Written by one of the leading novelists of the twentieth century An ItalianJourney is an extraordinarily subtle and entertaining travel narrative.First publishe... » 

Written by one of the leading novelists of the twentieth century An ItalianJourney is an extraordinarily subtle and entertaining travel narrative.First published in France in 1954 An Italian Journey is Jean Gionos tale ofhis journey to the land whence his fathers people came. A most reluctanttraveler Giono nonetheless discovers a strange beauty not only in suchtraditional sights as the palazzos and canals of Venice but in people andobjects usually ignored or forgotten wistful waiters suspicious hairdresserspugnacious men of God recalcitrant coffee machines telescopic umbrellas andabandoned field machinery. Gionos world is one where a street gathering thatseems to verge on revolution is in reality a stamp collectors market andwhere inept municipal musicians can suddenly offer Mozartian joys.An Italian Journey is as much a psychobiographical essay tracing the authorsselfdevelopment as it is a constantly entertaining manual on how to achievehappiness. Giono is conscious of the obvious the aesthetics of finemonuments and lyrical landscapes but his greatest gift is his ability toapprehend the joys that can be squeezed from the dark side of experience fromdull skies menacing ruins grim facades muddy fields hypocriticalpoliticians and the tedium of the autostrada.Filled with superbly managed changes of mood and style and with cleverlyinserted anecdotes and historical narratives An Italian Journey is amasterpiece of literary collage and an impassioned manifesto in favor ofexploration of place and self it is truly a biography of the writers heart. «