NYRB Classics discussion

The Professor and the Siren



Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Pages: 96
Introduction by Marina Warner.
Translated from the Italian by Stephen Twilley.

In the last two years of his life, the Sicilian aristocrat Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, in addition to his internationally celebrated novel, The Leopard , also composed three shorter pieces of fiction that confirm and expand our picture of his brilliant late-blooming talent.

In the parable-like “Joy and the Law,” a mediocre clerk in receipt of an unexpected supplement to his Christmas bonus (an awkwardly outsize version of the traditional panettone) finds his visions of domestic bliss upset by unwritten rules of honor and obligation. At the heart of the collection stands “The Professor and the Siren” and its redoubtable hero, Professor La Ciura, the only Hellenist scholar to claim firsthand experience of ancient Greek—from the mouth of the beautiful half-human sea creature he loved in his youth. The volume closes with the last piece of writing completed by the author, “The Blind Kittens,” a story originally conceived as the first chapter of a follow-up to The Leopard, a novel that would have traced the post-unification emergence of a new agrarian ruling class in Sicily, coarser than its predecessor but equally blind to the inexorable march of change.

This elegant new translation of Lampedusa’s complete short fiction, the first by a single hand, updates and corrects previously available English versions.

Couldn't find this on Amazon yet, but it's probably too soon

Guy, I'm not sure if you'd looked recently, but it's on Amazon now.

It looks like the cover has changed from this:



to the one I've now included in the top post.

Also, the release date appears to have changed from July 15 to June 17. Good movement!

This one is out now! (moved to general discussion folder)

Just finished it.

Tell us how you liked it, Kimberly!

Hello! I was not familiar with Lampedusa before reading this piece. "Joy" did not resonate with me at all. On the other hand, "Siren" and "Blind Kitten" were both quite good. I should caveat by saying it is always difficult for me to fully immerse myself into a translated book. I wonder whether the nuance of the language in conveyed properly or whether the culture of the area is, well, even translatable at all. For the Lampedusa piece, though, I trusted Twilley's interpretation and think he was able to relay what must have been Lampedusa's intent (though I have no point of confirmation since I cannot read Italian).

A pervasive message throughout all the stories seemed to be one of superficial appearance (as perceived by other people) versus truth. A common theme in literature, no doubt, but Lampedusa gave a clever demonstration. For example, "Blind Kittens" showed how fallen nobility were eager to believe the rumors which soothed their dissonant notions and conformed to their prejudices despite the outrageous and obviously false origin of both the teller(s) and the tale(s). It was much easier, after all, for the residents to devour fantastical yarns and blame the Ibba's than to face the reality that it was they (the fallen nobility) who were responsible for the degradation and downfall of their status. Lampedusa's intent, if Twilley rendered it correctly, was clear in "Kittens."

Interested in what others think of "Sirens" since it is the title story. Also, has anyone out there read "The Leopard"?

K

I haven't read The Leopard. I thought The Professor and the Siren was the best of the bunch.

On one hand, there's the question of 'is the professor telling the truth?' but that seems beside the point. For me the story came down to the idea that you could have a fantastic experience in your youth and all the rest of your life dulls next to this. Is this experience fortuitous or a curse?

Guy, yep "Siren" was my fave also. I esp liked the crustiness of the old professor.

Kim

It was easy to imagine him in the café, grumpy and isolated, but becoming of interest to the narrator, and the growing relationship was convincing.

I felt, though, that the story could have gone longer, as though Lampedusa wrapped things up too quickly. Did anyone else feel that way? Then again, it was a short and not a novel.