“Another empty day unfolded before him.”
Go to the bookstore, look for this book and read it. In case your reference bookstore does not have it, book it and await its arrival. We write it directly, without the possibility of misunderstanding, because this book causes physical pleasure to reading, both for the story told and for the writing.
A caress for lovers of the Italian language, which should be read at school to make the younger generations understand what you intend to write in a simple way by weighing the weight of the words used, with a linear and precise syntax.
Written immediately after the Second World War, the text has the power of words within itself, when in our opinion the written Italian language was more vigorous in the writers’ pens, before slipping into today’s faintness, to the exclusion of brief sporadic jolts. Allowing the reader to appreciate the importance of using one term instead of another is the greatest value of writing, because as we always say, synonyms do not exist.
The story, as we said, is simple: a long story whose protagonist is Guglielmo, a widower for a few months, and the absent father of two girls (Irma and Adriana).
Determined not to elaborate the mourning that struck him, Guglielmo focuses on a new entrepreneurial adventure, with the acquisition of the right to cut down the trees in a forest near the Tuscan Apennines. The work will take him away from home for several months, where he will not return even for the short Christmas break. His team of cutters includes Fiore, Amedeo, Germano and Francesco, secondary characters, loaded by the author with a boundless humanity, with their strengths and weaknesses.
The hope of being able to bury the pain of losing his wife under the weight of physical and mental fatigue will soon shatter inside Guglielmo. The ghosts he wanted to escape from will give him no respite, especially at night, especially when he thinks about the family happiness of his companions, especially when he understands that that love, however deep and sincere, will never come back.
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Carlo Cassola, Il taglio del bosco, Einaudi, Torino, 1959
