Giacomo's Seasons
1995
First Published
3.85
Average Rating
164
Number of Pages
Set in Asiago, in the pre-Alps of Italy’s Veneto region, this novel tells the story of a mountain people who must adjust to life following the devastation of World War I. The story follows the young protagonist Giacomo through seasons and years as he, his family, and his entire community struggle to survive, salvaging scrap weaponry from former battlefields in the hills around them. Some must leave their homes in search of work abroad, splitting up families and threatening the mountain community with slow disintegration. They must also adjust to the ominous growth of fascism and, finally, face yet another war. Written with clarity and deceptively simple language, this is simultaneously a story of great hardship and a loving portrayal of a vanishing way of life of an ancient people tied closely to the natural world.
Avg Rating
3.85
Number of Ratings
347
5 STARS
26%
4 STARS
42%
3 STARS
25%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Mario Rigoni Stern
Author · 18 books
Mario Rigoni Stern was an Italian author and World War II veteran. His first novel Il sergente nella neve, published in 1953 (and the following year in English as The Sergeant in the Snow), draws on his own experience as a Sergeant Major in the Alpini corp during the disastrous retreat from Russia in the World War II. It is his only work to be translated into English and Spanish. Other well-known works also include Le stagioni di Giacomo (Giacomo's Seasons), Storia di Tönle (The Story of Tönle), and the collection of short stories Sentieri sotto la neve (Paths Beneath the Snow). He was awarded the Premio Campiello and the Premio Bagutta for Storia di Tönle, and the Italian PEN prize for Sentieri sotto la neve.
