My Husband

In Italy, as in most Western cultures, the 1960s was a dynamic and turbulent decade of social change. Dacia Maraini, in this short story collection, explores the vexing, tragic, and often humorous experiences of women living in modern urban Italy. With a style as lean as Samuel Beckett’s, and a love of the absurd that rivals Eugene Ionesco, Maraini’s stories are both poignant and wickedly funny. The writer’s ironic lens zooms in, examining sexual relations, working conditions, women’s issues, and family dynamics, illuminating the lives of an entire generation. With classic existential angst, Maraini’s characters are often profound dissatisfied with their situations but ill-equipped to initiate any real charge. This feminist version of the absurd is deliciously wry and terrible. The stories have a real bite. Originally published as Mio marito in 1968, this is the first English translation of My Husband.