Bread and Wine

This for me was a 3.5 star read, but I'll round up to 4 Stars considering when it was written, 1936, a time when the events in the book were actually playing out in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy.

The principal character, Pietro Spina or Paulo Spada reflects Silone himself, rejecting Stalinist Communist Party dogma but embracing socialist idealism, criticizing the Church, uncomfortable at first in his ecclesiastic disguise, but eventually warming to it. Silone was an outspoken critic of fascism, but struggled with his own identity, as does his character. He recognized the danger of a revolutionary movement outgrowing the needs of the people it professed to serve and eventually becoming totalitarian itself, returning the masses to the show more servitude it strove to overthrow. Stalin’s dictatorship is no different from Mussolini’s, and the masses in either case become resigned to their fate; “But you can live in the most democratic country on earth, and if you're lazy, obtuse or servile within yourself, you're not free.” This in a way is Silone’s resignation to the eventual death of his socialist ideal; it cannot work without the support of the masses, who are apathetic, nor can it work as part of a broader political framework.

My impression on reading this in 2018 is unfortunately one of predictability and datedness. That said, it is well written, this reader enjoying the descriptions of simple cafoni lifestyle and customs, often comic, often sad. While the novel made quite an impression at the time, it’s not as timeless as Orwell, IMO. I may read [b:Fontamara|143250|Fontamara|Ignazio Silone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172151497s/143250.jpg|2455413] at some point, but I’m not in a great rush to do so. show less

In Fascist Italy, a Socialist man recently returned from exile, in order to evade the law, is disguised as a priest--he will have immunity from persecution as an ecclesiastic-- and lives among the peasants of the Abruzzi. The novel chronicles his adventures, both funny and tragic and we are exposed to the peasantry. We see his growth as a human being. The ending was a shocker! The title could refer to the elements in the Mass or to the common food of the people.

Highly recommended and just as current today as when it was written--one man against tyranny. A classic, banned in Mussolini's Italy. I can certainly see why!

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.

I read this one in 1994 or so, prompted by Silone's associations with postwar French thinkers and the usual rot which attracts pseuds in their early twenties. I recall the crowd scene rather vividly as well as the author's afterward where he recalls encountering soemone reading his book while travelling on a train.

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

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.

Always intended to read as an example of .Existentialism. I'm about half way through, still looking for - with the lead character - ways to engage people in an examination of the "system" and how to fix it.