Alessandro Manzoni Books

It's a great book and it includes excersizes for vocab. and charater review and plot review. It's great. I highly reccomend it.

I first "had" to read this book while in school in Italy and wrote a summary for each chapter read. At the time (I was only a pre-teen) I did not fully appreciate this book. Last week I re-read it and at as a 41-year old adult I saw things I had never before. The main story of Renzo and Lucia's attempt to get married is woven through a number of events - historical and fictitious - that depict the area around Milan in the mid-1600's. The scenes of desperation, faith, pestilence and redemption stay with you and now I finally appreciate why this book has been, for generations, a must-read for all Italian students. The book is quite long and takes time to read, but it is well worth it.

The last time I read "I Promessi Sposi" was in high school in Italy, where it was a must-read. I remember being captivated by this masterpiece. It is without a doubt the greatest novel in Italian literature. Finally comes "Promise of Fidelity", the best translation so far, it is presented in a more modern way and thus more accessible to young readers as well.
I highly recommend this book, classical, romantic, historical, realistic, psychological, ironic, idealistic, symbolic. A must-read for anyone who likes a good story and world literature.

One of literature's masterpieces. Manzoni is considered a national hero in Italy for good reason. The SAT's in Italy require a written essay on this book as well as Dante's "Paradise". The author knows the mind of humans.

What made me read this, outside of Italy, quite obscure book? Well, Umberto Eco writes highly of it in his On Literature (Harcourt, 2004). Apparently, in Italy it seems to be considered as important as the Divine Comedy.
The Betrothed belongs to historical fiction genre. The story takes place during the years 1628-30. Northern Italy is occupied by Spain, and the Thirty-Year War rages in northern Europe. The narrator claims that he is using an old manuscript as the source for his book. Historical events, like the famine of 1628, the siege of Mantua by the Imperial army in 1630, and the plague the invaders brought with them form the framework around the story in the book. Historical and events are woven into the narrative, some key characters like the Nun of Monza, the "Unnamed", and Cardinal Federico Borromeo are examples of historical characters who interacts with the fictional protagonists.
The story centres around the Renzo and Lucia, the betrothed of the title. Local lord, however, wants Lucia for himself, and forces the village priest not to marry them. After the lord's men try to kidnap Lucia, she, Renzo, and her mother flee. During the escape they get separated, and are caught up in the historical events It will take them two years before they find each other and can marry.
The writing style could be seen as a little bit preachy with an omniscient narrator. Often the narrator breaks the narrative to make a historical or moral expose, often several pages long. Even though sometimes preachy, Manzoni fills his book with a gentle humour. I have some problems with the religiosity of the author: the theme of the book seems to be that God tests us in any which way he wants, but, in the end, if we keep faith in Him everything will turn out fine. The author himself seems to take the role of God as he writes, since he subjects his protagonists to the most strenuous hardships, but in the end, he lets them be reunited since he has also let them keep their faith in God. It seems like Manzoni wrote this book during a period when he himself struggled with his faith.
The opening paragraph of the book gives a birds view of Lake Como, and then gradually zooms down onto the village of Lecco, which is close to the unnamed village of Renzo and Lucia. This perhaps does not sound too exiting, but consider that the book was written in 1842, way before it became commonplace to see the world as if from an airplane.

I have read quite a lot of "classic" literature in my time, purely for enjoyment. I have to say this is one of the very finest (I would put it in my top 5) works of great literature I have ever read.

It is incredibly absorbing, allows you to enter the period in a way you will understand it. The descriptions of Milan during a plague outbreak are totally convincing.

Yes, it's "religious" (but in a humanitarian way) as well as historical. I'm nominally an English Anglican (= Episcopalian), but not particularly religious, and read the book, all in one go (a major achievement because it's long) in a hotel in Asia. I just couldn't put it down (a wonderful rarity that book lovers will well understand). Had there been a Catholic priest in the room next door, I well might have asked for instruction into "the faith"; it was that moving!

Please read this book and help to make it as well known outside Italy as it is within (it is the equivalent of Dante to an Italian, or Shakespeare to us). Also read The Leopard by Lampedusa (terrific film, too, with Burt lancaster) if you're interested in fictionalisation of Italian history.

I have had a few friends planning trips to Italy ask me for reading suggestions. "I Promessi Sposi" (The Betrothed) is always at the top of the list. For the reader seeking deeper knowledge of Italy this book serves a couple of purposes.

First of all, like War and Peace, it is an historical novel with well-drawn characters inserted into an accurately described place and time. The novel takes place in Lombardy (the area in northern Italy surrounding Milan) between 1628 and 1631. It describes the story of Renzo and Lucia, and the extraordinary difficulties they encountered getting married. The centerpiece of the tale is the Great Plague of Milan, brought to northern Italy by French and German troops engaged in the 30-Years' War. Manzoni's description of the horrible conditions that descended upon Milan is riveting. I Promessi Sposi gives the reader great insight into the history and culture of post-renaissance Italy. Because the book is so good, one can absorb an enormous amount of history painlessly.

Secondly, because this is truly the greatest Italian novel, all educated Italians are familiar with it. I can promise the reader who travels to Italy that he will surprise those he meets when he displays familiarity with this beloved and extremely Italian work. I remember discussing the book with several Italians while having dinner in a small village near Milan. I mentioned an episode in the book that I said had taken place near Lake Como.
"Lecco!" I was instantly corrected. They all knew the book and my bonehead error was not allowed to pass.

Intellectually a child of the French Enlightenment, Manzoni became a devout catholic and the book reflects his deeply felt religious beliefs. Don't let his didacticism put you off. This is a beautiful book. One hundred years ago it was standard reading even in America, but sadly it is largely ignored here. Get a copy and let Manzoni take you back to another place and time. It's an adventure you will enjoy.
- Bill McGann, Author of "The Story of the Tour de France"

Manzoni is the preeminent figure of Italian fiction - akin to Cervantes in Spain, Twain in the USA and Hugo in France. Not only was he a fabulous writer, Manzoni was also looked upon as a kind of beloved father figure for the shapers of modern Italy. (Verdi wrote his Requiem to mark the first anniversary of Manzoni's death).

Certainly, with this work, he shaped the Italian language, in much the same way that Martin Luther shaped German with his translation of the Bible.

Although he was also a poet, his well-deserved international reputation rests chiefly upon this book. It is an episodic tale, in a Don Quixote sense, of love between two delighful people, Lucia Mondella and Renzo Tramaglino. Their love persists and prevails, in spite of their separation and nearly every kind of challenge imaginable.

There are religious themes in the book, of course, since it is a faithful rendering of its epoch. These serve to heighten the drama. As the author says in Chapter 38:

"Troubles certainly often arise from occasion afforded by ourselves; but the most cautious and blameless conduct cannot secure us from them; and, when they come confidence in God alleviates them."

Amid the themes of patriotism in the face of Spanish rule and faithfulness that overcomes tyrants, riots and plague, there is no better depiction of leave taking than in this novel. And surely, every Italian immigrant to America must have felt the same stirrings. Indeed, if you have an Italian ancestry, this is your "Roots". Read this book and soak up your heritage, in ways that you cannot elsewhere.

The sad thing is that this is Manzoni's only novel; it is as if Twain had written only Tom Sawyer, or Dickens, only Great Expectations.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.