KGBoy Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Anybody read this curious piece of WWII German/Itlaian reportage? Many, many memorable scenes but a nice touch was what the average German soldier called Barbarossa -- 1000 jahr blitzkrieg. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holman Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 I read it years ago, and found it fascinating. IIRC (and this will be a test of my memory, as I'm not looking it up), Malaparte was an Italian journalist who enjoyed the company of aristocrats and other well-connected Italians, many of whom would come to be part of or adjacent to the Mussolini regime. He was also deeply cynical about the war. The novel is semi-autobiographical and offers a very unusual perspective on WW2. Did I remember it right? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGBoy Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) You remembered right! His real name was Kurt Erich Suckert and Malparte was a play on Bonaparte. He was a friend and was also imprisoned (island exile - how Roman!) of/by Mussolini. One of the very strange scenes (there are so many) was summer salmon fishing with Himmler above the Arctic circle in Finland. I should also add he wrote about the American occupation of Naples in The Skin. Not quite as compelling a book but of interest certainly. Edited July 10, 2021 by KGBoy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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