Giovannino Guareschi (1908–1968)

I borrowed 'The World of Don Camillo' from the lockdown library of friendship, having not heard of it before. I was assured that it's fun, thus it turned out to be the last remotely cheerful unread book in my flat. (Edinburgh public libraries won't start reopening for another two weeks, so I've emergency-ordered ten second-hand novels off eBay.) I found it a funny and often heart-warming read. This collected volume includes all five books of short stories about shenanigans and mayhem in a little Italian village a few years after the Second World War. The titular Don Camillo is the village priest and constantly feuds with his nemesis/best friend Peppone, who happens to be the village's communist mayor. The two of them are constantly faced by moral and political dilemmas, which they generally resolve in the least mature way possible via practical jokes and/or fistfights. Both are huge strong men, ready at any moment to break furniture over each other's head, thus there is a certain Asterix-in-the-1950s vibe. The stories are largely told from Don Camillo's perspective and he frequently chats with God, who takes a delightfully sardonic tone with him:

As he passed by the altar, the Lord frowned down at him.
"Lord," said Don Camillo, "Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
"Don Camillo," said the Lord, "for some time now you've been skating on thin ice."
"With God's help, no ice is too thin," said Don Camillo.

Although the tone throughout is one of farce, the many serious situations aren't treated entirely lightly. The brutal legacy of the war is ever-present, not least in the availability of machine guns; the poverty of the village explains the appeal of communism; and disasters natural and man-made occur regularly. Peppone and Don Camillo attempt to solve local problems, quite a few of which they created, while competing for the villagers' hearts and minds and arguing about Russia. Ultimately, though, they often team up and share responsibility for the village's welfare. As well as owning a dog together, an adorable detail. Both of them are defensive of their dignity, quick to anger, and pragmatic after calming down for a moment. They share a bottle of wine more often than they punch each other. Their frenemy rivalry remains entertaining for more than 500 pages as Guareschi is such a witty writer. He ingeniously creates endless opportunities for the two of them to clash, co-operate, or both.

Memorable episodes include the village being flooded, Don Camillo helping Peppone get his school certificate, and both men being caught out by hire purchase schemes. My favourite sequence dominated the final book in the collection, 'Comrade Don Camillo'. In this, the priest blackmails Peppone into inviting him on a communist party trip to the USSR. This is both interesting for its depiction of soviet propaganda visits, moving for its moments recalling the horrors of the Eastern Front, and hilarious for all the absurdity of Don Camillo's fake communist persona and Peppone's annoyance. I appreciated that the narrative sympathises with both characters, indeed it seems clear that they could quite easily swap places and ideologies. The underlying message is that compassion and practicality are far better than religious or political dogmatism. The only notable drawback to an otherwise joyful read was a dispiriting normalisation of domestic violence towards women, children, and animals.… (more)

"Cosa ne sarebbe, delle donne condannate a soffrire in silenzio, se non potessero lamentarsi tutto il tempo?"

Guareschi era un narratore di classe, uno dei pochi in grado di combinare ironia e gentilezza senza essere melenso. Quasi mai, almeno. Le sue storie minime di vita familiare, con temporanei guizzi di Storia, mi sono rimaste impresse sin da bambina.
Ricordo ancora la pagina, improbabilmente ilare, in cui l'antifascista Guareschi viene deportato (al confino, credo) con altri dissidenti, su un camion telonato il cui scarico gli ha fatto la faccia nera di fuliggine, e l'adorata e sarcastica moglie lo saluta seguendo il camion in partenza cantando Faccetta Nera. Non ricordo se i fatti fossero esattamente questi, ma la composta rassegnazione di lui e l'ironia affettuosa della moglie che gli canta la marcetta fascista sono rimasti intatti a distanza di trent'anni, con il tono sfumato di sarcasmo di lei che lascia intendere come sotto ci fosse qualcos'altro, una complicità tra i due nel prendersi gioco fino in fondo di un bersaglio comune. L'essenza dell'antifascismo civile e misurato degli unici padri degni del nome che la nostra società abbia avuto.… (more)