by Beppe Severgnini
… ohne verheiratet, überfahren oder verhaftet zu werden – is teh subtitle, translated into:
Survive Italy … Without being married, overrun or imprisoned.
That slogan is funny, but does not express the spirit of the book. It is pure marketing. But the good message is that the book fulfills the promise of entertainment. It talks about the particularity of the Italians and their country. The author is Italian, loves his country, and is a recognised journalist. He was elected as European journalist of the year in 2004. Good ingredients. Actually he raises common questions of how a society should be organised, it is really not too specific of Italy. He does not serve the usual prejudices and simple explanations, but you will find the allusions to Vespas, ever-talking people, football, corrupt politicians and bad television. But these are not the essence, just a point of departure to explore the society.
Survive Italy … Without being married, overrun or imprisoned.
That slogan is funny, but does not express the spirit of the book. It is pure marketing. But the good message is that the book fulfills the promise of entertainment. It talks about the particularity of the Italians and their country. The author is Italian, loves his country, and is a recognised journalist. He was elected as European journalist of the year in 2004. Good ingredients. Actually he raises common questions of how a society should be organised, it is really not too specific of Italy. He does not serve the usual prejudices and simple explanations, but you will find the allusions to Vespas, ever-talking people, football, corrupt politicians and bad television. But these are not the essence, just a point of departure to explore the society.
Facts:
English title: n/a
Original title: La testa degli italiani
Published: 2005
