The Trunk

Description

Alberto Vigevani’s The Trunk (originally La breve passeggiata), now available in English, is a poignant and lyrical portrait of an Italian-Jewish family navigating the rising tide of Fascism through the lens of an elegant wedding gift: a trunk nicknamed “the General.”

The story begins with a young couple who receive the trunk as a wedding gift for their planned emigration to America. Instead, they embark on a month-long honeymoon through Italy, hauling the trunk from Florence to Naples, Capri, and Positano. Their journey is cut short when Mussolini declares war, trapping them in Italy as Fascism tightens its grip.

At the heart of the narrative, Aunt Jole and Uncle Giorgetto—the gift-givers—attempt to flee when the Nazis occupy Italy. Denied entry to Switzerland, they are imprisoned in Milan. Giorgetto briefly tastes freedom during a surreal walk outside the prison walls, but, unable to leave his wife behind, he returns to the prison. Within days, they are deported to Auschwitz.

Years later, the narrator finds the trunk in his attic, unleashing this flood of memories. Vigevani’s prose gracefully navigates the ebb and flow of memory, blending beauty with gravity and humor: “I remember the General, that occasional font of memories and images… each drawer has some story to tell: first loves, youth, the tragedies and vicissitudes of war.”

This marks the first time Vigevani’s work has been translated into English, bringing his poignant storytelling to a wider audience.

About the Author

Alberto Vigevani (1918-1999) was an Italian writer, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller. Born in Milan to a Jewish family, he studied literature at the University of Venice, where he developed an early passion for theater, publishing, and cinema. In 1938, following the racial laws imposed by Mussolini, Vigevani left Italy to study at the University of Grenoble before returning to work under the pen name Berto Vani. He co-founded Corrente, a magazine that became a hub for anti-fascist intellectuals, and later established two bookstores in Milan that served as meeting places for regime opponents.

In 1943, he fled to Switzerland with his wife and newborn son, directing the literary section of the socialist paper Libera stampa. After the war, Vigevani returned to Italy, wrote for Avanti!, and became a celebrated antiquarian bookseller and publisher. His literary works, including novels, short stories, and poetry, are largely autobiographical. Among his works are Estate al lago (1958), Le foglie di San Siro (1962), Un certo Ramondès (1966), L’invenzione (1970), Fata Morgana (1978), the anthology Fine delle domeniche (1973). His poems have been collected in two volumes: Anche le più lievi (Milan, 1985) and L’esistenza (Milan, 1993).

About the Translator

Will Schutt is the author of Westerly, selected by Carl Phillips for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His translations from Italian include My Life, I Lapped It Up: Selected Poems of Edoardo Sanguineti, Fabio Genovesi’s novel The Breaking of a Wave, and Brief Homage to Pluto and Other Poems by Fabio Pusterla. He lives in Prato, Italy, where he works as an independent writing teacher, literary consultant, and translator.