A multitude of women; the challenges of the contemporary Italian novel.

9780802097941

A multitude of women; the challenges of the contemporary Italian novel.

Lucamante, Sefania.

U. of Toronto Press

2008

324 pages

$70.00

Hardcover

PQ4055

Applying feminist and psychoanalytic theory to contemporary novels by Italian women, Lucamante (Italian, Catholic University of America) demonstrates the ways in which authors have reworked traditional forms to create a new, personal expression. The authors she has chosen are all young, born after abortion and divorce were legalized in Italy. They grew up in a world where Italian character was bombarded by international media. The themes of the novels are the timeless ones of family relations, mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, and sexual identity. But they reflect the widening of the views of these women and their divergence from the male patterns of writing. Lucamante gives a thoughtful analysis of the most recent female Italian novelists.

([c]2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR)