Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The Devil in the Hills by Cesare Pavese

Blurb from Goodreads

The Devil in the Hills is the most personal of Pavese’s novels, an elegiac celebration of lost youth set in the landscape of his own boyhood, the hills, vineyards and villages of Piedmont.

Three young men spend away their sun-drenched summer talking, drinking — rarely sleeping. It is, one senses, the last summer that they will be able to indulge such idle pleasures. And in view of its transcience, the prolonged leisure of their new, wealthy acquaintance Poli fascinates them. For awhile they linger in his world, in his decaying villa, half-appalled by his cocaine addiction, his blasphemy, his corrupt circle of friends but nonetheless mesmerised until autumn creeps upon the hillside, and the seasonal moment of leavetaking arrives . . .

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! It is already the second week of the sixth month of the year. Time does fly fast. Anyway, I hope that the past five months of the year have been kind to everyone. I hope that the remainder of the year will shower everyone with blessings and good news. There are still more than six months to complete the goals we set to achieve this year. Personally, I have a lot of things I want to achieve this year so, somehow, I wish the year would slow down a bit. Otherwise, I will be the one who will have to adjust and catch up with the pace. Oh well. Such is love. Anyway, for us to achieve our goals and dreams this year, I hope everyone is doing well and will do well, in body, mind, and spirit.

Today is also the start of a new week. I know. Most of us hate Mondays, and this includes me. But on another note, Mondays represent fresh starts. It presents a new window of opportunity to go after our goals. As such, I hope everyone had a great start to the work week. I hope everyone started the work week on a high note even though they still feel sluggish. Here’s to a great work week ahead; may it be filled with good tidings and positive energy. Brush those negativities away. Here in the Philippines, the rainy season has officially started, according to our weather bureau. However, it still feels hotter than usual. It seems that the heat will linger for a couple more weeks.

Anyway, back to the original intent of this update post. To kick off another blogging week, I am featuring a fresh Goodreads Monday update. Because of the number of works of European Literature I am longing to read, June will be an extension of my May reading month. In May, I focused on the works of Nobel Laureates in Literature but for June, I will be focusing on books on my active reading challenges. I have plenty of works of European literature in these lists. On top of these are other works of European literature not part of the said challenges that I want to read. To align with the main reading theme, I will be featuring works of European literature I am looking forward to in my Goodreads Monday update.

Among the many writers I discovered during the pandemic is Italian writer Cesare Pavese who I first encountered through an online book seller. I came across one of his books, The Devils in the Hills which I did not hesitate to obtain a copy of. Unfortunately, the book was left to gather dust on my bookshelf. I actually planned to read it a couple of years back but because of the number of books I wanted to read, I kept pushing it back. One of the reasons why I wanted to read the book is because my venture into Italian literature is rather limited. Sure, I have read some of the works of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco, behemoths in Italian and world literature, but I know there is a lot more out there. With this work by Pavese and some other writers such as Leonardo Sciascia, I hope to expand my understanding and appreciation of Italian literature.

Pavese, I have also learned, is one of the most influential writers of his time. I actually encountered him in Natalia Ginzburg’s Family Sayings. The book provided some insights into Pavese. By then, I had a bit of an iota about Pavese because of his book. The Devils in the Hills intrigue me more because according to the blurb, it is the most personal of Pavese’s works. It also seems like a coming-of-age story. I think I will be making the book part of my on-going foray into the works of European literature. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!