Reviews

The Garden of the Finzi Continis by Giorgio Bassani

emmartr's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

religiouslygaia's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

gggiulia's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

castreaux's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

binstonbirchill's review against another edition

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4.0

While this is primarily a novel about love, contrary to my nature, I actually enjoyed it, quite possibly because the romance angle doesn't end well, and no, that is not a spoiler, you find that out right away. I liked Bassani's technique of telling you the ending and then telling you the story. The plight of the jews in WWII Italy is not front and center, the story more or less is just told with the facts of that era as the background. Bassani's artistic use of words and sentences was my favorite part of the book, the man really knows how to write, well done Giorgio.

mariavazquezsolaun's review against another edition

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3.0

3,5

Hace unas semanas cogí de la biblioteca El jardín de los Finzi-Contini de Giorgio Bassani. Una novela situada en la ciudad de Ferrara en los albores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, una época en la que la comunidad judía vivía amenazada por en antisemitismo. 

El protagonista es un joven judío de clase media que, como otros chicos y chicas de su edad, es invitado a jugar al tenis a la lujosa villa de los Finzi-Contini por los hijos de la familia, Alberto y Micòl. El jardín de los Finzi-Contini se acaba convirtiendo así en un refugio para un selecto grupo de jóvenes que se ha visto expulsado de aquellos lugares a los que, hasta ahora, habían pertenecido.
En estas reuniones convergen la política y la vida privada, tal como reza la sinopsis. Sin embargo, me hubiera gustado que el trasfondo político tuviera algo más de protagonismo en estas visitas. A mi parecer, se queda corto en la segunda mitad de la novela en detrimento de la relación del protagonista y la hija de los Finzi-Contini, Micòl, de quien este se enamora. Una relación que comienza como una bonita amistad y un tonteo inocente entre dos adolescentes del que resulta agradable ser testigo. pero no tarda en convertirse en un bucle sin sentido que me ha hecho coger mucha manía al protagonista. Pero muuuuuuuucha. 

El que el protagonista me empezara a caer mal fue un hándicap para disfrutar la novela de principio a fin. Que la novela, a partir de la tercera parte, se centre en una relación tan repetitiva que parece no avanzar, dejando de lado lo que más me interesaba, otro. 

Me ha gustado mucho la prosa de Giorgio Bassani, pausada y elegante. Me ha gustado la estructura la novela: en cuatro partes y con capítulos cortos. También la época que abarca desde 1929 hasta 1939 y el trasfondo político; se habla del Partito Nationale Fascista, del pacto de Munich, se menciona la guerra civil española... Pero quizá esperaba más de esto, como en las dos primeras partes, y menos de lo otro. Algo de lo que únicamente yo soy responsable por crearme expectativas.

alessiris's review against another edition

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4.0

La seconda metà esatta >

unidentifiedgemstone's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-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

5.0

This one is going to live in me for a long time

clt677's review against another edition

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I couldn't finish this book. And if you know me, you know it takes a lot for that to happen. The sad part is I'm not sure if it is the book that is horrible, or just the translation that I couldn't get through. I really wanted to make it through because I find the subject matter very interesting, but quite frankly there are too many books I want to read to continue slogging through this translated mess. I imagine in Italian this book is probably quite beautiful and interesting. If you can speak Italian, I say go for it. If you can't, I wish you the best.