Butterfly of Dinard

“This might be the most delightful book I read all year….You can read each story in five or ten minutes and feel cheered afterwards.” —John Self, The Times (UK)The stories feel casual and light—they are mostly small scenes and portraits—but to slight them would be a mistake. These are gemlike miniatures from a culture of talk, eccentricity and loss; sometimes surreal, or at least inflected by dream.” — David Mason, The Wall Street Journal “Butterfly of Dinard is a charming collection of memories pinned down and displayed with care and gentle affection.” —Michael Glitz, Parade, ‘25 Best New Book Releases’“Bradley’s translation coveys Montale’s wistfulness, longing and imagination…. The collection shows the workings of the poet’s mind and perhaps his method.” —John Skoyles, On the Seawall“The eccentrics, charmers and ne’er-do-wells that populate its pages are portrayed in consistently delightful, funny amuse-bouches which recall that other great Italian voice Italo Calvino…. Butterfly of Dinard has empathy … irony and joy amidst the darkness of its time.” —John Self, The Critic

Eugenio Montale (1896-1981) was an Italian writer, editor, and translator. Born in Genoa, Montale trained to be an opera singer in his youth, but following his service in World War I and the death of his voice teacher, he turned his focus to poetry. Upon publishing his first book, Cuttlefish Bones, in 1925, he was received by critics as an original and experimental poet during a time of upheaval in the Italian lyric tradition. He later became the chief literary critic for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and published a range of poetry and prose works, among them The Occasions and The Storm and Other Things. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975.

Oonagh Stransky is a translator of Italian literature, most recently of Domenico Starnone’s Via Gemito (2023). She lives in Italy.

Marla Moffa is a translator of Italian literature. She lives in Italy.

Jonathan Galassi is chairman and executive editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, as well as a poet and translator of Italian poetry, including the work of Giacomo Leopardi and Eugenio Montale. He lives in Brooklyn.

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