[ExI] authors, italian and otherwise

[giancarlos]

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: spike
> To: 'ExI chat list'
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 7:33 PM
> Subject: [ExI] authors, italian and otherwise
>
>
> Friends,
>
> A recent discussion here resulted in my commenting to a friend offlist
> that
> everything I know about Italy I learned from reading Mario Puzo's
> excellent
> early novel The Fortunate Pilgrim.  Then I realized how dumb that musta
> sounded: Puzo was born in America, and the novel is about an American
> childhood in an Italian neighborhood.  So I still don't know anything
> about
> Italy.
>
> Question please: if you wished to explain your native culture to someone
> outside, which book would you recommend and why?

This is a very difficult question to answer.

Instead of a book I would suggest you a movie, The Best of Youth (La Meglio
Gioventù): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346336/
That's an excellent picture of italian society during the second half of XX 
century.

Then, more jokingly, you can watch this short video (there's some truth in 
it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJNFoHuLno

Ciao,
Giancarlo