All Our Yesterdays

Written in 1952, this is one of the great books by Italian novelist Natalia Ginzburg. It is a scrupulous examination of the feelings of a young woman and her friends, and a portrait of two families against the subtly drawn, epic background of war, of invasion and the collapse of fascism.

At the heart of the novel is a concern with experiences that both deepen and deaden existence: adultery and air raids, neighbourhood quarrels and bombings. With her signature clear-eyed wit, Ginzburg asks how we can act with integrity when faced with catastrophe, and how we can love well.