coffereads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
notasilkycat's review against another edition
2.0
Not my kind of book. I can understand an importance of topics it touches. Nevertheless I hadn’t any joy reading about this unbearable meekness of its characters, their obedience to fate. The most important thing I felt absolutely indifferent to writing style.
msaari's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Italialainen Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) tuli suomalaisille lukijoille tutuksi 1920-luvulla, kun Jalmari Hahl suomensi kuusi Deleddan teosta vuosina 1928–1929. Suomennospuuska oli seurausta Nobelin kirjallisuuspalkinnosta, jonka Deledda voitti vuonna 1926, toisena palkittuna naisena. Deleddan suosituin teos Canne al vento (1913) jäi Hahlilta kuitenkin suomentamatta. Romaaniin tarttui vuonna 2021 suomentaja Taru Nyström, jonka ansiosta voimme nyt lukea Deleddan pääteoksen sujuvaksi, moderniksi suomeksi.
Romaani sijoittuu Deleddan kotiseuduille Sardiniaan jonnekin 1900-luvun alkuun. Sardinia tuntuu kovin pysähtyneeltä paikalta; monin osin tuntuu, että tapahtumat olisivat yhtä hyvin voineet tapahtua sata vuotta aiemminkin. Jokin on tässäkin yhteiskunnassa kuitenkin muutoksessa ja tätä muutosta Deledda kuvaa taitavasti ja hienovaraisesti.
Kirjan päähenkilönä on renki Efix, joka palvelee emäntiään, Pintorin rouvia, kolmea naimatonta sisarusta. Rouvat asuvat rapistuvaa taloaan ja omistavat vielä pienen maatilan, joka hädin tuskin pitää heidät leivässä. Naiset pitävät kuitenkin kiinni aatelisesta ylpeydestään.
Don Zamen kuoleman jälkeen Efix oli jäänyt huolehtimaan emäntiensä hunningolla olevasta taloudesta. Muut sukulaiset eivät huolehtineet naisista, päinvastoin, he halveksivat ja välttelivät näitä, sillä naiset eivät kodinhoidon lisäksi osanneet tehdä muuta, eivätkä olleet lainkaan perillä maatilasta, varallisuutensa viimeisestä jäänteestä.
”Jään vielä vuodeksi heidän palvelukseensa”, oli Efix päättänyt liikuttuneena emäntiensä onnettomasta tilanteesta. Vuosi oli venynyt kahdeksikymmeneksi vuodeksi.
Efix on pyyteetön, nöyrä mies. Naiset eivät maksa rengilleen edes palkkaa, joka hänen kuuluisi saada, mutta mies ei valita. Hän on jalo hahmo, mutta tarinan edetessä käy ilmi, että muutkin seikat pitävät häntä kiinni emännissään. Efix unelmoi Pintorin suvun noususta takaisin vanhaan kukoistukseensa.
Tarina alkaa keltaisesta kirjeestä, jonka postinkantaja on tuonut sisaruksille. Efix kutsutaan kuulemaan uutiset. Sähkeessä ilmoitetaan, että Giacinto on saapumassa. Sisaruksia oli alkujaan neljä, mutta yksi heistä, Lia, karkasi kotoa ja pakeni Sardiniasta mantereelle. Siellä hän menee naimisiin rahvaaseen kuuluvan miehen kanssa – pöyristyttävää, ja sisarusten isälle Don Zamelle kohtalokasta – ja saa pojan, Giacinton. Giacinto on kirjeenvaihdossa tätiensä kanssa ja työskentelee tullivirkailijana. Nyt Giacinto on tulossa Sardiniaan kokeilemaan onneaan äitinsä kotisaarella.
Tämä muutos saa Pintorin sisarukset suunniltaan. Mitä Giacinton saapumisesta seuraa? Ainakin muutosta, joka onkin ollut perin harvinainen asia Pintorin taloudessa. Efix tarkastelee sisarusten mielenliikkeitä sivusta, lausuu silloin tällöin oman näkemyksensä asioista, ja lupaa puolustaa sisaruksia vastoinkäymisiltä. Se ei vain ole aina yksinkertaista, kun Giacinto saapuu sekoittamaan asioita.
Kuin ruo’ot tuulessa on tulvillaan kaunista luonnon kuvausta. Sardinian karut maisemat heräävät henkiin kirjan sivuilta. Myös ihmiset ovat mielenkiintoisia. Sisarukset ovat tapojensa, asemansa ja käsitystensä vankeja. Efix on heikossa, alistetussa asemassa, mutta luonteeltaan jalo ja kärsimykseen asti uskollinen. Hän on kiehtovan traaginen hahmo, ei mikään perinteinen sankarimies. Patriarkaalisen yhteiskunnan säännöt ja katolisen kirkon kulttuuri ohjaavat elämää. Koronkiskurikin on huomattava henkilö, jolla on valtaa kyläyhteisössä, kun huonompina aikoina rahaa ei muualta saa.
Tällainen yli sata vuotta vanha kirja on aina vähän arvoitus, mitä sivuilta löytyy. Onko tarjolla pahasti vanhentunutta tavaraa vai sellaisia tuntoja, jotka ovat yhä ajankohtaisia? Kuin ruo’ot tuulessa kallistuu ajankohtaisen puolelle. Nobelisti on arvonsa ansainnut, tämäkin romaani kuvaa inhimillisiä tuntoja tavalla, joka on edelleen kiinnostavaa, vaikka tarinan puitteet yli sadan vuoden takaisia ovatkin. Efix on lisäksi hieno hahmo kaikessa jalossa traagisuudessaan.
simona_marano's review against another edition
5.0
Religione, riscatto, superstizione si intrecciano in un romanzo che mi è piaciuto tantissimo.
Grazia Deledda è stata capace di catapultarmi nella società rurale sarda di un tempo, grazie alle sue descrizioni sofisticate e alla sua poesia.
Avendo ascoltato l'audiolibro, inoltre, ho apprezzato tantissimo l'interpretazione di Enrica Giampieretti.
Grazia Deledda è stata capace di catapultarmi nella società rurale sarda di un tempo, grazie alle sue descrizioni sofisticate e alla sua poesia.
Avendo ascoltato l'audiolibro, inoltre, ho apprezzato tantissimo l'interpretazione di Enrica Giampieretti.
daviden__'s review against another edition
5.0
A livello di trama e tematiche, la grande opera della Deledda è decisamente simile ad altre sue opere da me affrontate in passato, tuttavia proprio questo mi ha fatto apprezzare davvero il suo talento di scrittrice. L'opera mi ha infatti completamente affascinato per le sue descrizioni e per l'atmosfera al limite tra reale e fantastico, tra la percezione oggettiva e un delirio quasi febbrile. A mio parere presentare tematiche e situazioni pressochè identiche in un modo che sembra sempre nuovo, diverso e godibile è indice di Talento con la T maiuscola. Un libro che non va solo letto, va gustato.
spiralnode's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Grazia Deledda is fairly unknown for a Nobel laureate, and I understand that this novel, written about halfway along her career, is representative of her work. It is a first read of her's for me, and I was excited for the Sardinian landscapes to come alive in my mind through what was meant to be an atmospheric and lyrical prose.
In terms of plot, we follow Efix, a servant of the three sisters Noemi, Esther and Ruth, who are no longer wealthy at present. They are still respected within their community, but considered spinsters, as they have been gradually isolating themselves. This has been the consequence of their fourth sister running away when young, an event that the family has never recovered from. With the son of the fourth sister now and adult, he wishes to come visit, and it's this event that will unleash facing the past, as Efix puts him on a pedestal as their protector even before meeting him, yet the sisters dread the event.
I thought the plot sounded a bit similar to that of 'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith, which I haven't read but seems to also be about a family who now lives in a ruined estate. The characters and the setting are quite different, but as the context was presented it seemed like a similar starting point.
Yet here, I realised I wasn't all that interested in either the plot or the characters. What carried the story for me was this Sardinian painting of reeds, elevation, narrow paths through the mountains, local embroideries, and of course the mention of many superstitions that the villagers believed in. It is truly lyrical and the prose is beautiful yet easy to parse. I read this in Italian, and I occasionally had to look words up in a dictionary, yet I was still absolutely amazed by the depictions of nature.
But the plot and the characters read very dated to me. Several things irked me which I know were prevalent during these times in the early 20th century, so I know it's not the author, it just makes it a story not quite for me. For example, when everything went wrong all the characters went to church and prayed. Religion was a lifeboat, and it's something I still see in societies were only the elderly attend mass. None of the characters were well-contoured, they seemed almost fable-like, there to deliver a point, rather than have a personality. They were each distinguished by this single role they had to play - Efix the loyal helper, Giacinto the impulsive youth, Naomi who's still got it, Esther the voice of reason and Ruth the matriarch who wants things to stay exactly as they are. There's little you find out about them beyond this, so it's difficult to carry your interest through the book.
And the plot revolves so much on social obligations and classes, such as who marries who, who is it a better deal to marry, how you are perceived by society. As a teenager I used to be amused by novels of manners, but now they are just outdated, cringy and frustrating to me.
There's excellent writing here, so I'd like to explore more of Grazia Deledda's bibliography, but this one wasn't for me.
In terms of plot, we follow Efix, a servant of the three sisters Noemi, Esther and Ruth, who are no longer wealthy at present. They are still respected within their community, but considered spinsters, as they have been gradually isolating themselves. This has been the consequence of their fourth sister running away when young, an event that the family has never recovered from. With the son of the fourth sister now and adult, he wishes to come visit, and it's this event that will unleash facing the past, as Efix puts him on a pedestal as their protector even before meeting him, yet the sisters dread the event.
I thought the plot sounded a bit similar to that of 'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith, which I haven't read but seems to also be about a family who now lives in a ruined estate. The characters and the setting are quite different, but as the context was presented it seemed like a similar starting point.
Yet here, I realised I wasn't all that interested in either the plot or the characters. What carried the story for me was this Sardinian painting of reeds, elevation, narrow paths through the mountains, local embroideries, and of course the mention of many superstitions that the villagers believed in. It is truly lyrical and the prose is beautiful yet easy to parse. I read this in Italian, and I occasionally had to look words up in a dictionary, yet I was still absolutely amazed by the depictions of nature.
But the plot and the characters read very dated to me. Several things irked me which I know were prevalent during these times in the early 20th century, so I know it's not the author, it just makes it a story not quite for me. For example, when everything went wrong all the characters went to church and prayed. Religion was a lifeboat, and it's something I still see in societies were only the elderly attend mass. None of the characters were well-contoured, they seemed almost fable-like, there to deliver a point, rather than have a personality. They were each distinguished by this single role they had to play - Efix the loyal helper, Giacinto the impulsive youth, Naomi who's still got it, Esther the voice of reason and Ruth the matriarch who wants things to stay exactly as they are. There's little you find out about them beyond this, so it's difficult to carry your interest through the book.
And the plot revolves so much on social obligations and classes, such as who marries who, who is it a better deal to marry, how you are perceived by society. As a teenager I used to be amused by novels of manners, but now they are just outdated, cringy and frustrating to me.
There's excellent writing here, so I'd like to explore more of Grazia Deledda's bibliography, but this one wasn't for me.
theportalmaster's review against another edition
3.0
This was quite an enjoyable read, although I expected much more. The characters are vague, there's a considerable lack of description when it comes to them. The nature on the other hand is given in details, like a character on its own. I pitted the Pintor sisters as they were victims of other people's faults just as much as their own or even more. As children they were taught to stay inside like porcelain dolls and hold on to a useless title that gave them nothing but imaginary goodness. The death of one of ladies was written so simple but yet so real and the marriage of the other gave me a little bit of hope that these women will finally see a better side of life.
thiliol's review against another edition
4.0
Ci sono romanzi che conquistano da subito e altri che invece ti avvolgono pian piano, gradualmente, ma che infine non ti lasciano più andare.
È il caso di "Canne al Vento", che non è immediatamente fulminante, ma dipinge con lievi pennellate un quadro vivido e incredibile di questa Sardegna uscita da una fiaba... E poi con il tocco che solo i capolavori sanno dare, ti prende il cuore e se lo tiene.
È il caso di "Canne al Vento", che non è immediatamente fulminante, ma dipinge con lievi pennellate un quadro vivido e incredibile di questa Sardegna uscita da una fiaba... E poi con il tocco che solo i capolavori sanno dare, ti prende il cuore e se lo tiene.