Books from Italy
158 popular italian books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Europe Challenge" were written by authors from Italy.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
101.
The Beautiful Summer by Cesare Pavese EN
Description:
'An astonishing portrait of an innocent on the verge of discovering the cruelties of love... there are whispers here of the future work of Elena Ferrante' Elizabeth Strout, from the introduction 'Life was a perpetual holiday in those days...' It's the height of summer in 1930s Italy and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in a dazzling new world of bohemian artists and intoxicating freedom. Under the spell of her new friends, Ginia soon falls in love with Guido, an enigmatic y... continue
102.
The Betrothed : I Promessi Sposi by Alessandro Manzoni EN
Description:
“The great plague novel.” —The New Yorker Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters—the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister "Unnamed"—in their struggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed... continue
103.
The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine De Pizan, Earl Jeffrey Richards (Translator) EN
Description:
A medieval French author considers why so many philosophers, speakers, and poets malign women, and defends feminine character, behavior, and accomplishments
104.
The Boy Who Granted Dreams by Luca Di Fulvio EN
Description:
New York, 1909: Fifteen-year-old Cetta arrives on a freighter with nothing but her infant son Natale: strikingly blond, dark-eyed, and precocious. They've fled the furthest reaches of southern Italy with the dream of a better life in America. But even in the "Land of the Free," the merciless laws of gangs rule the miserable, poverty-stricken, and crime-filled Lower East Side. Only those with enough strength and conviction survive. As young Natale grows up in the Roaring Twenties, he takes a page from his crippled mother's book and finds he possesses a certain charisma that enables him to charm... continue
105.
The Children's Train by Viola Ardone EN
Description:
The inspiration behind the forthcoming Netflix film “The innocence of childhood collides with the stark aftermath of war in this wrenching and ultimately redemptive tale of family, seemingly impossible choices, and the winding paths to destiny, which sometimes take us to places far beyond our imaginings.” – Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends "Ardone’s beautifully crafted story explores the meaning of identity and belonging...recommended to fans of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels." – The Library Journal “[The Children’s Tra... continue
106.
The Chimera by Sebastiano Vassalli EN
Description:
Offering a study of hypocrisy and evil, a comic novel of religious corruption and witchcraft in seventeenth-century Italy chronicles the fate of a young orphan named Antonia, who is burned at the stake in the town of Novara in 1610.
107.
The Complete Odes and Epodes by Horace EN
Description:
This is a superb new translation of the great Augustan poet Horace's Odes and Epodes - brilliantly crafted and diverse poems of politics, friendship, love, and wine. The edition is supplemented by a lucid introduction, extensive notes, and glossary of names.
108.
The Cursed Friend by Beatrice Salvioni EN
Description:
An unbreakable, life-changing friendship will lead two young girls from different worlds to rebel against the sexism, prejudice, and injustice they face living in 1930s Italy in this moving novel that echoes the spirit of Elena Ferrante and Adriana Trigiani It is 1936, and in the small Italian city of Monza, on the pebbled bank of the Lambro, two frantic girls scramble to bury a body--the dead son of the city's most prominent fascist. If they are discovered, their lives and the fierce friendship they share will be in jeopardy. A year earlier, Francesca Strada, the respectable and well-behaved ... continue
109.
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante EN
Description:
When her husband Mario leaves her, Olga, left to care for two young children, enters a long period of self-doubt and pity, until she acknowledges the truth about her marriage.
