tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post8900618981841249968..comments2024-02-11T09:55:50.468-08:00Comments on The Eastside View: Manzoni: I Promessi sposiCharles Sherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480432901356490235noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post-77995626081825667532014-01-11T17:36:55.019-08:002014-01-11T17:36:55.019-08:00The pages describing the plague are electrifying i...<i>The pages describing the plague are electrifying in the immediacy of Manzoni's descriptions, but like the rest of the novel immensely sympathetic. Your having read yhis book at that time shows the utility of great narrative function to our better understanding of the human condition. <br /><br />I forgot to mention Manzoni's good humor through all the events he treats — another index of his great humanity. </i> Charles Sherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10480432901356490235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post-3810281930381592822014-01-11T16:35:42.678-08:002014-01-11T16:35:42.678-08:00I read it in the early 1980s at the outset of the ...I read it in the early 1980s at the outset of the AIDS era, after asking an intelligent friend to recommend a book set during the Plague. Gosh, what a revelation the novel turned out to be, an Enlightenment look at a barbarous time that changed the way I thought about the world. And as bad as the modern AIDS plague became, it was somehow cheering to know that things had been much worse not that long ago, with fear of "anointers" at the communion rail and other bits of magical thinking floating around. Also finding out that some people survived the plague even after coming down with the illness was oddly reassuring. Historical epics are not usually my cup of tea, but this book is in a class of its own. Glad you also enjoyed it so much.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com