My mother having given us the ultimatum that she cannot take care of our books anymore is now watching hawk-eyed as we are slowly emptying all the accumulated books. They have truly accumulated- right from 1950s when my father used to purchase Imprint magazine (now defunct) to 70s when we purchased Reader's digest and sundry other books from pavement stalls and book fairs. It has taken my brother and I numerous trips to slowly trawl through the books, weed out what we don't want, and transport the remaining to our places. There are books that were dumped by our cousins-which as I told one of them-cannot be thrown out because of the memories associated with them. Then there are books that were dumped by other people- again cannot be thrown out for sundry reasons unless they are truly unwanted. And then there are books like Mother by Maxim Gorky-unreadable but we share memories of it and are undecided what to do with it. (Un)Fortunately, we got rid of the Russian lessons that my father purchased in a fit of enthusiasm- he was going to learn Russian and Russian Center was offering them for pittance. The time never came and my father reluctantly decided that he will never learn Russian.
Anyway, I was going through Imprint magazines printed in 1950s and 60s, deciding which ones to throw away. And there it was-Don Camillo in Soviet Russia.
Don Camillo was the character created by Giovannino Guareschi. I do not remember where I found the first books of Don Camillo but I truly loved Don Camillo and Peppone and the voice of Christ as he dispenses advice to the hot-headed Don Camillo. Don Camillo is a Catholic priest and Peppone is the Communist party leader in a village on the banks of River Po. Both are at odds with each other though Peppone does get his children baptized and attends the Church (just so that he can keep track of what Don Camillo preaches).
In this gem of a book, Peppone and his party members are going for a visit to Soviet Russia. Don Camillo gets himself included in the trip much to Peppone's consentration (but there is nothing much he can do about it other than scream blackmail). And so begins a hilarious journey where Don Camillo manages to solemnize marriage and baptize children, create havoc amongst the party members and promote a love match.
The Don Camillo books are available in Amazon but tad bit expensive. For the time being, I am keeping the old editions of Imprint magazine.
Anyway, I was going through Imprint magazines printed in 1950s and 60s, deciding which ones to throw away. And there it was-Don Camillo in Soviet Russia.
Don Camillo was the character created by Giovannino Guareschi. I do not remember where I found the first books of Don Camillo but I truly loved Don Camillo and Peppone and the voice of Christ as he dispenses advice to the hot-headed Don Camillo. Don Camillo is a Catholic priest and Peppone is the Communist party leader in a village on the banks of River Po. Both are at odds with each other though Peppone does get his children baptized and attends the Church (just so that he can keep track of what Don Camillo preaches).
In this gem of a book, Peppone and his party members are going for a visit to Soviet Russia. Don Camillo gets himself included in the trip much to Peppone's consentration (but there is nothing much he can do about it other than scream blackmail). And so begins a hilarious journey where Don Camillo manages to solemnize marriage and baptize children, create havoc amongst the party members and promote a love match.
The Don Camillo books are available in Amazon but tad bit expensive. For the time being, I am keeping the old editions of Imprint magazine.
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