Classic review: A BELL FOR ADANO

Title: A Bell for Adano by John Hersey

Book Beginnings quote: 

Invasion had come to the town of Adano.

Friday56 quote:

The Major worried all day about the the order and wondered what he could do about it. He slept very badly during the night, because of his worry. 

Summary:  After the Invasion of Sicily in July of 1943, American forces occupied Italian villages deemed necessary for military reasons as they moved further north up the European continent. Major Victor Jopollo is the AMGOT representative (American Military Government of Allied Territories) in a small coastal, Sicilian village, Adano. As the highest ranking officer, he is tasked with assisting the villagers as they shift their thinking from fascism to democracy. One of the tasks he tries to solve is finding a replacement bell for the city's main palazzo. The old bell, which helped direct the activities of the villagers' lives for 700 years, had been confiscated by Mussolini to be melted down and made into weapons. 

In a series of closely knitted episodes Mr Hersey presents a dramatic and rapid picture of what Jopollo was up against in his day-to-day task of trying to eradicate the poisonous, black taste of fascism and restore the people of Adano the feeling of self respect they needed to become better citizens. Major Joppolo had a genius for transforming his good intentions into achievements. The tragedy of the story is that he was not permitted to complete his job. (Jerry Mangione, New York Times Book Review, Feb. 6, 1944)

Review: John Hersey, a war correspondent, published A Bell for Adano in early 1944, just six months after the Invasion of Sicily. The war wasn't over, yet Hersey could see he had an important story to tell. A story about how best to plant and represent democracy in Europe after the was won for the Allies (which he believed would happen.) Using good men like Major Victor Jopollo, an Italian-American who had the initial advantage of knowing the native language and an understanding of the psychology of the people. More than that, Jopollo had a strong desire for the people of Adano to learn the ways of democracy -- by helping them and teaching them how to help themselves. Hersey, who practiced "new journalism" fused storytelling devices of the novel with nonfiction reportage. A Bell for Adano is written is a crisp, easy-to-read style which I found charming, funny, and enlightening. No wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945.

It is a noteworthy book for several reasons. First, the book was published before the war was over and was made into a movie that very year. I am sure the American public were thrilled to have some good news stories about the war. Secondly, Jopollo is such a good person, and a fine representative of American values. Unfortunately he runs afoul of aa American General who is not such a fine person, who doesn't think about representing democracy abroad. But it takes a long, funny, circuitous route for the General's wrath to finally reach the Major. In the meantime, the reader is treated to a series of episodes involving a whole cast of Italian characters (and sometimes caricatures!) I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book.

In fact, I liked the book so much I am attempting to talk my hubby into reading it, too.

Rating: 4 stars

Book challenges satisfied: Classics Club Spin Selection and Pulitzer Prize Challenge:

-Anne