Kaputt

London: Panther, 1968. Paperback. Reprint. Good. No annotations or inscriptions. 320 pages. The book was inspired by Malaparte's experiences as a war correspondent at the Eastern Front of World War II. It presents itself as Malaparte's personal witness account of intense violence and cruelty,The book was an international success. Already at the publication, several European critics perceived the book's narrator as a fictionalised author persona, and the book as an attempt from Malaparte to position himself after Italy's defeat and his own past as a fascist sympathiser. When the English translation was published in 1946, Kirkus Reviews received it as a true account and called it "a subtly brilliant piece of writing" where Malaparte is "whipping the sensibilities to a sharp awareness of the degradation of Europe, of the utter collapse of morality, integrity, and so on". .