Reviews

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

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8797999's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful work of fiction, lovely prose and very evocative of the changes sweeping Italy at the time of the books setting. I very much enjoyed this but I think I will need to read it again to really appreciate it more, and maybe buff the rating up to 5. I am happy to have finally got around to it after it has been sitting on the bookshelves for a few years.

I would also like to check out the film version starring the late Burt Lancaster

jenni8fer's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

keebleman's review against another edition

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5.0

A superb novel, realistic about people, realistic about the world. It doesn’t offer solutions because it knows that only a charlatan or a fool ever would.

I hope I can find a fully annotated edition, as it does assume quite a lot of knowledge about Italian unification. Prior to Google and Wikipedia non-specialist readers must have been bewildered.

fr_eddie's review against another edition

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3.0

3,75 un bel libro, con una scrittura leggermente ostica

«Come sempre la considerazione della propria morte lo rasserenava tanto quanto lo aveva turbato quella della morte degli altri; forse perché, stringi stringi, la sua morte era in primo luogo quella di tutto il mondo?»

Ho apprezzato "Il Gattopardo", il libro che racconta la fine di un'era, la morte di un casato, la decadenza della monarchia italiana all'arrivo di Garibaldi.

Mi è piaciuto il significato di fondo, mi ha fatto emozionare la triste morte di Don Fabrizio, mi ha intristito la fine dell'era dei Salina con la caduta del rispetto della Chiesa, l'ultima cosa rimasta alta, ma non sono riuscita ad amarlo di più a causa della scrittura. Un po' ostica, ho dovuto leggere alcuni passi più volte per capire cosa significassero. Il capitolo riguardante Padre Pirrone l'ho trovato distaccato da tutto il resto: pur capendo che serviva per mostrare l'eternità di una classe nobile, mi è sembrato strano un cambio di prospettiva troppo inaspettato, dato che tutti gli altri capitoli sono narrati dagli occhi della famiglia Salina, in particolare Don Fabrizio.

Lo consiglierei? Sì, ancora di più se fosse stato un pochino più lungo all'inizio, in modo tale da fare capire ancora meglio la situazione iniziale.

whippycleric's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This is a really pleasant book to read. I imagine with a deeper knowledge of Sicilian culture and history, or Italy in general, I would have enjoyed it even more, but even without this it's enjoyable.

The book covers what is effectively the last generation of a noble family, whilst there may be future generations of family members this is the last true generation with regards to the traditions, culture and way of life for this family. The protagonist is very likeable and seems to take the downfall in his stride and recognizes the need for change whilst still trying to retain what he see's as the most valuable aspects of his heritage. The final chapter set towards the end of the lives of the younger members of the family really shows the final shift and end of it all beautifully.

I'm reading a translation, but it's still beautiful prose and I can only imagine it's even better in Italian. I always enjoy reading classics from other countries and find it gives you a nice insight into the history of a place. It's a high 3.5 to be sure, and could go higher on a re read after gaining some more historical knowledge.