A review by imogenrose97
Valentino by Natalia Ginzburg

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Natalia Ginzburg has an incredible power to write basic situations beautifully, with elegance and humility. People who you might have thought might otherwise be intolerable are written with an unexpected kindness. Ginzburg puts people on display and does not judge them for who they are. I think that's what is most striking in her works—the ability to let people be without writing judgment into the story. You are made to decide who they are yourself, you are made to admonish their behaviours yourself without the help of Ginzburg's own opinion. Though the characters themselves judge the others it does not feel as though Ginzburg always agrees.