It is a brilliant book, and one that is particularly salient in late middle age. On the face The Leopard is definitely about the liminal space between two ways of existing, but it is also a deep meditation on aging and losing one's powers, hopefully with grace.
The Leopard sounds like an interesting read. I love historical fiction, and visited Sicily in 2019. I stayed with the common folk, a 3 generation Sicilian family in their small town in the Catania area.
I remember loving The Leopard when I read it many years ago. I should read it again. I wonder if Americans (as I am) have a particular fondness for aristocrats. We root for their 'old ways" and imagine ourselves being the Lord and not his valet.
I went to visit donnafugata a few months after I read the book. It is large, but sort of sad and tawdry!
It is a brilliant book, and one that is particularly salient in late middle age. On the face The Leopard is definitely about the liminal space between two ways of existing, but it is also a deep meditation on aging and losing one's powers, hopefully with grace.
The Leopard sounds like an interesting read. I love historical fiction, and visited Sicily in 2019. I stayed with the common folk, a 3 generation Sicilian family in their small town in the Catania area.
Thanks for this essay.
I remember loving The Leopard when I read it many years ago. I should read it again. I wonder if Americans (as I am) have a particular fondness for aristocrats. We root for their 'old ways" and imagine ourselves being the Lord and not his valet.