CANNE AL VENTO / REEDS IN THE WIND
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Autor:
Grazia Deledda
Country:
Italy (IT)
Book Theme:
The books of the Nobel prizes
Publisher:
Rusconi libri
Publishing Year:
2019
Grazia Deledda was born in Nuoro, Sardinia, on September 27, 1871.She received only a basic formal education, attending elementary school for four years. However, she was later privately tutored in Italian and developed a precocious passion for writing and reading.Her first short story was published in a fashion magazine when she was just thirteen, and she began collaborating with various magazines shortly thereafter.She vividly portrayed the customs, traditions, and simple folk—shepherds, farmers, and servants—of her secluded native island.While her setting was local, her themes were universal. Her writing explores the intense, often tragic, struggles of her characters with moral dilemmas, sin, guilt, uncontrollable passion, and the force of destiny. Grazia Deledda died in Rome on 1936.
National Award for Children’s and Young People’s
Abstract
Canne al vento is a novel by Grazia Deledda, set in the rugged and traditional landscape of rural Sardinia at the beginning of the 20th century.The story centers around the decline of the Pintor family, once noble and wealthy, now reduced to three elderly spinster sisters—Ester, Noemi, and Ruth—who live in near poverty in their ancestral home in the village of Galtellì. They are haunted by a past crime: the killing of their abusive father years ago by their servant, Elias Portolu, who was subsequently forced to flee.The sisters’ monotonous life is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of their nephew, Giacinto, the son of their deceased brother. Giacinto is a handsome but irresponsible young man who comes back from the mainland seeking financial help and a better life. His arrival brings a breath of fresh air but also chaos, scandal, and ultimately, further suffering to the already burdened family.The novel explores the universal themes of guilt, fate, and retribution. The characters are seen as “reeds in the wind” (the title’s metaphor), frail human beings subject to the whims of destiny and the consequences of their actions.The novel explores the universal themes of guilt, fate, and retribution. The characters are seen as “reeds in the wind” (the title’s metaphor), frail human beings subject to the whims of destiny and the consequences of their actions.The return of Giacinto forces Elias to confront his lifelong penance, as he realizes he can never truly escape his complicity in the past events that continue to shadow the Pintor family.
