Review: The Leopard

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“And the Prince, who had found Donnafugata unchanged, was found very much changed himself, for never before would he have issued so cordial an invitation; and from that moment, invisibly, began the decline of his prestige.” p. 78

I might have liked that quote even more than the famous one, "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."

I'm not sure this book can be understood without knowing about the Risorgimento, the establishment of Italy as a country, and the decline of Italian nobility as a result. The author was the last in the line of a noble family from Lampedusa, so the story is basically that of his ancestors (although the characters are fictional). Apparently he wrote the book to stave off depression, and it was published posthumously.

The book shows how the "good taste" of the nobility, with all its rules and mannerisms, was being replaced by a more 'vulgar' generation of businessmen and politicians. And how the noble family had to join in the changes if they didn't want to be left behind ("If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."). The description of Sicily as a backdrop and the symbolism of decline throughout the novel are excellent.

All in all, the novel takes a bit of work, but it is superb.

View all my reviews