ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an example of Elio Vittorini's early virtuosity and mastery as a fiction writer. Andrea Bocelli praised Vittorini's creation of an original evocative and lyrical style, which was not always capable, however, of going beyond the mere psychologisms of some of the short stories. Sergio Solmi, on the other hand, welcomed Vittorini's capacity to adopt the psychological introspection of Larbaud and Mansfield but at the same time warned against the facile virtuosity of the Adolfo series. In a later review, Giuseppe De Robertis suggested that 'La mia guerra' was the most successful story of Piccola borghesia, an opinion which Vittorini had already put forward in a letter to Sebastiano Aglio. Vittorini confirmed his anti bourgeoise stance in La suite di Adolfo with a cruel picture of the small-mindedness of state bureaucracy and the hypocritically enthusiastic embrace of fascist values.