Giorgio Bassani

A new doctor arrives into the insular town of 1930s Ferrara. Fadigati is hopeful and modern, and more than anything wants to fit into his new home. But his fresh, appealing appearance soon crumbles when the townsfolk discover his homosexuality, and the young man he pays to be his lover humiliates him publicly.

The Gold-rimmed Spectacles

A new Translation by Jamie McKendrick 'Singular . . . The town of Ferrara and its inhabitants are realized with an extraordinary clarity' Guardian Into the insular town of 1930s Ferrara, a new doctor arrives. Fadigati is hopeful and modern, and more than anything wants to fit into his new home. But his fresh, appealing appearance soon crumbles when the young man he pays to be his lover reveals the doctor's homosexuality in a public humiliation. As anti-Semitism spreads across Italy, the Jewish narrator of the tale begins to feel pity for the ostracized doctor, as the fickle nature of a community changing under political forces becomes clear.The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles is Bassani's most perfect novel, and a gripping and tragic study of the terrifying historical realities that can shatter the courses of isolated, individual lives.

The Gold-rimmed Spectacles

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