Evening Sounds

Author's name: Natalia Ginzburg

“A shining light in modern Italian literature... one of Italy’s most distinguished writers.” “The New York Review of Books” “One of the most important writers in Italy today.” “The New York Times” About: Elsa is 27 and still single, which is just one of the reasons for her mother’s constant and numerous complaints. But the mother’s chatter is no exception in the traditional Italian town where Elsa and her family live, where life revolves around the De Franceschi family’s textile mill. In an extremely economical narrative, devoid of any explanation or commentary, and built primarily on dialogue, Elsa presents the story of the family members, down to the youngest son, whom she meets secretly in the neighboring town twice a week. Against the constant chatter of the town, Italy’s most famous writer, Italo Calvino, says: “Natalia tells us the story of two silences that overlap, seek complementarity, and then collide.” Calvino continues about Gainsbourg's famous novel: "Evening Voices is the story of people trying to bury their thoughts, defining themselves solely through the actions they take and the words they say." An enjoyable and moving novel, characterized by its effective realism and subtle irony.