''The Moon and the Bonfires'' is an English translation of the novel ''La Luna e i Falò'', by the Italian poet and novelist

Cesare Pavese Cesare Pavese ( , ; 9 September 1908 – 27 August 1950) was an Italian novelist, poet, short story writer, translator, literary critic, and essayist. He is often referred to as one of the most influential Italian writers of his time. Early li ...

. The book was written in Italian in 1949. It is considered Pavese's best novel. The first English language translation was undertaken by Louise Sinclair in 1952. A more recent translation by R. W. Flint, published in 2002, uses the arguably more correct translation of ''The Moon and the Bonfires'', taking account of the use of the plural ''i Falò'' in the original Italian title. The novel is set in the small town of

Santo Stefano Belbo Santo Stefano Belbo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located southeast of Turin and northeast of Cuneo. It is the birthplace of 20th century author Cesare Pavese. On its hill are a me ...

, in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, north-west

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The protagonist, known only by his nickname of ''Anguilla'' (Eel), has returned to his home town in the years immediately following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He left twenty-five years earlier and had made his fortune in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Returning to his home town, he finds many of the same smells and sights that filled his youth, but he also finds a town and its inhabitants that have been deeply changed by war and by the passage of time.

Awards and honors

In 2003, R.W. Flint's translation won the

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

. In 2016, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named ''The Moon and the Bonfires'' one of the best books of the year.

Adaptation

''The Moon and the Bonfires'' was one of two Pavese novels (the other being ''Dialoghi con Leucò'') to be adapted by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub as part of their 1979 film ''

From the Clouds to the Resistance ''From the Clouds to the Resistance'' ( it, Dalla nube alla resistenza, literally ''From the Cloud to the Resistance'') is a 1979 Italian drama film directed by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section ...

''.

References

External links

* ''The Moon And The Bonfire'' on Archive.org
Encyclopedia.com page

Britannica page on Cesare Pavese

Britannica page on the Hermetic movement in Italian literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon and the Bonfire, The 1949 Italian novels Novels set in Italy Piedmont Giulio Einaudi Editore books NYRB Classics

Awards and honors

Adaptation

See also

References

External links