One Year of School and The Island

The two stories presented in this volume focus on post-adolescent men (and, in One Year of School, a charismatic young woman) who are struggling with the distressing aspects of an existence they are just beginning to confront. In One Year of School these issues, which include the recognition of the precarious nature of life and its ultimate finitude, are wrestled with collectively by an entire class of students, while in The Island they are dealt with by the slightly older and painfully solitary central character of the tale. The rhythm or lyrical tone of the two stories is quite differ- ent as well. That of the pulsating One Year of School might be described as an andante agitato, while that of The Island is instead a pensive lento elegiaco. Giani Stuparich received a Gold Medal of Valor for his service in the Italian Army during World War I. A novelist, short-story writer, memorialist, and author of newspaper articles as well as a secondary school teacher in Trieste, during the first half of the twentieth-century, he became a respected cultural icon for in- tellectuals and general readers in his native city and throughout Italy. The two stories included here are widely considered to be among his finest works as well as important contributions to the history of Italian literature. Charles Klopp is Professor Emeritus of Italian at the Ohio State University. Melinda Nelson is Assistant Vice Provost at the same institution.