Made in Italy. By Igor Markevitch. Translated by Darina (Harvill
Press. los. 6d.) IGOR MARKEVITCH, the Russian-born conductor of the Florence orchestra, has written this book after living in Tuscany for eight years. He has seen the country under Fascism and fighting for liberty after the Armistice, and understands how, "with a bitter smile, a people, too humane for war, pretended to submit to the idiotic discipline of war, while thinking only of how to evade it." What is not so convincing is his dissociation of the Italians from responsibility for Fascism: "One might just as well reproach a woman for having a husband who beats her." A Caesar lies hidden in more Italians than one would suspect, even if the outlet is never worse than a roaring exhaust on an electric fair. y-cycle The Italian's lack of interest in everything not directly touching his private life lays him open as prey to every political rampager, whether he be Mussolini or Stalin, whose portrait now adorns the walls of every hamlet in the country ; and the extreme hardship of the average Italian's life, particularly in the south, forces him to imagine that anything must be better than his present lot. Mr. Markevitch has divided his book into roughly two sections. One deals with the character of the Italian, his appearance, his health, his love-making, his children and his ex-royal family ; the other describes some of the activities of the partisan forces in the revolt for liberation after the Allies had landed in the toe of Italy. Mr. Markevitch himself took a part in this revolt, and tells of the bravery of his comrades, young men who for once had been given an ideal that they believed in. This is no more than a personal tribute to Italy, without politics, finance or statistics. By such an approach, however, even if it be called superficial, a far clearer vision can be obtained than by searching Foreign Office filing cabinets.
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