Reading these stories about the little world between the Great River and the Mountains, is to travel to the Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy in the incomparable company of a cast of characters who testify to the exquisite humour and humanity of their creator.
The year is 1953. The Soviet Union is the No. 1 enemy of the West, and the Vatican has issued its famous decree which makes voting communist a mortal sin.
No.6 in the Don Camillo series provides the sharpest real-life context yet for the often hilarious feud between the battling village priest and the communist Mayor, Peppone. But, as ever, Guareschi is writing for all times and all places.
About the Author
Giovannino Guareschi, known as Giovanni to his millions of readers, was born at Fontanelle in the Valley of the Po on May Day, 1908. He found his vocation when he sent some cartoons he had drawn to the satirical magazine, Il Bartoldo. Later he founded his own magazine, Candido, and between 1946 and 1966 he wrote over 300 stories featuring Don Camillo, a character who has done for Italy what Cervantes Don Quixote did for Spain. Beloved all over the world by readers from 10 to 100, Don Camillo has been feted not only in books but in films, in series on TV, on radio and most recently in audiobook form.