Grazia Deledda's Cosima

 

Cosima / Grazia Deledda
trans. from the Italian by Martha King
NY: Italica, 2008, c1936.
156 p.

I've had this classic on my shelf for a while; now was the time to read it. Deledda was the first Italian woman to win the Nobel, in 1926, and only the second woman overall. Her writing focused on the Sardinian people of her own childhood; this book, a vaguely autobiographical novel, was published posthumously in 1936. 

This novel ranges over the life of Cosima, member of a large-ish family, from a young age until her adulthood when she becomes a writer. She has older brothers and many sisters, and their stories are told here as well. Cosima notes all the elements of her home, her mother's character, her beloved father's death, and all the problems her brothers and sisters face. 

She outlines experiences like spending time in the hills around the town, visiting neighbours with pretensions to nobility, hearing the gossip of servants and more. We can feel the weight of social expectations on young girls, how they are constrained by their culture -- when Cosima begins writing, and then sending that writing to magazines, it is thought to be forward, a possible stain against her finding a good husband (which is of course the goal). 

But Cosima perseveres and continues writing, continues to record everything that is happening around her; the land, the light, the personalities of family and servants alike. The book ends abruptly, to me - it feels like it stops, not concludes. That could be because it was published posthumously, though. 

Overall, this has a rich historical feel to it. It evokes the senses, creating clear images of Cosima's surroundings and her upbringing. There are moments that make a reader angry, and some that are more touching. I'd like to read her most popular book now, Reeds in the Wind, and see how they compare.