History: A Novel

Elsa Morante · 1912–1985 · Italy

Originally La Storia (Italian)

Why it matters

A half-Jewish schoolteacher and her child struggle to survive occupied Rome while the century's 'History' grinds on above them. Morante's furious insistence that great events are measured by their smallest victims.

At a glance

Documentary interludes interrupt a long, emotionally demanding wartime narrative.