Bread and Wine

מיושן מאוד, הפסקת באמצע ( )

I picked up this book after hearing that both Dorothy Day and Philip Berrigan found it influential to their thinking. The book follows Pietro Spina, a socialist on the the run from the authorities, who disguises himself as a priest in order to keep from being found out. The book is a reflection on revolution, on religion, and on relationships. I liked it quite a bit. There were several moving passages. The story itself is occasionally uneven and I wasn't thrilled by the ending, but it's definitely a good book to check out. ( )

3469. Bread and Wine, by Ignazio Silone (read Aug 7, 2001) This was written in 1936 when it was not permitted to be published in Fascist Italy, and was revised by Silone in 1962. Silone was a Communist from 1921 to 1931, and one of the six authors of The God That Failed--which book I read with great appreciation Mar 21, 1952. Bread and Wine was significant when Fascism was a pertinent topic, but I was not very moved by the novel, which is talky and subtle. But I had a copy of it at home, and had never read it, so I thought I would, since it is, or was, a "significant" book. ( )

A rich book of oppression in Italy prior to World War II; surprisingly humorous, but ultimately tragic. ( )