Giuseppe Dessì's contribution to Italian literature is marked by impressive narrative works. What stands out, though, is his masterpiece, Paese d'ombre (1972; translated as The Forests of Norbio, 1975), which he wrote during seven hard years of physical therapy he endured following a stroke in 1965. During this difficult period he was supported by his wife, Luisa, and the friendship of several writers, among them Giorgio Bassani and Vasco Pratolini. Paese d'ombre is the summa of Dessì's literary work, where one encounters the totality of his narrative techniques and his ideology. The novel was the result of a deep internal probing as Dessi faced his mortality and was reminded of those who had preceded him in Villacidro, the place that nurtured him as a writer.

Dessì's philosophy and literary inspiration are born of his personal experiences and keen observations of the physical world and the...