[.ca] A Bell for Adano (ISBN 0394756959)

Still Worthwhile Fifty+ Years Later:
John Hersey would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize and become a prominent star in the pantheon of twentieth century writers. This book was written during World War II and was a best-seller when released in 1944. And it still resonates today. In short, it is the story of an American officer given civil responsibility for overseeing the coastal Italian town of Adano following its liberation by American forces. How Major Victor Joppolo goes about this task is interesting as are the variety of Italians-former fascists and anti-fascists alike--he meets and, eventually, wins over. More gripping, though, is the character of Jappolo himself who, in many ways, Hersey repressents as Everyman--or at least EveryAmercicanman. He is practical, yet sentimental. He wants to do good, but also wants to be loved. He has a strong sense of loyalty, yet hungers after an Italian woman despite loving his wife back home. He admires the Italians, but shapes them in our American mold. He is--in modern psychobabble--conflicted; imperfect, yet very admirable. The title refers to the city's most prominent--it has dozens of them--bell which for seven hundred years called the people to work, to eat, to love, to church, to life. It was shipped away by the retreating Germans to be made into bullets at some northern foundry. Its lack leaves a gaping wound in the civic fabric. Joppolo, of course, gets the town a replacement bell. How he does it fills you with pride. His first hearing of its strong voice can break your heart. This is a worthwhile book both as a story and as a still provocative look at the American character.

LET FREEDOM RING:
Though the Bell in the Steeple Says Why? e.e. cummings The town of Adano had no bell. They had had one for more than several hundred years, only to have it swiped away by Mussolini to be remade into ammunition. The story begins with an American, Major Joppolo arriving at the small, coastal town of Adano in Italy during WWII to administer justice there; fascists have fled to the hills, but wander in now and then when they're hungry or need company. The starving townspeople who stayed, are introduced to democracy through Joppolo, but sometimes, by force of habit, give him a fascist salute. I love what John Hersey writes about Joppolo in his foreward: "You see the theories about administering occupied territories all turned out to be just theories, and in fact the thing which determined whether we Americans would be successful in that toughest of all jobs was nothing more or less than the quality of the men who did the administering. I beg you to get to know this man Joppolo well. We have need of him. He is our future in the world. Neither the eloquence of Churchill nor the humaneness of Roosevelt, no Charter, no four freedoms or fourteen points, no dreamer's diagram so symmetrical and so faultless on paper, no plan, no hope, no treaty-none of these things can guarantee anything. Only men can guarantee, only the behavior of men under pressure, only our Joppolos." Joppolo has his work cut out for him: understanding the natives' lives under fascism, educating them about democracy, and throughout administering justice,/governing. Under fascism, the fishermen "had to pay protection money to Enea, the supervisor of the fisheries, an evil man. In return he 'protected' us. Hah, Fiorentina said one time that he did not feel the need of protection, and the next week his boat burned up as it lay at its mooring." Communication in wartime limited and questionable in occupied territory, Joppolo advises the town crier-" I love the truth, and I want you to love it too. You listen to radio Roma. You will hear that it is three fourth lies. I want you to judge for yourself and to want the truth. Then perhaps you will want to listen to the other broadcasts which you cannot hear quite so clearly." This book is beautifully written; one of my favorite passages was Joppolo's take on Democracy. "Democracy is this:democracy is that the men of the government are no longer the masters of the people. They are the servants of the people. What makes a man master of another man? It is that he pays him for his work. Who pays the men in the government? The people do, for they pay the taxes out of which you are paid. Therefore you are now the servants of the people of Adano. I too am their servant. When I go to buy bread, I shall take my place at the end of the line, and I will wait my turn. You too must behave now as servants, not as masters. You must behave as the servant of the man without shoes just as much as of the baron. If I find that any of you are not giving the type of service that I desire, I shall have to remove you from office. Remember you are servants now. You are servants of the people of Adano. And watch:this thing will make you happier than you have ever been in your lives." I re-read this small book today, having read it 21 years ago on advice from my bookworm mom. It has relevance for today, what with sending troops overseas, the impressions we make in foreign countries and the potentially good influence we can have therein. We must "get to know this man Joppolo well." "The greedy the people... they sell and they buy and they die for because though the bell in the steeple says Why" e.e. cummings 73 poems, number 29

Head: No way. Heart: Yes, yes!:
My head read this book and said: "If only Iraq were this easy. The Americans invade Sicily in World War II and Major Joppolo is put in charge of the small town of Adano. Despite the grisly casualties in the taking of the town, the whole place falls instantly in love with the American major. And what about those ethnic stereotypes? The Sicilians all seem like goodhearted but slightly retarded children, an impression reinforced by their comical dialogue, both when they speak English ("Okay, a boss, you're a not a kid Giuseppe") and in literal translation, when they speak their native language (so "Viva il Signor Capitano!" becomes "Live the Mr. Captain!"). Sicilians who were there during the war say it was not this way at all: the Americans installed members of the mafia as mayors to keep the Sicilians under control." My heart, who also read the book, replied: "You just don't understand. This is a beautiful tale about how a single individual can make a difference. Two vastly different worlds collide, but the result is pure magic because Major Joppolo throws the rule book away and reaches out to the town with his heart, inventing novel solutions to problems, trying to get a replacement for the bell that the Germans stole, and, above all, connecting with the people. The humor is marvelous: The scene in which the priest holds an interminable church service waiting for the major, who promised to attend but who has lost track of the time, will guarantee at least one chuckle. And Hersey choreographed the poignant scene when the Italian prisoners of war come home to their women as pure ballet." In the end my heart prevailed when my head remembered that Aristotle said that the purpose of drama was not to represent reality, but to effect "a catharsis of pity and fear." This book will do more than that: it will make you smile, and it will make you feel a little better about the human race.

Great Story, Thought Provoking:
Back in high school, I made a vow to myself that I would eventually read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels. A Bell for Adano was one of the first that I read. Now, a few years later, I have read around 30 of those novels, and while many have been wonderful, few have matched the experience of reading A Bell for Adano, and I continue to return to it. The splendid novel is set during World War II, though it isn't really a war novel. The novel is about how very different people can, and should treat one another, especially when in a difficult situation. A Bell for Adano primarily concerns Major Joppolo. He is an American officer placed in charge of the city of Adano after the invasion. Joppolo is a wonderful, though flawed man. He's always practical but remains sentimental. He sets out to make the lives of the people of Adano the best he possibly can. He does so by not treating them as the enemy but as People. The "bell" of Adano refers his attempt to restore an historic bell to the city that it had lost during the war. I can never do justice to my favorite novels when I review them, and this is one of them. I can't say enough good about it. The characterizations are strong and the interactions between the characters are touching and thought-provoking. Joppolo's relationship to the city's people is truly remarkable. It makes one think about America's relationship with foreign countries. The story is heart-tugging and humorous. There are few novels written this century that can touch a reader as much as this one does, and this one can make you think a little, too. A Bell for Adano certainly deserved its prize, and it definitely deserves to not be forgotten.

A STORY OF HUMANITY:
This is a very warm story of humanity. War, misery, soldiers, death and the love, friendship, and a deep desire for the GOOD. Good story, good book, good writer.