Back in high school, I made a vow to myself that I would eventually read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels. A Bell for Adano was one of the first that I read. Now, a few years later, I have read around 30 of those novels, and while many have been wonderful, few have matched the experience of reading A Bell for Adano, and I continue to return to it. The splendid novel is set during World War II, though it isnt really a war novel. The novel is about how very different people can, and should treat one another, especially when in a difficult situation. A Bell for Adano primarily concerns Major Joppolo. He is an American officer placed in charge of the city of Adano after the invasion. Joppolo is a wonderful, though flawed man. Hes always practical but remains sentimental. He sets out to make the lives of the people of Adano the best he possibly can. He does so by not treating them as the enemy but as People. The "bell" of Adano refers his attempt to restore an historic bell to the city that it had lost during the war.
I can never do justice to my favorite novels when I review them, and this is one of them. I cant say enough good about it. The characterizations are strong and the interactions between the characters are touching and thought-provoking. Joppolos relationship to the citys people is truly remarkable. It makes one think about Americas relationship with foreign countries. The story is heart-tugging and humorous. There are few novels written this century that can touch a reader as much as this one does, and this one can make you think a little, too. A Bell for Adano certainly deserved its prize, and it definitely deserves to not be forgotten.
Though the Bell in the Steeple Says Why? e.e. cummingsThe town of Adano had no bell. They had had one for more than several hundred years, only to have it swiped away by Mussolini to be remade into ammunition. The story begins with an American, Major Joppolo arriving at the small, coastal town of Adano in Italy during WWII to administer justice there; fascists have fled to the hills, but wander in now and then when theyre hungry or need company. The starving townspeople who stayed, are introduced to democracy through Joppolo, but sometimes, by force of habit, give him a fascist salute.
I love what John Hersey writes about Joppolo in his foreward:
"You see the theories about administering occupied territories all turned out to be just theories, and in fact the thing which determined whether we Americans would be successful in that toughest of all jobs was nothing more or less than the quality of the men who did the administering. I beg you to get to know this man Joppolo well. We have need of him. He is our future in the world. Neither the eloquence of Churchill nor the humaneness of Roosevelt, no Charter, no four freedoms or fourteen points, no dreamers diagram so symmetrical and so faultless on paper, no plan, no hope, no treaty-none of these things can guarantee anything. Only men can guarantee, only the behavior of men under pressure, only our Joppolos."
Joppolo has his work cut out for him: understanding the natives lives under fascism, educating them about democracy, and throughout administering justice,/governing. Under fascism, the fishermen "had to pay protection money to Enea, the supervisor of the fisheries, an evil man. In return he protected us. Hah, Fiorentina said one time that he did not feel the need of protection, and the next week his boat burned up as it lay at its mooring." Communication in wartime limited and questionable in occupied territory, Joppolo advises the town crier-" I love the truth, and I want you to love it too. You listen to radio Roma. You will hear that it is three fourth lies. I want you to judge for yourself and to want the truth. Then perhaps you will want to listen to the other broadcasts which you cannot hear quite so clearly." This book is beautifully written; one of my favorite passages was Joppolos take on Democracy. "Democracy is this:democracy is that the men of the government are no longer the masters of the people. They are the servants of the people. What makes a man master of another man? It is that he pays him for his work. Who pays the men in the government? The people do, for they pay the taxes out of which you are paid. Therefore you are now the servants of the people of Adano. I too am their servant. When I go to buy bread, I shall take my place at the end of the line, and I will wait my turn. You too must behave now as servants, not as masters. You must behave as the servant of the man without shoes just as much as of the baron. If I find that any of you are not giving the type of service that I desire, I shall have to remove you from office. Remember you are servants now. You are servants of the people of Adano. And watch:this thing will make you happier than you have ever been in your lives."
I re-read this small book today, having read it 21 years ago on advice from my bookworm mom. It has relevance for today, what with sending troops overseas, the impressions we make in foreign countries and the potentially good influence we can have therein. We must "get to know this man Joppolo well."
"The greedy the people...
they sell and they buy
and they die for because
though the bell in the steeple
says Why" e.e. cummings 73 poems, number 29
Excellent!