This companion volume to the better-known Il partigiano Johnny (Johnny the Partisan) shares the same complex publishing history. Fenoglio initially intended to create an epic series centred on the character, tracing his experiences from his secondary school years in the city of Alba. He later revised the plan. The first part of the series was turned into a standalone novel and was published in 1958 under the title Primavera di bellezza (Spring of Beauty). This version was shorter than originally envisaged and covered the period from January 1943 to shortly after 8 September of the same year, seemingly setting aside the original project. After the death of the author, Einaudi published Il partigiano Johnny posthumously in 1968, edited by Lorenzo Mondo. The novel existed in two drafts, each with a different ending. After many years and numerous interpretations of the author’s editorial intentions, the Turin-based publishing house has issued an edition edited by Gabriele Pedullà. For the first time, it reconstructs the narrative continuity of the novel as Fenoglio had originally conceived it. This is a work that draws on Greek and Latin lyric poetry, and on the Odyssey and the Aeneid in particular, which are explicitly mentioned by the editor as possible sources of inspiration. A human epic, it follows a protagonist who sets out on a journey far from his homeland. Along the way, he encounters new companions and embarks on a series of adventures, engaging in an epic struggle that comes to symbolise a people’s great fight against oppression.

Il libro di Johnny
Beppe Fenoglio; edited by Gabriele Pedullà
Einaudi, 2015