"The Little World Of Don Camillo"

[fiefoe]

The foreword threw me off, as there was nothing in the book layout that indicated that it wasn't the first chapter. Imagine my confusion when Giovanni Guareschi discussed his career as a political journalist - (he invented a character with 'triple nostrils') - I'd thought the book was about a simple country priest?

Once I got to the first story, we are on familiar ground again: 'In the Little World between the river and the mountains, many things can happen that cannot happen anywhere else. Here, the deep, eternal breathing of the river freshens the air, for both the living and the dead, and even the dogs, have souls.' (Surely Hilaire Belloc walked through here on his way to Rome.)

Don Camillo the priest talks to his lord and engages in constant battle with his nemesis, the Marxist mayor Peppone. A typical skirmish would start with 'some damned soul had tied firecrackers to the clappers of the bells.' His typical plea to his Lord for revenge: 'Lord, my hands were made for blessing, but not my feet." (Christ's reply? "There's something in that, but, I warn you, just one (kick).")

Barabbas