“Sergio Pacifici’s Guide . . . must be described . . . as a milestone. . . . It is the only book of its kind in English, and tracing as it does the author’s ever-widening interest in Italian literature, it can indeed serve as a guide to those readers who wish to give at least a measure of depth to their often incidental and casual acquaintance with the subject.”—Books Abroad“Morethan an ideal of what Englishcriticism of Italian writing should be… should also serve as a touchstone for all books on writing today.”—Shenandoah“This book certainly fills a gap in that it presents to the American reader a rich, diversified, and reasoned view of Italian literature in our time.”—Cesare Barbieri Courier