Italian Author Eugenio Corti has died.
February 15, 2014 10:10 AM Subscribe
Born in 1921 in Besana, Brianza the first of ten children (his younger brother was Dr Piero Corti), early fascinated by Homer. At age 21 he entered the Italian army as a lieutenant of Artillery and volunteered for the Russian front, less in order to further Hitler's ambitions than to retard Stalin's. Ordered to retreat in mid-winter, he led his men back to Italy where he eventually reconnected with the King's army and fought with the Allies.
Having survived the war, he finished a degree in law and in between working at the family business, turned to writing. His best known works, translated into many languages are Few Returned: Twenty-eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942-1943 (translated by Peter Levy); Last Soldiers of the King, and in 1983, the sprawling masterpiece, The Red Horse. If nothing else, he provides a valuable corrective for the overlooked roles of Italy in World War Two.
Profoundly Catholic, profoundly anti-fascist, profoundly anti-communist, he was in older age the recipient of numerous awards both Italian and international. There was in some quarters hopes for a Nobel. The left had little use for him, and neither, it would appear, do English language newspapers, where his February 4 death has been notably overlooked.
Interested readers of Italian can consult his homepage and that of the Associazione Culturale Internazionale Eugenio Corti
Having survived the war, he finished a degree in law and in between working at the family business, turned to writing. His best known works, translated into many languages are Few Returned: Twenty-eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942-1943 (translated by Peter Levy); Last Soldiers of the King, and in 1983, the sprawling masterpiece, The Red Horse. If nothing else, he provides a valuable corrective for the overlooked roles of Italy in World War Two.
Profoundly Catholic, profoundly anti-fascist, profoundly anti-communist, he was in older age the recipient of numerous awards both Italian and international. There was in some quarters hopes for a Nobel. The left had little use for him, and neither, it would appear, do English language newspapers, where his February 4 death has been notably overlooked.
Interested readers of Italian can consult his homepage and that of the Associazione Culturale Internazionale Eugenio Corti
More than welcome, of course. A bit bemused it was quite such a lead balloon. Was he really so much less interesting than Ellen Page coming out? I guess so.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:12 PM on February 16, 2014
posted by IndigoJones at 5:12 PM on February 16, 2014
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posted by homunculus at 9:11 PM on February 15, 2014