Thread 213496671

What the national book in your country? That tome write possibly in the last century, that students need to study at school and that everyone knows, even though not many have actually read it?

Ours is Promessi Sposi (the bethroted). It's about a poor young couple in 17th century Italy that wants to get married, but the local Spanish nobleman who was the owner of the land has put his eyes on the girl and wants to kidnap her or something, so the couple gets separated and then shenanigans ensue.
The book was written in the early 19th century when Italy didn't existed and Austria was the owner of much of North Italy. Manzoni draw parallelism between Italy during 1600, a ruined shithole ruled by corrupted Spaniards, with the Italy of his day, ruled by corrupt Austrians. It's a good book, with some patriotism and well written, but the author was a massive religious lover and for today's standard it didn't age that well. The message of the book is basically " believe in the holy Providence and be a good person, and most things will solve themselves, and those who don't, well they weren't meant to be".

>>213496671 (OP)
Several, but I would say the Song of Mio Cid

>>213496765

Do you study the Quixote at school or the Cid?

canada has no national book americans at least get the hat kid book in canada it's just some pamhplet on how to be a homosexual or something idk

>>213496827
Both, in general terms we are taught about several classical books of Spanish Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Modern literature, there is not an specific fixation for one single book.

The Song of Mio Cid and Quijote are more known abroad but that's it.

>>213496671 (OP)
>The message of the book is basically " believe in the holy Providence and be a good person, and most things will solve themselves, and those who don't, well they weren't meant to be".
>why yes I slept during class, how did you know?
There are many messages and sub-plots in the book.

>>213496671 (OP)
>ruled by corrupted Spaniards
You are lucky Habsbourgs still ran your farmyard, the things with Bourbons here just got a lot worst by comparassion from cultural, artistic, military, political, reputational, geopolitical, religious and intellectual levels they meant the total bankrupt and destruction of Spain.

>>213497240
>You are lucky Habsbourgs still ran your farmyard
They almost manage to destroy Italy and italians

>>213497273
How, by keeping Italy one of the cultural and intellectual epicenters of Europe as they did for centuries.

Look at post-unification Italy and compare it to pre-unification Italy. The whole Frenchfluences, Bourbons here, Jacobinists there, meant the ruin of whatever they did touch.

>>213496671 (OP)
> last century

It's a toss-up between two of the early required readings.
The Paul Street Boys (Pál utcai fiúk) is a youth novel about a group of kids playing soldier on an empty lot, who have to defend it from another set of boys. Despite the fact, it's meant for 12 year old kids I feel it's much more mature than most ya novels, all while keeping a sense of childlike wonder, up until the last chapters, where things take a turn for the worse. The boys manage to defend their lot, but their weakest friend dies in the process. In the end they still lose their playground, because a house is being built there. So, a kid dies for nothing, but to prove to his friends that he is worth something.
I don't know about a female experience of this book, but I haven't heard a single guy say they didn't like it.

And the other one is one of our many important historical novels, Eclipse of the Crescent Moon/Stars of Eger (Egri Csillagok). It's is set in the 16th century and revolves around the Ottoman expansion in Hungary (the country falling into three parts) culminating in the Siege of Eger 1552. In public memory, the siege in the most important event of the period (partly due to the book), where 2000 Hungarians defended the castle against 40 000 Ottomans. The story itself follows to life of one of the defenders Bornemissza Gergely and his wife, from his early childhood, to his late twenties at the time of the siege. While there are a fictional elements like the early life of the protagonist and his wife, it's very well researched and mostly sticks to historical facts.

First Folio or the King James Bible

If neither of those count then The Canterbury Tales

only 13% of croats can read

>>213498336
>The Paul Street Boys (Pál utcai fiúk)

I red it in school, I ragazzi della via Pál
Great book, it's true that it feels more mature with the themes treated in the books compared to the other "kid books" i usually red at the time.

>>213501814
Allegedly, it was also a childhood favourite of Empress Kojung (Hirohito's wife).