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Family Lexicon
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
A masterpiece of European literature that blends family memoir and fiction An Italian family, sizable, with its routines and rituals, crazes, pet phrases, and stories, doubtful, comical, indispensable, comes to life in the pages of Natalia Ginzburgs Family Lexicon. Giuseppe Levi, the father, is a scientist, consumed by his work and a mania for hikingwhen he isnt provoked into angry remonstration by someone misspeaking or misbehaving or wearing the wrong thing. Giuseppe is Jewish, married to Lidia, a Catholic, though neither is religious; they live in the industrial city of Turin where, as the years pass, their children find ways of their own to medicine, marriage, literature, politics. It is all very ordinary, except that the background to the story is Mussolinis Italy in its steady downward descent to race law and world war. The Levis are, among other things, unshakeable anti-fascists. That will complicate their lives. Family Lexicon is about a family and languageand about storytelling not only as a form of survival but also as an instrument of deception and domination. The book takes the shape of a novel, yet everything is true. Every time that I have found myself inventing something in accordance with my old habits as a novelist, I have felt impelled at once to destroy [it], Ginzburg tells us at the start. The places, events, and people are all real.
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bookmark_kl
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Pickpick

One of the Five star reads of the year for me. I became a fan of her writing after this

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ManyWordsLater
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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“And then, like someone who out of necessity takes a crap in a garden and realizes that in any case he was fertilizing it…”

Lol

46 likes1 stack add
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MariettaSG
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
Bailedbailed

Read half and ditched it, goes on and on and isn‘t that interesting, voice is common. To begin with although the characters were at times annoying they were a little fascinating but ended up reading as being anyone‘s retelling of their family. Nothing exceptional. Feels like a bit of a waste of money.

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ManyWordsLater
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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I think I appreciate the subtlety. Or am I bored?

52 likes1 stack add
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MariettaSG
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg

Credit to her mother though who doesn‘t pay the father and his grumbles any attention, sings, laughs and generally enjoys herself. Fairly charmed life with husband who earns enough for 2 House helpers.

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MariettaSG
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg

Hmmm…when in Rome do as the Romans do, this is what I thought when I went into a bookshop in Rome. Rather than buy an English book I thought I should buy a well known Italian one, in translation of course. I‘ve read a bit of Calvino so I went for something different, the blurb sounded great but oh! Not sure now! Honest yes, but the father is unbearable! Can anyone stand him? The vitriol - the amount though makes it meaningless…I think 🤔 urgh

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GatheringBooks
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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#JulyJam Day 17: #IceCreamDay reminded me of this dessert we gorged on while in Naples: baba soaked in rum paired with delicious Italian coffee.

Eggs Lovely🍨☕️🤍 2y
60 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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#BookMoods Day 16: #CurrentReadAndSelfie while in Naples. Now back in the UAE but longing for Italy‘s coastline (and cheese and pasta and pizza lols).

Eggs Beautiful 📚🤗 🇮🇹 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 2y
55 likes2 comments
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GatheringBooks
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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#BookMoods Day 10: Not sure if this book about a huge Italian family #IncludesRecipes - but I have a feeling it does. With Castel dell‘ovo in the background here in Napoli. 🌸🌸🌸

tokorowilliamwallace Love the cheesin'! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I agree! Beautiful photo ❤️ 2y
Eggs Great smile as always 💕 2y
57 likes3 comments
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Tindara
Lessico Famigliare | Natalia Ginzburg

La storia della famiglia Levi inizia negli anni '30. L'autrice ne narra le vicende, con ironia e affettuosità, fino al dopo Guerra. Il lessico domina la scena e ci si innamora di certe ridondanze che immergono il lettore tra le mura domestiche di una famiglia antifascista.

Consigliato per chi vuole addentrarsi nella storia italiana incontrando personaggi importanti che, tuttavia, vengono presentati con semplicità, nella loro più reale essenza.

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AnneCecilie
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Mehso-so

In the introduction Ginzburg writes that she has written about her family and friends but that we should read this as fiction and not nonfiction since these are her memories. She was born in 1916 and we find out what it was like growing up in Mussolini‘s Italy as a Jew and the war and the years after.

This is a relatively short book, but there‘s a lot of characters in here, her parents, siblings, friends and as she grows up, in-laws and

AnneCecilie her own kids and nieces and nephews. For me there where just too many people. It‘s a week since I finished and I have already started to forget the book, that‘s why it‘s getting a so-so and not a pick. 2y
52 likes1 comment
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AlizaApp
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Pickpick

Technically fiction but reads like a memoir. The author writes about growing up in mid-20th century Italy with a Jewish father and Catholic mother, her father a larger-than-life personality who passed judgment on everything and everyone. Many in her family are anti-Fascist activists. She‘ll spend pages and pages explaining a single inside joke phrase, and then gloss over all of World War II in two sentences.

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sisilia
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Our third NYRB Classics Reading Society meeting 💕

If you are in Singapore and would like to join, check out NYRB Classics Reading Society http://meetu.ps/c/421lg/yhJ85/a

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sisilia
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Pickpick

I love this autobiographical novel because Ginzburg‘s family reminds me of my own. I imagine a noisy house with everyone talking, in multitude of expressions 😆 It‘s messy, but is always warm with love 💕

Reviewsbylola Sounds like the best kind of home. ❤️ 5y
Anna40 Wow. I loved this book. 5y
DivineDiana Gorgeous cover! 5y
71 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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sisilia
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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I love this! 😍

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sisilia
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Saturday night party in bed

gradcat Looks a lot like my Saturday night! 5y
59 likes1 comment
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HotCocoaReads
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Pickpick

What an interesting little book. I believe this is non-fiction, but written in an unusual style (not like most memoir I‘ve read). The writing was very poignant, but there were some side storylines that seemed to be drifting off a bit from the main storyline. My favorite part was the lines the family always used with each other and that gave all the family members so much character. Overall, I liked it!

catebutler Beautiful picture! I‘m so glad you liked this one!! 6y
19 likes1 stack add1 comment
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AlaMich
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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So I NEVER buy this many books, you guys, but today is my birthday and the day got off to a dicey start. I figured I deserved a treat and I went to a big used bookstore in Chicago and got all these. They look brand-new to me, though, and they were half off the cover price. So yay!! 😀 #bookhaul

Cinfhen Happy birthday 🎉🎂🎁 7y
Redwritinghood 🎉🎉🎂🎂 7y
BarbaraBB Happy B-day 💃💃 7y
See All 19 Comments
DivineDiana Great haul! Enjoy your day! 🎉🎂🎉 7y
8little_paws Nice, which store? 7y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Awesome #BookHaul and Happy Birthday! 7y
AlaMich @8little_paws Myopic, on Milwaukee in Wicker Park. I had never been there before. 7y
8little_paws @AlaMich that is a good one! I was just there last month. 7y
Jas16 Happy Birthday!!🎂🎉📚🎈🎁 7y
MicheleinPhilly Happy Birthday!!!! 7y
LauraBrook Happy birthday!!! Glad you splurged and bought this awesome stack. 🎂❤️ 7y
batsy Happy birthday! 🎂 That's a great stack 📚 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Happy birthday! Nice birthday haul :) 7y
LeahBergen Happy Birthday! 📚📚📚 7y
AlaMich @batsy @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen Thank you! I think I've recovered now...it was a big one 😱! 7y
Lmstraubie Happy birthday! 🎈🎈🎈 6y
jhod Happy birthday :-) 6y
50 likes19 comments
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Oftencantdecide
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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Reading in Riverside Park

Oftencantdecide aaand now it's raining. 7y
29 likes1 comment
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Oftencantdecide
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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#BookMail- My parents got me a subscription to the NYRB Book Club for my birthday and my package came today! Family Lexicon is the book for April and The Unknown Masterpiece by Balzac was a bonus for signing up for 12-months.

#BookHaul #NYRB

batsy How lovely. Enjoy! Someone recently recommended Ginzburg to me; never read her but added to my TBR! 7y
34 likes2 comments
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Waynegjr
Family Lexicon | Natalia Ginzburg
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A wonderful day off full of reading and relaxing with the beautiful @Amyegia (feet shown here). A day outside with a book, while the in-laws watch the kid, can do wonders for the soul.

Alisnazzy This is beautiful!!! 7y
LeahBergen 😍 It's so green there (unlike my part of the world). 7y
AlaMich I was checking this out recently in the NYRB site. It sounded very interesting. 7y
69 likes3 comments
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Stargirl1
Family Sayings | Natalia Ginzburg
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