Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by The Times (UK).

"...gemlike miniatures from a culture of talk, eccentricity and loss; sometimes surreal, or at least inflected by dream." David Mason, The Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2024.

"... this new edition by Marla Moffa and Oonagh Stransky surpasses Singh’s in its imaginative phrasing, idiomatic ease and liveliness of the prose." John Skoyles, On the Seawall, July 16, 2024. 

"This might be the most delightful book I read all year. It consists of newspaper sketches and stories written by the Italian poet Eugenio Montale in the 1930s and 1940s, which are filled with the charm of Florence and its eccentric inhabitants. One neighbour seems to acquire new enemies every day; a magazine editor is looking for ideas for stories (“We’re in Italy. The more quarrels the better”); a holidaying couple are terrified by a bat in their bedroom. You can read each story in five or ten minutes and feel cheered afterwards." The Times (UK) December 7, 2024