Reviews - Lessico famigliare

Family Lexicon is the autobiographical account of Natalia Ginzberg's Italian Jewish family, who were caught up in Italian fascism (beginning in the 1920s) and then WW2. These two halves of Family Lexicon sit uneasily but essentially together; a largely comic first half in which Ginzburg is a child, full of family sayings, mockery of “that idiotic Mussolini", and dominated over by the borderline abusive, but ultimately positively - portrayed father. In the second half, the children are grown and have families of their own, war has come to Europe and to Italy, and the Ginzburgs are targets twice over for being Jews and antifascists.

The main problem that made me struggle to finish this book, although short, comes from the family home seeing many names pass by. I couldn't always remember who was a friend, a great figure of Italian socialism, a future deputy, a famous resistance fighter, or I don't know what. As a result, I had this unpleasant feeling of missing something.

The style is sometimes a little flat but saved by the strong personality of the author's parents, who lend themselves wonderfully to the anecdote and enhance the story with touches of life. Moreover, there’s material enough to furnish a truly tragic book, but Ginzburg pulls back, even from discussing in much detail the disappearance and death in prison of her husband, and focuses throughout on the small domestic details that make her family and friends human.

Overall an interesting read, but not the most riveting.

arpanchatterjee's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

paurofes's review against another edition

4.0

reflective relaxing

Entre la narració d'escenes mundanes en qualsevol família i la vida durant el feixisme i la guerra, per algun motiu m'ha enganxat una història sense cap gran atracció, un fil conductor clar ni capítols que la separen. No sé si ha sigut la llengua el que m'ha captivat, o el fet que hi he vist reflectida (en part) la meva família, o si simplement és perquè m'ha permès evocar una època i una ciutat desconegudes per a mi. Potser és perquè en aquest moment la família, la mort i el pas del temps em són molt propers. En qualsevol cas, aquesta lectura sempre serà important; tant perquè és el primer llibre en italià que llegeixo com perquè és l'obra que m'ha introduït a aquesta autora. Per alguna raó que desconec, aquests personatges (que ja deuen ser tots morts), les seves vides i la seva parla m'han resultat molt familiars; com si es tractés d'un record llunyà que no acabo de perdre ni de recuperar.

«Noi cerchiamo, nel corso della nostra vita, di raggiungere le cime, cioè di salire quanto più è possibile lontano dalla nostra fanciullezza. E io pure ho fatto così.»

janespoetry's review against another edition

4.0

4,5

andergraphen's review against another edition

4.0

Romanzo di un racconto di una famiglia di origine ebraica al tempo delle leggi razziali con importanti personaggi storici e un ritmo narrativo molto vivo. 7

sylviruk's review against another edition

4.0

Es interesante cómo Ginzburg negocia con la memoria familiar desde una narración sin juicio, que no intenta ni enaltecer ni desgajar las políticas de su familia, su función es como de copista: captura momentos, asume los huecos, provee contexto. Escribe del pasado desde el pasado, no hay juicio, hay un retrato familiar que lo contiene todo para que seamos les lectores quien creemos o no empatías e identificaciones.

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