Un mondo a parte. Storia di un libro scomodo tra critica ed editoria

The essay traces the Italian publishing history of Inny świat (A World Apart) by Gustaw Herling Grudziński, one of the most important literary testimonies of the Soviet concentration camp system. In particular, the reception by critics following the three Italian editions of the work is related to the letters between Gustaw Herling and the Italian publishers (Laterza, Rizzoli, Feltrinelli) preserved in the author’s archive. The historical period studied is that from 1958 to 2000, therefore up to the year of the writer’s death. In the final part we develop a detailed analysis of the reasons for Herling’s negative or problematic reception in Italy in the second half of the twentieth century.