I discovered the book "Sparrow" a couple of years ago when watching the film. I was taken aback by the storline, that i could not resist but find the actual book which i knew would be more equisite than the film. It depicts the psychological suffering of young lady(Maria), who spends a magnificent summer away from the convent only to fall in love with her neighbour'son. She is forced to return to the convent and bare the sorrow of being without the one she loves. Verga carefully depicts the character's emotion of rejection and denial.

It is a book that does not fail to emotionally move one, when reading. A definite 5 star novel.

Giovanni Verga wrote several novels that were, at their essence, Sicilian family sagas. Sparrow is not one the them. Instead, this exquisite miniature is an intimate psychological portrait of one young girl, a girl destined to become a nun against her wishes, a portrait of her one and only summer of happiness and the ultimate tragedy that underscores her life.

The plot of this lovely novella could have so easily degenrated into pure, unvarnished sentimentality in the hands of an author less talented than Verga. Verga's descriptions of the people, of the Sicilian countryside, of convent life, as well as his use of third person narration, are so convincing, so full of sharp edges, that we can't help but believe they are real.

Boosting the book's credibility, however, is the undeniable fact that Catholic Europe often sent its unwanted sons and daughters to both monasteries and convents. This was simply cruel social reality; whether or not the child in question actually had a religious vocation was deemed superfluous. Sicily was the last to abandon this inhumane practice and, as a result, it's convents became little more than rceptacles of human refuse: filthy, overcrowded buildings that housed unwilling, but desperate, residents.

It would seem that Verga's story has some basis in fact. Some of his aunts were nuns and his mother, Donna Caterina, a member of the minor nobility, had been convent educated. She, herself, told Verga the story of a young girl who lived in a convent in the "madowman's cell," a place from which were heard shrieks, moans and ungodly bursts of inhuman laughter.

Set in 1854, Sparrow depicts a Sicily ravaged by the cholera epidemic. The emotions depicted in the book are both organized and feverish and it is to Verga's credit that he keeps them from spilling over into melodrama.

The story, itself, is told in a series of letters. These letters begin rationally enough but they soon begin to be filled with madness...the madness of an absolute love that could never be.

Simple and poetic, Sparrow tells a horrifying tale that so easily could have slipped into the cliche, yet happily doesn't. A wonderful study of a life gone so terrible wrong.

This book has the power of transporting the reader into the life of the main character and making him/her sympathize with Maria. However individual her particular condition may be (fortunately, not many women are forced into convents nowadays), her story goes beyond the specific events to symbolize the idea of being forced into the wrong vocation, being denied freedom of choice and the extreme consequences of psychological violence.

An immediate classic since its first publication, it strikes a chord with people worldwide since almost everyone has sooner or later lived through a predicament that felt similar in principle to Maria's. Highly recommended. I've already read it twice.

Verga is one of the 19th Century's greatest writers, and it's a shame he isn't better known in the English-speaking world. Stories such as Jeli the Shepherd and the She-Wolf are dazzling, deeply moving stories that rank amongst the best stories Chekhov ever wrote. The translation itself is superb. It is easily the best version of Verga in English.

The whole world is a small town is a sicilian phrase that means no matter where you travel, people will be basically the same. Reading this work by G. Verga gave this saying a whole new meaning for me. I learned that people in Sicily are basically the same today as they were 120 years ago. Giovanni Verga was born and lived in a small town in Sicily called Vizzini. This is the same town that my parents are from. I have spent many summers with my grandmother there. The distant past was always portrayed as somehow better by my grandmother. According to her, our ancestors did not succomb to petty human weaknesses. After enjoying these short stories I realize that my grandmother remembered her youth more with nostalgic fantasy than historic accuracy. This work wonderfully portrays human motivations, strenghts and weaknesses. It was a wonderful revelation to realize that the whole world is a small town, not only in the dimension of space but also in the dimension of time.

The setting and the people of rural Italy at the end of the last century is thoroughly and thoughfully depicted. The story itself could be told rather quickly, but here it is told in great detail.

How many times have you heard a story recounted, not gotten as excited about it as the teller, and had them say "You had to be there."

Verga's novel was a classic in it's day. It's stark portrayal of life in the small fishing town of Aci Trezza at the turn of the century is considered to be groundbreaking Italian fiction. The translation and Verga's own pacing may not appeal to the average modern reader. When it was written, it was in the vanguard of neo-realist fiction. It is laudable for that fact alone. But it has a deeper hidden treasure that can be spirited out to a select few.

If you're one who has actually been to southern Italy or Sicily and witnessed small fishing villages on the beautiful coasts, this book is for you. I lived in the small town of Aci Trezza where this book transpired and can honestly say the sights, sounds, people, and rituals are still intact as they're described in the book. If you have been there, this book will rekindle memories of places and sights you've seen before, though now personified. If you have not but plan to, either read this book before you go or take it with you and read it while eating a briosche from Eden Bar in Aci Trezza. The walk down to the rocks off the coast that night will have a different and more beautiful meaning.

You had to be there!

"I Malavoglia" is one of the most beautiful novels about the life in South-Italy in 19th century. I personally am grown up on the countryside in South-Italy and, even if I live a century later than the Malavoglia, I still can find in the place where I live some of the colours and sounds that I love in this book. Someone may find the style disturbing, because of the lack of participation by the writer, but it is something Verga purposedly tried to achieve ( it is the Realism ), and it should not prevent you from enjoying the story told in this book ( even if it is a sad story, like are all the stories, that try to be truthfull). If you really want to get nearer to the heart of such a beautiful country like Italy ( and especially South-Italy)is you really should read this book.

If you wondered what life was like in Southern Italy
before our relatives all decided to leave, read this book.
In a non-maudlin manner, the author describes life in this little town, social mores and attitudes from a long ago time.

Well translated, easy to read. Very touching book. An interesting study in family dynamics and the life of a small community.

The book is about a family's misfortunes in a small fishermen's village in Sicily at the beginning of the XX century. The book opens with a tragedy that undermines the financial stability of this big family of poor people. It is about their struggle to cope with it, and their failure because of misfortune. The original title "I malavolgia" could be translated as "the indolent family"; the title is a pun because the family is not indolent at all (well, maybe except for one component), rather they work very hard to solve pay their debts, but when destiny is against you there is nothing to do. This moral of the story and the feeling of sorrow that pervades the book are the reasons why I did not like it and I give it only two stars. But the book received much praise as one of the highest examples of Italian realism.