Description
In 18th-century Palermo, where lineage and influence determine every outcome, Abbot Vella arrives with a dangerous gift: a fabricated ancient Arabic chronicle he claims will legitimize certain noble families’ rights. As he weaves his story through salons and courtly intrigue, the book’s “history” becomes a weapon—reshaping reputations, stirring rivalries, and exposing how easily power can be manufactured from the past. Blending historical atmosphere with razor-edged satire, the novel traces the origins of Sicily’s paralysis to the social games of the aristocracy, where truth is negotiable and authority is performed. With Sciascia’s distinctive, intellectually charged style, this is a story about manipulation, collective memory, and the unsettling ease with which a society can be rewritten—until it begins to believe its own fiction.
Available Editions
paperback
Paladin
Published Sep 12, 1991
224 pages
ISBN: 9780586090299
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Details
First Published
1966
Language
ita
Translation
From: ita
Content Warnings
No content warnings identified.