
A quiet evening in a Milanese apartment becomes the backdrop for an intimate portrait of an idealistic young artist and his close confidante. Through their conversation—about translation, literature, and the restless yearning for a country retreat—the narrator reveals the fragile balance between creative ambition and personal fatigue that defines their friendship. The scene is tinged with subtle tension: a sudden lamp flare, the lingering scent of burnt oil, and a shared melancholy that hangs over their words.
The narrative weaves together vivid impressions of the characters’ temperaments, their love of reading aloud, and the unspoken hopes that linger in the hush of twilight. As the night deepens, the two figures linger on the brink of an unvoiced farewell, their dialogue hinting at deeper currents beneath the surface. This evocative opening invites listeners into a world where art, memory, and the passage of time intersect, promising a reflective journey through the lives and thoughts of those who linger on the edge of brilliance.
Language
it
Duration
~6 hours (397K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Italy: Cogliati, 1920.
Credits
Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2022-05-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1846–1918
A major voice in late nineteenth-century Italian literature, this Milan-born novelist wrote under the pen name Neera and became known for psychologically sharp fiction centered on women's inner lives and the pressures of family and society.
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