close to perfection as writing can be. The emotion and the feeling created from mere words is rarely exhibited as masterfully as it is in this book. Treat yourself to The Leopard for a truly exceptional read.
Set during the time of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero of Italian unification, the story sees Don Fabrizio, a prince from a noble and powerful Sicilian family, leading his people during the Risorgimento. The Prince is a womaniser and foresees the downfall of his family and Italian nobility, but finds himself incapable of changing the course of events that are to follow.
When Naples comes under attack, the Prince knows that he will be the last Leopard; the last of his line to lead under the old ways as his people are in favour of change. His nephew Tancredi, whom the Prince believes to be a younger version of himself, advises his uncle that in order “for everything to stay the same, everything must change.” While the Prince understands this, his distaste for the new ways that have been seeping into the kingdom is obvious.
The Prince also suspects that Tancredi has fallen in with a bad crowd, namely the rebels who are fighting to overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. When Tancredi is recruited by Garibaldi to join his fighters in the mountains, the Prince attempts to dissuade him, but Tancredi believes he is fighting for a greater good. The Prince escapes the revolution by going to his estate in Donnafugata with Tancredi and his loyal dog Bendicò in tow. There they meet Don Calogero Sedàra and his daughter Anjelica, inviting a course of events that will change the lives of the entire family and for Italy itself.
The novel is extraordinary with language that is rare in its lusciousness and vitality. Even when describing the Prince’s long held belief that he has been dying for many years, the author relays how the Prince has felt “as if the vital fluid… life itself in fact and perhaps even the will to go on living, were ebbing out of him… as grains of sand cluster and then line up one by one, unhurried, unceasing, before the narrow neck of an hourglass.”
For a novel that was considered unpublishable by two major Italian publishers of the time, Lampedusa’s story has survived and was adapted into an opulent film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. Despite the controversy that surrounded it at the time of its publication, the novel has gone on to great acclaim. It is a much loved tale of mortality and its workings, but it is written with a deep-rooted intelligence and knowledge of the human psyche; these characters are just as fallible as you and me. With this knowledge comes poignancy and Lampedusa embraces all aspects of the frailty of the human condition, even in its most noblest of subjects. His writing is subtle, but noticeable. Witty and structured with a deadly precision, it is as close to perfection as writing can be. The emotion and the feeling created from mere words is rarely exhibited as masterfully as it is in this book. Treat yourself to The Leopard for a truly exceptional read.