Three Timeless Short Stories by Grazia Deledda, Volume 6

This modest collection of three short stories, originally published in 1912, offers a rewarding introduction to Grazia Deledda’s style and themes, and serves as an ideal place to begin for any reader curious about this renowned voice in Italian—and world—literature.
Set in or near the Sardinian town of Nuoro where Deledda was born, these intriguing tales offer a glimpse into the lives of the people and world the author knew so intimately. As in all her writing, the stories in this mini-collection feature vivid character portraits. The first presents a complex, sympathetic look at a successful man of means who never forgot his childhood infatuation with an older servant. Then, we’re treated to a tragic-comic look at a colorful practice in which tenant farmers “abduct” their landlord and “hold him hostage,” told in a sweet and surprising way. Finally, a bittersweet story about a bitter, lonely old man who finds fleeting companionship in the eyes of a wary doe.
All three stories are sprinkled with elements Deledda’s fans will recognize and enjoy. Notably, the natural world is an integral part of every story. The writer evokes all the reader’s senses as she weaves into her narrative dreamlike descriptions of the awe and majesty of the sky, mountains, forest, sea, sunlight, plants, and animals of her mesmerizing homeland. Her beloved Sardinian landscape thus becomes a timeless presence framing her tales with an unmistakable sense of place.
But perhaps most striking is the author’s disarmingly straightforward and engaging voice. Alternately plain and elegant, direct and poetic, grounded and spiritual, her subtly profound prose lingers in the memory long after it’s read, and her storytelling ability is undisputed: Deledda was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926.