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dasbaum's review against another edition
challenging
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
hannicogood's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
casparb's review against another edition
ZOOMEd thru this one which has a lovely seesawiness to it di Lampedusa breezes you along. I warmed up to it the deeper I was (maybe I was less tired then
perhaps it's his aristocratic thing but it's a novel shot thru & scored with time I'm sure it's much commented on. Permanent end-of-the-party atmosphere, I was trying to resist making a comparison to La Dolce Vita since I worry I was just leaping to whatever in my limited Italians (BCH text I read lately had a nice analysis of the last LDV scene also). to explain this, looking at the chapter A BALL set in 1862, where we are informed that the partygoers 'thought themselves eternal; but a bomb manufactured in Pittsburgh, Penn., was to prove the contrary in 1943'. gorgeous! heartbreaking too, as I say, aristocratic. I think also of Marquez.
half-remembered Lydia Davis' The Language of Things in the House:
Soup bowl on counter: Fabrizio!
perhaps it's his aristocratic thing but it's a novel shot thru & scored with time I'm sure it's much commented on. Permanent end-of-the-party atmosphere, I was trying to resist making a comparison to La Dolce Vita since I worry I was just leaping to whatever in my limited Italians (BCH text I read lately had a nice analysis of the last LDV scene also). to explain this, looking at the chapter A BALL set in 1862, where we are informed that the partygoers 'thought themselves eternal; but a bomb manufactured in Pittsburgh, Penn., was to prove the contrary in 1943'. gorgeous! heartbreaking too, as I say, aristocratic. I think also of Marquez.
half-remembered Lydia Davis' The Language of Things in the House:
Soup bowl on counter: Fabrizio!
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars really. For the last few years I have been trying to read books off of [b:1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|452208|1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|Peter Boxall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320483996s/452208.jpg|814053] by [a:Peter Boxall|30545|Peter Boxall|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1419782317p2/30545.jpg]. The Leopard by Lampedusa is a book that if it hadn't been on the list, I might never have read it. All I can say is that the Leopard was truly a wonderful read, even in translation.
I won't say much about the plot, except to say that it takes place in Sicily from 1860 - 1910, during the unification of Italy or Risorgimento.
I won't say much about the plot, except to say that it takes place in Sicily from 1860 - 1910, during the unification of Italy or Risorgimento.
carmenx9's review against another edition
5.0
Devoured this one. Feels like it was written as a treatment for Visconti to adapt for film, which it definitely was not, but I am very excited to watch the film with Book Club in a couple weeks.
The translation is a bit clunky (or is that just very faithful?) and the editing of this edition is a bit shoddy (can't decide whether or not to use italics or quote marks for opera titles vs aria/song titles), but it doesn't take away from the opulence and decadence of the telling.
The translation is a bit clunky (or is that just very faithful?) and the editing of this edition is a bit shoddy (can't decide whether or not to use italics or quote marks for opera titles vs aria/song titles), but it doesn't take away from the opulence and decadence of the telling.
smtvash's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting read.
The Leopard is a story about how wealth, status, and the social constructs that surround "royalty" locks them in their own prison of wasted potential and the inopportunity to exist outside of that construct.
It's a novel that's stuck and incapable of moving on or embracing change.
First, the prose is very lush and intimate. It is clear that Lampedusa had a lot of endearment to his subject. What makes The Leopard interesting is that its a book that came from the leopard's mouth (so to speak).
The results almost feel like a eulogy to the world he came to love and saw transform before dying.
And this world, it's just rich, generational wealth, big mansions, balls, and leisure. And even then, all they're losing is status. As far as change and transformations go, The Leopard is a romantic account of the loss of status.
It's interesting to read the mindset, at least of this one author, essentially come to make peace with the experiences they had of a world that was leaving them behind.
The very leisure that they enjoyed, that inactive sense of politeness, gives way for most of the family to sit back and go gently into the good night. In their own corner of the world, just living their lives, doing their thing.
You know, like everyone else in the rest of the world.
I love stories about failure, I love stories about loss and a world turned upside down and transformed.
The Leopard is an interesting version of this tale, of one family's mindset locking into their own perceived misery.
The Leopard is a story about how wealth, status, and the social constructs that surround "royalty" locks them in their own prison of wasted potential and the inopportunity to exist outside of that construct.
It's a novel that's stuck and incapable of moving on or embracing change.
First, the prose is very lush and intimate. It is clear that Lampedusa had a lot of endearment to his subject. What makes The Leopard interesting is that its a book that came from the leopard's mouth (so to speak).
The results almost feel like a eulogy to the world he came to love and saw transform before dying.
And this world, it's just rich, generational wealth, big mansions, balls, and leisure. And even then, all they're losing is status. As far as change and transformations go, The Leopard is a romantic account of the loss of status.
It's interesting to read the mindset, at least of this one author, essentially come to make peace with the experiences they had of a world that was leaving them behind.
The very leisure that they enjoyed, that inactive sense of politeness, gives way for most of the family to sit back and go gently into the good night. In their own corner of the world, just living their lives, doing their thing.
You know, like everyone else in the rest of the world.
I love stories about failure, I love stories about loss and a world turned upside down and transformed.
The Leopard is an interesting version of this tale, of one family's mindset locking into their own perceived misery.
giadalegge's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes