Bibliopath #2: In which a priest battles Communists, talks with Jesus
Dear reader,
Thank you for your surfeit of replies about the reboot and rebaptism of Bibliopath. I really do enjoy getting emails from all of you, but especially you.
One of those replies was from Roj, who likes books about "why people (and things) are the way they are".
So Roj,
I wonder if you'd like The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi. This was another recommendation from a writer who said this was the book that they wished they had written.
Guareschi was a political cartoonist and satire publisher, both dangerous occupations in the 1940s and '50s in Italy, and he did a few lengthy jail stretches for his work. In this, he resembles the titular creation of Don Camillo, a Catholic priest who is not afraid of standing up for what her believes in, nor is he afraid of physical labour, especially when it comes to punching people.
The Little World is a collection of short stories set in post-war Italy, at a time of political unrest, to say the least, and starring Don Camillo as he spars, in various ways, with his rival and occasional friend, Peppone, the communist mayor of the town. But the third character is what makes it all work: the voice of Jesus speaks to Camillo from above the altar, acting as his conscience, helping and humanising Camillo as he debates his moral quandaries with someone who by definition cannot lose.
The magic is that when it all comes together, it's funnier than I've made it sound, and each short story is both a self-contained joy that builds to a satisfying whole. (In this way, it prefigures Garrison Keillor and his delightful Lake Wobegone stories.) Guareschi is remarkably effective at wringing out the wry humour of human nature, and the multiple ways that we try and fool ourselves:
"'You misjudge me,' he said. 'You know how much a cigar means to me. Well, look: this is the only cigar I possess. Now watch what I do to it.'
He took a cigar from his pocket, and crumbled it in his enormous hand.
'Well done,' said Jesus. 'Well done, Don Camillo. I accept your penance. But now I want to see you throw away the tobacco, because you are quite capable of putting it back in your pocket and smoking it later in your pipe.'
'But we're in church,' protested Don Camillo."
It is satire, but it is saved from condescension by the genuine affection Guareschi has for his characters and stage. And that helps the stories transcend the political reality to help us see how sometimes the things we struggle with the most are also the things we find we cannot do without.
And you, dear reader, what have you been wondering about this week?
Best,
Guan