The Garden of the Finzi Continis

| 4.01 | 7,043 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Tim Parks, Simon Mawer, and 2 others. See all reviews

Ranked #31 in Italian, Ranked #56 in Italy

This is a haunting, elegiac novel which captures the mood and atmosphere of Italy (and in particular Ferrara) in the last summers of the thirties, focusing on an aristocratic Jewish family moving imperceptibly towards its doom. Vittorio De Sica turned the book into a film in 1970, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1974. less

Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Garden of the Finzi Continis from the world's leading experts.

Tim Parks Of all the books that I have selected…this is the easiest to read as a novel and it’s the one that has the classic novel plot that will engage even the most ardent lovers of popular fiction. (Source)

Simon Mawer This is one of the greatest books that I know. It is beautifully done. There is an anonymous narrator who is clearly based on Giorgio Bassani’s own experiences. Again, it is an oblique look at the fate of European Jews. (Source)

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