Originally published: 22 February 2018

Author: Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Set in: Sicily

Genre: Historical Fiction

Page count: 230

Reading dates: 9-21 February 2018 (Did not finish)

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the Italian unification period (1815-1871) Published posthumously in 1958 after two rejections by leading Italian publishing houses, it became the top-selling novel in Italian history and is considered one of the most important novels in modern Italian literature.
This was a book club choice and I was not looking forward to it – the description on the back just sounded dull and a book that comes with a long forward and appendices is not for me. I did make a good go of it (I read over half) and it was OK but not much seemed to be happening, I didn’t understand the politics and my mind kept wondering. I just think I’m not clever enough for a book like this!
I rarely give up on books and it makes me sad to do so, especially as it is such a highly regarded book. I have many, many books I really want to read and life is too short to spend on a book that makes me miserable! I’m trying not to beat myself up about it too much – after all it was rejected by two Italian publishing houses! 😉
Do you give up on books you don’t enjoy? It took some persuasion for me to give up as I feel a failure for doing so.