''The Moon and the Bonfires'' () is a 1950 novel by the Italian writer

Cesare Pavese Cesare Pavese ( ; ; 9 September 1908 – 27 August 1950) was an Italian novelist, poet, short story writer, translator, literary critic, and essayist. He is often referred to as one of the most influential Italian writers of his time. Early ...

. It is considered Pavese's best novel. The first English language translation was undertaken by Louise Sinclair in 1952, as ''The Moon and the Bonfire''. A more recent translation by R. W. Flint, published in 2002, uses the arguably more correct translation of ''The Moon and the Bonfires'', taking account of the use of the plural in the original Italian title. The novel is set in the small town of

Santo Stefano Belbo Santo Stefano Belbo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located southeast of Turin and northeast of Cuneo. It is the birthplace of 20th century author Cesare Pavese. On its hill are a medieval ...

, in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, north-west Italy (Pavese's real-life birthplace). The protagonist, known only by his nickname of "" ("Eel"), has returned to his home town in the years immediately following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He left twenty-five years earlier and had made his fortune in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Returning to his home town, he finds many of the same smells and sights that filled his youth, but he also finds a town and its inhabitants that have been deeply changed by war and by the passage of time.

Awards and honors

In 2003, R.W. Flint's translation won the

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

. In 2016, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' named ''The Moon and the Bonfires'' one of the best books of the year.

Adaptation

''The Moon and the Bonfires'' was one of two Pavese novels (the other being ) to be adapted by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub as part of their 1979 film '' From the Clouds to the Resistance''.

References

External links

* ''The Moon and the Bonfire'' on Archive.org
Encyclopedia.com page

Britannica page on Cesare Pavese

Britannica page on the Hermetic movement in Italian literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon and the Bonfires, The 1950 Italian novels Novels set in Italy Piedmont Giulio Einaudi Editore books NYRB Classics Italian novels adapted into films Novels by Cesare Pavese

Awards and honors

Adaptation

See also

References

External links