CONTENTS
1) The Non- Camillo Books (Introduction)
5) Notes from Prison Camp
- Introduction
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- "Instructions..."
- "The Dream"
- "...Food Parcel"
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* My Secret Diary *
When it came out in English in 1958, Guareschi's American publisher referred to it as the author's "most important book to date." Today, GG's children Alberto and Carlotta still reckon it their father's masterpiece, and their favorite of his books.
It is not a Don Camillo book.
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here to skip my erudite, entertaining introduction and scroll down to the excerpts. |
My Secret Diary, GG's memoir (of sorts) of his two years in a German prison camp in WWII, is a curious work, and the author admits it. The book was written during the author's captivity, but-- its title notwithstanding-- its composition was not clandestine, nor was it really a diary. In the Foreword to the book (entitled "Instructions for Use"), Guareschi tells his readers that he did keep a traditional-style journal, one that comprised a day-to-day account of his life in the camp; however, once he had gotten home and polished the thing up, he found he could not bring himself to publish it. Instead, he felt, a truer record of those years would be embodied by a collection of the other writings he'd done in the camp-- the serious musings and funny stories he'd composed to share with fellow prisoners. Since those things had been heard and accepted by all the prisoners, they had a kind of imprimatur that the personal diary lacked, and so Guareschi offered them as his monument to the souls of all who had shared that suffering.
My Secret Diary has a lot of things in it, some of which are more easily read outside of the context of the whole book than others. For my sampler, I've tried to select a few of my favorites. Inevitably, these include some of the longer, stand-alone- style pieces, which also tend to be a little more "upbeat," if you will, than some of the shorter musings. Thus the collection below (when complete-- I'm still scanning stories!) will be a somewhat skewed one, and the reader should know that the actual book also has its share of briefer, sadder pieces-- integral to understanding GG's experience in the Lager (prison camp).
In any event, I hope that what's here intrigues you enough to inspire you to look for the book. Though more challenging than Guareschi's other work, it is well worth the effort.
Contents:
(From the list below, click on the title of any story you want to read-- or use the Contents bar at left. At present, I have only 3 selections ready, but my ultimate plan is to offer 15.)
- Instructions for Use-- an abridgement of the Foreword to My Secret Diary, explaining the nature of the book and the context in which it came into being
- The Dream-- Guareschi imagines a dream in which he has left the prison, only to experience a somewhat surreal homecoming!
- The Smashed Food Parcel-- a humorous story (fictional) about a package of goodies received from home
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