{"title":"Natalia Ginzburg","description":"\u003cp\u003eNatalia Ginzburg, an iconic figure in Italian literature, is celebrated for her profound exploration of family dynamics and personal relationships. Her works often navigate the intricate tapestry of everyday life and the resilience of individuals amidst social and political upheaval. Ginzburg's storytelling is imbued with a deep empathy and keen observational insight, making her books a cherished read for lovers of character-driven narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong her notable works, \u003cem\u003eFamily Lexicon\u003c\/em\u003e is a unique blend of memoir and fiction that delves into the poignant yet humorous aspects of her own familial experiences. In \u003cem\u003eAll Our Yesterdays\u003c\/em\u003e, Ginzburg intricately weaves the effects of war on two families, highlighting themes of love, loss, and resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHer other distinguished titles include \u003cem\u003eThe Little Virtues\u003c\/em\u003e, a remarkable collection of essays that delve into the profound and the mundane aspects of life, and \u003cem\u003eThe Dry Heart\u003c\/em\u003e, a gripping tale of passion and betrayal. \u003cem\u003eThe City and The House\u003c\/em\u003e brings forth Ginzburg's unique epistolary style, revealing the inner lives of her characters through their written correspondence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNatalia Ginzburg's works are a testament to her ability to portray the ordinary with extraordinary clarity and depth. Whether you're exploring her novels, essays, or memoirs, Ginzburg's collection will resonate with readers seeking stories that are both reflective and universally relatable.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"all-our-yesterdays","title":"All Our Yesterdays","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnna, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl in a small town in northern Italy, after a brief romance finds herself pregnant. To save her reputation, she marries an eccentric older family friend, and they move to his village in the south. Her relationship with Cenzo Rena is touched by tragedy and grace as the events of their life in the countryside run parallel to the war and the encroaching threat of fascism—and in their wake, a society dealing with anxiety and grief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the novel is a concern with experiences that both deepen and deaden existence: adultery and air raids, neighbourhood quarrels and bombings. With her signature clear-eyed wit, Ginzburg asks how we can act with integrity when faced with catastrophe, and how we can love well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAll Our Yesterdays\u003c\/em\u003e offers a powerful reflection on human resilience and courage, interwoven with a narrative that is both contemplative and compelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"I'm utterly entranced by Ginzburg's style—her mysterious directness, her salutary ability to lay things bare that never feels contrived or cold, only necessary, honest, clear.\" — Maggie Nelson\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45706078716140,"sku":"9781914198236","price":25.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781914198236.jpg?v=1725882416"},{"product_id":"the-little-virtues-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547143","title":"The Little Virtues","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs far as the education of children is concerned I think they should be taught not the little virtues but the great ones... So begins the titular essay in Natalia Ginzburg's extraordinary collection, which takes little subjects - shoes, meatballs, moneyboxes - and turns them into subjects of great significance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether she writes of the loss of a friend, the effects of World War II, the horrors of British food, the craft of writing, the importance of silence, or the Abruzzi, where she and her first husband lived in forced residence under Fascist rule, Ginzburg brings to her reflections the wisdom of a survivor and the spare, wry, and poetically resonant style that makes these essays as contemporary and relevant as when they were originally published.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGinzburg is regarded as one of the finest and most important Italian writers of the twentieth century and this collection will introduce her remarkable writing to a new generation of readers. This is feminist, personal writing at its very best, which sings with wonder and grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46522438975724,"sku":"9781911547143","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16225713482868.jpg?v=1749035651"},{"product_id":"family-lexicon-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547259","title":"Family Lexicon","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'The places, events and people are all real. I have invented nothing.'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNatalia Ginzburg wrote her masterful, Strega Prize-winning novel \u003ci\u003eFamily Lexicon\u003c\/i\u003e while living in London in the 1960s. Homesick for her big, noisy Italian family, she summoned them in this novel, which is a celebration of the routines and rituals, in-jokes and insults, and above all, the repeated sayings that make up every family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe father, Giuseppe Levi, is a Jewish scientist, consumed by his work and a mania for hiking. Impatient and intractable, he is constantly at odds with his impressionable and wistful wife Lidia—yet he cannot be without her. Together, they preside over their five children in a house filled with argument and activity, books and politics, visitors, friends, and famous faces. But as their children grow up against the backdrop of Mussolini's Italy, the Levi household must become not only a home but a stronghold against fascism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIntimate, enchanting, and comedic, \u003ci\u003eFamily Lexicon\u003c\/i\u003e is an unforgettable novel about memory, language, and the lasting power that family holds over all of us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46530393342188,"sku":"9781911547259","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16226873482868.jpg?v=1749255793"},{"product_id":"happiness-as-such-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547440","title":"Happiness, As Such","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDear Michele,\u003c\/em\u003e she wrote, \u003cem\u003eI'm writing principally to tell you that your father is sick. Go visit him. He says he hasn’t seen you for days.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMichele is the beloved only son of a large, dysfunctional family in 1970s Italy. Headstrong and independent, he has disappeared to London without explanation. Back in Italy, his father lies dying. Michele's departure sets forth a series of events that will bring together everyone in his life - his mother Adriana, living in the countryside with her two twin daughters Bebetta and Nannetta, his long-suffering sister Angelica, his loyal and sad friend Osvaldo, and Mara, a young woman who is prone to showing up on doorsteps with a baby that may or may not be Michele's.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of the Prodigal Son turned on its head, \u003cem\u003eHappiness, As Such\u003c\/em\u003e is a short, absurdly funny novel-in-letters about complicated families and missed connections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46530943058156,"sku":"9781911547440","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16228683482868.jpg?v=1749267513"},{"product_id":"the-dry-heart-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547600","title":"The Dry Heart","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Dry Heart\u003c\/em\u003e begins and ends with the matter-of-fact pronouncement: 'I shot him between the eyes.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs the tale—a plunge into the chilly waters of loneliness, desperation, and revenge—proceeds, the narrator's murder of her flighty husband takes on a certain logical inevitability.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStripped of any preciousness or sentimentality, Natalia Ginzburg's writing here is white-hot, tempered by rage. She transforms the unhappy tale of an ordinary dull marriage into a rich psychological thriller that seems to beg the question: why don't more wives kill their husbands?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532993220844,"sku":"9781911547600","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16230283482868.jpg?v=1749358610"},{"product_id":"the-road-to-the-city-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547624","title":"The Road to the City","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDelia is one of five children, growing up in a poor Italian village. She is 17 and dreams of marrying a rich man; she dreams of a grand apartment in the city and silk stockings. To escape her father's neglect and her mother's sadness, she begins to take the dusty road to the city every day, accompanied by Nini, her sweet and mysterious cousin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Nini takes a job in a factory and moves in with a city woman, Delia sees another way of being. But when she discovers she's pregnant, she agrees to marry the father, seduced by the promise of wealth and comfort. Nothing, not even Nini's desperate declaration of love, can stop her - but her rejection will be his undoing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Road to the City\u003c\/i\u003e is a short, poignant novel about the dreams of youth and the cruelty it takes to make them come true.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46533621350636,"sku":"9781911547624","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16230523482868.jpg?v=1749393877"},{"product_id":"voices-in-the-evening-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781911547310","title":"Voices in the Evening","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a hushed, Italian town after the Second World War, Elsa lives with her parents in the house where she was born. Twenty-seven and unmarried, she is of constant concern to her mother, whose status anxiety manifests itself in acute hypochondria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eElsa hopes to live a life different to the one she's always known, and when she meets Tommasino, it seems possible. Tommasino belongs to the De Francisci family, who owns the cloth factory where Elsa's father works, and whose lives and stories Elsa has known all her life. In the course of their secret meetings, Elsa and Tommasino begin to imagine another future for themselves, free from the constraints of shared history and expectation. But all of this is threatened when their relationship is revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn elegant, spare novel reminiscent of Chekhov, \u003ci\u003eVoices in the Evening\u003c\/i\u003e captures Italy after the war, and a new generation struggling against its legacy. Ginzburg's doomed love story comes to us as though whispered between friends, and carried on an evening breeze.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46534295748844,"sku":"9781911547310","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16227383482868.jpg?v=1749423219"},{"product_id":"family-and-borghesia-by-beryl-stockman-9781681375083","title":"Family and Borghesia","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo novellas about domestic life, isolation, and the passing of time by one of the finest Italian writers of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFamily and Borghesia\u003c\/em\u003e presents two captivating stories that delve into the intricacies of human connection and the inexorable passage of time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFamily\u003c\/em\u003e, Carmine, an architect, and Ivana, a translator, once shared a life together and even had a child. Yet, after the child’s tragic death, their relationship crumbled, leading Carmine to marry Ninetta. Together, Carmine and Ninetta have a child, Dod, whom Carmine views as somewhat uninspired. Despite this, Carmine continues to spend every evening with Ivana, with no objections from Ninetta. Initially comic, this novella gradually darkens, exploring how time moves forward, lives continue, and people linger around missed opportunities, only creating more regrets until time ultimately runs out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBorghesia\u003c\/em\u003e revolves around a widow who continuously acquires and loses Siamese cats, hoping they will alleviate her loneliness. This story also examines the emotional entanglements and domestic complexities that emerged with the loosening social norms of the 1970s. One character reflects on the inevitabilities of life, pondering, \"She remembered saying that there were three things in life you should always refuse—hypocrisy, resignation, and unhappiness. But it was impossible to shield yourself from those three things. Life was full of them and there was no holding them back.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46544159146220,"sku":"9781681375083","price":33.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17539893482786.jpg?v=1749765420"},{"product_id":"valentino-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781914198540","title":"Valentino","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'So there is no one to whom I can speak the words that most need to be spoken, about the events which most closely concern our family and what has happened to us; I have to keep them bottled up inside me and there are times when they threaten to choke me.'\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eValentino\u003c\/em\u003e is the spoiled child of doting parents who have no doubt he will be 'a man of consequence'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis sisters, however, see him for what he really is: a lazy, indifferent and self-absorbed medical student who whiles away time with nights out on the town, resulting in a string of failed and incomplete classes. His parents' dreams are soon undone when, out of the blue, Valentino brings home Maddalena, a wealthy and strikingly ugly wife.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat ensues is yet another work of quiet devastation told with Ginzburg's unflinching moral realism and keen psychological insight, as the family is scandalised by Valentino's decision and suspicious of Maddalena's motives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46556698444012,"sku":"9781914198540","price":21.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/14653893482869.jpg?v=1750164503"},{"product_id":"family-and-borghesia-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781914198847","title":"Family and Borghesia","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArchitect Carmine and translator Ivana were once lovers. Their child died and their relationship ended but now, decades on, both with marriages and children of their own, they are friends. During a bout of pneumonia, Carmine—uneasy in his life of aspiration and materialism—begins to look back over opportunities missed and choices made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSet against postwar social breakdown, the melancholic, quietly dazzling \u003cem\u003eFamily\u003c\/em\u003e elegantly examines the human condition and what brings happiness to a life. \u003cem\u003eBorghesia\u003c\/em\u003e is a delicate evocation of one life and the relationships that constrain and define it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn both novellas, underneath a subtle, stripped-down prose and a rich cast of characters, runs a seam of unhappiness and isolation, as Natalia Ginzburg explores the allure of memories and the complexity of family and relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46711389847788,"sku":"9781914198847","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/881d8b03c1245368b3028434ae635365.jpg?v=1754267936"},{"product_id":"the-city-and-the-house-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781917092128","title":"The City and The House","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiuseppe is leaving his flat in the city of Rome, where he has lived for more than twenty years, to go and live with his brother in America. He must say goodbye to his cousin Roberta; to his former lover Lucrezia and her husband Piero; and to all his friends who used to gather for weekends at Le Margherite, Lucrezia's splendid house in the country. But even before Giuseppe's departure, friendships have begun to fracture as frustrated yearnings and past infidelities strain the bonds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe sale of Le Margherite marks the end of an era and its old inhabitants and visitors are left to pursue happiness on their own. Their stories unfold through an exchange of letters that reveal with great poignancy the thoughts, passions and desires of the protagonists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe City and The House\u003c\/em\u003e is a compelling narrative that captures the emotional complexities of leaving behind familiar bonds and embarking on a new journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46832875110636,"sku":"9781917092128","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3a41a6bee17f3d33ab521d1fa5373531.jpg?v=1758436163"},{"product_id":"sagittarius-by-natalia-ginzburg-9781914198564","title":"Sagittarius","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAt long last she was playing the role she had always dreamt about, that of a mother, full of anxious solicitude, preparing to confide her daughter into the hands of a young man with good intentions, good prospects and a good character.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA mother decides to follow her daughter to the city. She settles in the suburbs with her older daughter and son-in-law in tow. She quickly grows restless and is eager to find new friends. Brassy, bossy and perpetually dissatisfied, she strikes up a friendship with the mysterious Scilla, and soon the two women are planning to open an art gallery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut there is more to Scilla than meets the eye. After a series of afternoons spent at bars having coffee granitas with cream, and at Scilla's apartment on Via Tripoli, it quickly becomes apparent that the connections and the cultured life promised by Scilla may never materialise, despite always being just within reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat proceeds is a story of the dissolution of a family, and the role that class plays in its downfall. \u003ci\u003eSagittarius\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of misplaced confidence and ambition gone awry, recounted by a wary daughter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072655147244,"sku":"9781914198564","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/14654133482869.jpg?v=1765123928"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/natalia-ginzburg.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}