Alberto Vigevani weaves a poignant tale that in less than one hundred pages encompasses the generation of Italians who lived through Fascist Italy. He captures the innocence of Italian Jews who had no idea what lay ahead as well as the subsequent horror of the Holocaust that no one thought would touch them.
It is the voice of the narrator — casual, warm, funny— that lures the reader into thinking that this is a light reminiscence: we are reliving memories of his marriage and honeymoon in 1930s Italy, memories rekindled by the discovery in his attic of a huge, beautiful trunk, which he names “the General.” From the start the trunk is a liability, too bulky and fancy for the narrator’s modest means and modest honeymoon. So, we are treated to humorous stories about how it is hauled over hill and dale, stories that testify to the ingenuity and helpfulness of ordinary Italians.
The novel begins, in short, like a comedy starring a bumbling hero, then slowly but inexorably devolves into a tragic tale. The effect is to gradually make the reader feel closer and closer to the characters, especially Aunt Jole and her husband, Uncle Giorgetto. It’s easy to imagine ourselves in their shoes.
The narrator admits that he and his wife make a series of mistakes as World War II looms. They know they should leave for America. They make plans, arrange itineraries but, in the end, cannot bring themselves to leave their comfortable life in Milan. Aunt Jole and Uncle Giorgetto are similar bunglers of their lives, and it is their story that is at the heart of The Trunk.
Because the author has so gracefully made it easy for us to identify with these characters, their fate resonates so deeply.
The ending is a stunner. The Trunk is a small masterpiece.
Eleanor Foa is an author, journalist, and corporate writer. Her memoir MIXED MESSAGES: Reflections on an Italian Jewish Family and Exile was published in November 2019. Her work appears in national newspapers, magazines and websites. She is the author of Whither Thou Goest and In Good Company, President of Eleanor Foa Associates (eleanorfoa.com), past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and received literary residencies at Yaddo and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.