First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy

by Rosetta Loy

Book Overview

An internationally acclaimed novelist and journalist movingly chronicles her childhood in Rome during World War II, providing a Catholic's view of Jewish persecution and a dispassionate record of the role of the Vatican in the devastation of Italy's Jews. Translated by Gregory Conti.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805062580
• ISBN13: 9780805062588
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Warning for USA Fascists

Rosetta Loy's memoir of life in Italy during WWII, FIRST WORDS, traces a little girl's awakening to the meaning of blind hate by the fascists. A Catholic nation, Italy should have followed Christ and turned against the hate-filled fascist state. However, Pope Pius XII offered no Christian model to emulate. Instead, this quasi-holy, German-sympathizer avoided confrontation, closed his eyes to atrocities and was still recommended for sainthood after the holocaust. Rosetta Loy watched as Jewish friends disappeared. Afterwards, she researched how Italy reacted to the obvious carnage. After her research, she points an angry finger directly at the Pope and his minions. This book is a warning to Bush-Cheney and other fascists in the USA today. Your unprovoked wars, your stereo-typing of Mexicans as illegals so as to camouflage your wars in Iraq and your neo-con pugnacious attitude around the world are doomed. Even Karl Rove re-writing history won't save your souls after your hate-filled, arrogant, bigotted, fascistic acts. Even a child can see the fascists underneath your fake smiles.

A very important book

Rosetta Loy opens this book with her first memories of childhood as a young girl in Rome in the early 30s. She then paints the picture from that time to 1943. This book actually tells two stories - first the account of Rosetta's life during that period of time and second the historical facts of the time. The entire book impressed me, but two things about this book absolutely AMAZED me. 1. Roessetta Loy's voice. On the first page she is a young girl tended by a nanny, the reader is treated with the perspective of life at this point in time from the unusual view of a curious and intelligent child. As the book progresses and Rossetta ages the story changes in vocabulary and scope. 2. Ms. Loy presents the key points of political and legal changes in her church, city and country with simply clarity. This is the first book that I have read on the subject that didn't attempt go overboard on explanations, excuses or "what ifs". Ms. Loy states the facts of legal changes and racial politics of Italy at the time without attempting to question `how', `why', `to what end' and `what if'. Instead the reader will hear these questions echo in their own mind. This is a powerful book. It is written in simple style and easy to read. It could be read in a day or two, but if you are like me when you get to the end you will want to read it again.

A Splendid, thought-provoking book!

I could not disagree more with the previous "book critic". This book is not a lambasting of individual Catholics or of the many individual priests that helped to save many Jews. One need only look at Ms. Loy's characterization of Pope Pius XI and his very anti-semetic stance to see that this book in no way sees all Catholics as heartless beasts. What it does show is that with the on-slot of Pope Pius XII's reign, the organized Catholic body-politic did nothing privately or publicly to condemn the atrocities committed against Jews at home or abroad in Nazi Germany. There were over 1200 Jews in Rome alone that could have been "hidden" in the Vatican...but no, the response to that was that Pope Pius XII could have been arrested. Getting arrested seems very tame to Jesus being crucified, does it not? All I can say is that, along with the reading of this very touching book by Ms. Loy, I would also recommend everyone out there supplimenting the reading of this book with Mr. Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope".