48 pages • 1 hour read
Giorgio BassaniThe Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1962A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaEssay Topics
By the end of the novel, the narrator is gripped by a paranoia about Malnate and Micòl’s relationship. What evidence exists to support this version of events, and why the narrator would be so affected by Micòl choosing this particular person?
Both Micòl and the narrator study the works of great writers yet cannot express themselves fully when writing to each other. What does this say about the function of literature?
The consequences of the narrator abandoning his family’s Passover dinner are not directly addressed in the book. What can you infer about his family and how they react to his growing closeness with the Finzi-Contini family?
The book highlights the rise and fall of many relationships. For the core group of tennis players that met in the fall of 1938, only Malnate and the narrator return to play again at the Finzi-Contini garden. Why do these two characters return and not others? What does this signify?
When he becomes an adult, the high walls of the garden do not frighten the narrator as much as they did as a child. What other changes most clearly separate the grown character of the narrator from his younger self?
There are few dramatic outbursts in the novel. How does Bassani create and resolve tension?
What does tennis represent in the novel?
In the prologue, the narrator is with friends who are never discussed again. Why does Bassani start the novel with tertiary characters?
