{"product_id":"forbidden-notebook-1","title":"Forbidden Notebook","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Powerful.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Brilliant.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Astounding.\" --\u003ci\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Forceful, clear and morally engaged.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Subversive.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An exquisite, tormented howl.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Quick, propulsive, and addictive.\" --\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gripping.\" --\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A remarkable story.\" --\u003ci\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\"Wrenching, sardonic.\" --\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\"As relevant today as it was in postwar Italy.\" --\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a foreword by Jhumpa Lahiri, \u003ci\u003eForbidden Notebook\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic domestic novel by the Italian-Cuban feminist writer Alba de Céspedes, whose work inspired contemporary writers like Elena Ferrante. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this modern translation by acclaimed Elena Ferrante translator Ann Goldstein, \u003ci\u003eForbidden Notebook\u003c\/i\u003e centers the inner life of a dissatisfied housewife living in postwar Rome. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eValeria Cossati never suspected how unhappy she had become with the shabby gentility of her bourgeois life--until she begins to jot down her thoughts and feelings in a little black book she keeps hidden in a closet. This new secret activity leads her to scrutinize herself and her life more closely, and she soon realizes that her individuality is being stifled by her devotion and sense of duty toward her husband, daughter, and son. As the conflicts between parents and children, husband and wife, and friends and lovers intensify, what goes on behind the Cossatis' facade of middle-class respectability gradually comes to light, tearing the family's fragile fabric apart. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn exquisitely crafted portrayal of domestic life, \u003ci\u003eForbidden Notebook\u003c\/i\u003e recognizes the universality of human aspirations.","brand":"Ann Goldstein, Alba de Céspedes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46335339036908,"sku":"9781662602689","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9781662602689.jpg?v=1743640198","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/forbidden-notebook-1","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}