The Leopard: A Novel
by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
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Book Reviews of The Leopard: A Novel
Book Review: The Leopard
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a novel based on an ancestor of the writer. This ancestor, living in Sicily during the mid 1800's, had the leopard of the title as a family crest. This period was the time when Italy united under the leadership of Garibaldi and King Victor Emmanuel. It meant the beginning of the end for a lifestyle of privilege and the emergence of a middle class. Such a change promised improvements for many but not for "The Leopard". He was smart enough to realize what the future held and to try to plan for how the changes would effect his family. There is great attention to detail, so that the reader feels he/she is right there.Book Review: Unsentimental, Unapologetic, and Uncompromising
Summary: 5 Stars
This books dissects a series of relationships amid a rapidly changing social and political order. It is set during the unification of Sicily and Naples into Italy.
Favorite quote: "All will be the same though all will change."
The story is used to reveal larger issues of family, love, dying, the effect of the passing of time on our life outlook, and the role of faith and ritual in daily life. It also addresses the cycles of ascending and declining aristocratic families across multiple generations.
Slow at times, but always sure in its message and delivery.
Book Review: A great novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This novel is not just a story, not just an exercise in promotion, not just a product for the market--all of which are characteristics of so much of what is published these days. This is literature. It opens windows on the past, it explores human nature, it helps us understand ourselves and the wider world. The reflections on changes in society, on aging and the approach of death, both of a way of life and a specific individual, are enlightening and enriching. A wonderful book.Book Review: A gem of a historical novel
Summary: 5 Stars
The Leopard follows Prince Fabrizio of Salina and his family through the risorgimento or the rise of the modern Italian state. It is beautifully written, and the internal narratives provide keen insights into the Sicilian (and Italian) mind and spirit. This is comparable to the best of Jane Austen in its examination of class and social mores, but the writing is far more direct and lyrical.Book Review: A great classic about Sicily
Summary: 5 Stars
I found parts of this book a little hard to read, but it was worth sticking with, as it is a beautifully written masterpiece that sums up the essence of what it is to be Sicilian. This particular edition had some great material about the tragic circumstances in which this novel was not published until after the author's death.