A Bell for Adano

Written by John Hersey

Narrated by David Green

This classic novel and winner of the Pulitzer Prize tells the story of an Italian-American major in World War II who wins the love and admiration of the local townspeople when he searches for a replacement for the 700-year-old town bell that had been melted down for bullets by the fascists. Although stituated during one of the most devastating experiences in human history, John Hersey's story speaks with unflinching patriotism and humanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9780593163283

John Hersey

geboren 1914 in Tianjin, China, war ein US-amerikanischer Schriftsteller, Reporter und Journalist (Time, Life Magazine, The New Yorker). Für seinen ersten Roman A Bell for Adano erhielt er 1945 den Pulitzer-Preis, 1946 sorgte er mit Hiroshima weltweit für Aufsehen (von diversen Buchausgaben seiner Reportage wurden bis heute mehr als 3 Millionen Exemplare verkauft). Als Kritiker des New Journalism, den er selbst wesentlich geprägt hat, veröffentlichte er danach v.a. Romane (u.a. The Wall, 1950; The Algiers Motel Incident, 1968). Er starb 1993 in Key West, Florida.

Reviews for A Bell for Adano

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At first I thought it racist, because the Italians are portrayed as ridiculous, as naive and childish backwards people, and Joppolo as a savior. Then I realized that everyone except Joppolo is denigrated, and he is drawn as just a good guy trying to do a good job and be liked and be not too vulnerable to his foibles. So, I'm getting along on the humorous bits and being moved by some tragic bits. Then I get to the end and find that the horrid American officer who couldn't be troubled to learn the "wop" language gets off free, as if the author thinks he's just another dude who is not quite as wonderful as Joppolo. So, you know what, I didn't particularly like this book. If it were any longer (wordier, less concise) I'd take another star off.

[pharmacdon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Understanding that A Bell for Adano was written before the end of the war, the book brings to life the story of an American Major Joppolo as acting civil authority for the city of Adano, Italy. The foibles between the new American occupiers and the citizens of Adano are the gist of the story. A more or less a light-hearted look at the lives of the citizens intermingled with the Major interactions makes for an interesting read.

[skavlanj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book

A Bell for Adano reminds me of Catch-22 in its comic vision of the U.S. military during the Mediterranean theater in World War II. Its main character, Major Victor Joppolo, is no Yossarian, but the cast of characters surrounding him are, while far less determined to either defraud or escape from the military, nonetheless just as clownish in their behavior and incompetent in their service as those surrounding Yossarian.

Joppolo is the administrator of the town of Adano, which has been recently liberated from the Fascists. He must figure who among the "American-loving, Fascist-hating" townsmen he can trust to help him restore the town. While his official mission is to see that the town functions, his true mission becomes to make the people of the town happy. As part of this, he is determined to find a suitable replacement for the 700-year-old bell, which was taken from the town tower by the Italian army and melted for armaments. On his quest, he earns the friendship of the townspeople, the respect of his fellow soldiers, and the love of one of the women of the town.

In simple language, Hersey paints a portrait of simple people negotiating their way from their mistrust and disdain for the mafia and Fascists who ran their lives to acceptance that the Americans are not just substitute despots but truly benevolent overseers. The novel's events are equally funny, tragic, happy and sad, and the bitter-sweet, no-good-deed-goes-unpunished ending feels both true-to-life and appropriate.

A Bell for Adano is a short but enjoyable story told in a manner befitting the characters who people the book.

[sheila1957 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sweet story of the American Army in Adano, Italy, as they push the Germans out of Italy. Major Joppolo is the adjutant assigned to restore order to Adano. As he meets the townspeople the one request made most often is for the return of their bell which was taken by the Facists to melt down for bullets. Major Joppolo does what he can for these people.

This was a wonderful story of a town and its people. The people were adorable and funny and pains at times. As Major Joppolo deals fairly and justly with these people, he also tries to find their bell. He is able to schmooze with the best of them to get what is needed and what he wants. Even when Americans are at fault he shows the townspeople that his justice extends to his men as well as the townspeople.

The ending is bittersweet. I would like to know what happens to both the townspeople and Major Joppolo. They are not characters I will forget for a long time.

[jeffome · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Many books exist about the battles, but i have never read about what comes after the fighting. This is about the small seaside Italian town of Adano, recently liberated by the Allies, Americans in particular, and the American Army Major empowered with restoring a sense of order as a temporary occupier. But this one has a really good soul, and he cares deeply, and dives right in going beyond that; to re-establish justice, a sense of peace and happiness and a sense of community. The quirky locals, the military bureaucracy, the Major's honest character, the local way of life, the inter-branch military rivalries, and the strangeness of citizens forced into Fascism sent to fight against freedom and end up losing and becoming free, all tossed together to make this a very charming story. I enjoyed the simple style, the almost short-story chapter setup and the underlying sense of hope throughout this not entirely happy tale. Thank you Mr. Hersey.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The town of Adano has had its church bell stolen by the Nazi's who melt it down for bullets... The American troops come into town and do their best to restore peace to the little town as WW II rages around them.

A realistic story of war and humanity.

[russellbittner · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I first read and quite favorably reviewed Hiroshima early last month — followed up by a re-read and a less enthusiastic review of White Lotus — I also mentioned A Bell for Adano as a title I vaguely recalled from my youth, although I was quite certain I’d never read the book.

I now have — and regret to say that I’m quite underwhelmed by it, all of the positive reviews here and at Amazon notwithstanding.

Forgive me. I know that Hersey won the Pulitzer Prize for this book. And although the Pulitzer’s not the Nobel, it’s something.

I just don’t see it. The characters are too pat. The dialogue is at times downright silly. The plot-line, too obvious.

Although it is possible that a Christ-like character in the mold of Major Joppolo exists somewhere on the planet, and although it is even more likely that an antichrist-like character (or dozens of them) in the guise of General Marvin populates the military, the timing of their first and only meeting, of General Marvin’s arbitrary and pigheaded order that carts would henceforth not be allowed inside the gates of Adano, and of Joppolo’s recall from Adano (for eventually countermanding that order) the very evening the whole town of Adano is celebrating his “reign” is, well, just a tad too pat. It makes for a warm and fuzzy story, no question; but realistic?

Where I think Hersey does earn accolades is in his portrayal of many of the mediocrities in the military. War is bad enough. But to add to it the stupidity and pigheadedness of officers who govern the conduct and eventual outcome of that war is, well, downright disheartening — to say the very least. As Hersey suggests at one point in his story, the ultimate goal of a soldier is, quite simply, to get home. If possible, in one piece. As we know from history, and as John Hersey makes clear in this fictional account, certain officers can make that simple goal a very real challenge.

RRB
9/03/13
Brooklyn, NY

[benedict8-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I highly recommend this book. It was written by John Hersey who wrote Hiroshima. Once I had read Hiroshima I learned to trust Hersey's observations and writing skills.

Hersey wrote A Bell for Adano from interviews of real people in Italy during the war, and from interviews with a local American who was the military commandant for the Americans and who was the inspiration for this book.

I came away with a great appreciation of the charm of Italy, and will always remember the commandant as an example of what a decent American ought to be in this kind of situation. Our military today may have not read this book, but I understand that General Petraeus is pushing the same kind of soft skills into our military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hersey mentions one of the Mussolini fascists still uncaptured and who is trying a rearguard action to stir up trouble for the Americans. Now I understand how sedition is preached by word of mouth.

Putting all my political treatment aside, this book merits a very good read for anyone who wants a wonderful and charming read.

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a semi-sweet story set in WWII in which an Italian-American Major is assigned charge of a small port town in Sicily as the fascists are being routed by the allied forces. At the start I was unsure how much I would like it. Major Joppollo has a somewhat snarky aide, Seargent Borth. The time for this novel would be the summer of 1943.

As I read I was drawn in to the story and the Major's efforts to improve the infrastructure of this town following the toppling of Mussolini. Among the problems he faces is the loss of the town's 700 year old bell, which Mussolini had ordered to be taken and melted down for the metal for weapons. The bell was the heart of the town it seems.

The story is told in a simple, gentle style, very unlike modern novels. It is a very American story, and rather paternalistic. There's also a sort of sub-theme in here that America's strength came from being a nation of immigrants. There are sweet, odd and interesting characters in here that I enjoyed observing and getting to know. A glimpse at a world that no longer exists. I liked it quite a bit.

[dorritt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Pulitzer Prize-winning tale recounts the experiences of Major Victor Joppolo, an Italian-American officer put in charge of administering the American-occupied village of Adano, Italy in the final days of WWII. Joppolo’s ostensible mission is to rebuild the village’s infrastructure in the wake of the war and the toll exacted by decades of facist rule. However, Joppolo understands that he has been charged with a less tangible but even more important duty: to demonstrate the advantages of American governance/justice and win over the hearts/minds of the townspeople. To this end, he devotes himself to locating a replacement for a beloved and deeply-mourned town bell looted by the facists. I admit I quickly fell in love with Hersey’s beguiling characters, his courtly prose, and his gentle but penetrating eye for irony.

It is easy – perhaps too easy – to label the author’s depiction of characters in the novel as stereotypical, and his depiction of Joppolo’s attitude towards the citizens of Adano as condescending and paternalistic. At least part of the problem is that the charm of Hersey’s prose tends to mask the extent to which his characters embody both virtue and vice. Joppolo’s aide-de-camp cleverly humiliates a former facist official up to no good, but his intentions towards the women in the town are unabashedly crude. General Martin delights in liberating Italy from wicked facists, but thinks nothing of brutally slaughtering a donkey belonging to a peasant, simply because he has the temerity to get in his way. Even the actions of Joppolo are depicted as a recognizably human balance between idealism (believing in the superiority of the “American Way”) and vanity (wanting to win the love/admiration of the townspeople), loyalty (to his country) and disloyalty (to his wife).

In short, I believe that perceived anachronisms in this tale may accurately represent actual anachronisms that existed at this fascinating moment in U.S. history. It was a time when average villagers in small rural European towns genuinely were unsophisticated, when America genuinely did feel a paternalistic responsibility towards the rest of the world; a time when newly-minted Americans embraced cultural stereotypes as a way of celebrating their country’s diversity, and when American servicemen saw nothing hypocritical in idealizing their wives while simultaneously seeking the physical solace of foreign damsels. Hersey’s gift is helping us to see how these anachronisms have shaped (and continue to shape) the way the world has come to view Americans, and the way we have come to view ourselves.

[agnesmack · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Bell For Adano takes place in Italy during World War II. Major Jopollo is our humble narrator, and a pretty good one he was. His goal is to prove to the Italian people that the Americans are actually trying to help. Most of the other military personnel in the area are kind of dicks and more concerned with their own petty bullshit, or proving their superiority over the Italian villagers.

I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. For one, it just happened to take place on a military base during a major war, as opposed to being a detailed account of fighter jets, battles and general military bullshit. Jopollo is a good dude, and he spends the book trying to replace the priceless and historic bell of Adano, which was stolen by the Facists and melted down to make cannons.

This isn't a book I would really recommend to anyone, because it really wasn't anything particularly special for me. It definitely was served well by the fact that I'd gone into it assuming that I'd hate it.

[marcelrochester · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The ending was lame, but I liked the protagonist & was curious about his post-book fate. The plotline took how long it needed to.

[creynolds_808614 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Definitely of its time -- American centric, generally one dimensional characters, especially the Italian villagers.

[br77rino · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Story of a GI charged with running an Italian town just after WWII.

[smiley_13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent, short read. Maybe a little dated.

Set in Occupied Italy the story of an American Army major trying to do the right thing and also show an Italian town that democracy is more than just words. Some individual chapters, about the town crier and the POWs return, outshine the book as a whole but then 1945 was a long time ago. Always humane.

The printing history on the copy I have is amazing. A print run a month from January 1944 through March 1945.

[jklavanian_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book because of a phrase I ran across by Robert Kaplan: "produce more Joppolos." Kaplan uses Major Joppolo as an example of how America could better engage with the world today.

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very American book. It could not have been written by any other nationality. It also could not have been written in any other era, certainly not in today's (2007) post-Vietnam, Iraq-burdened United States.


In a Bell for Adano, Hersey tells the story of the occupation and administration by Allied forces in 1943 of a recently-liberated Sicilian village. The administrator, Major Victor Joppolo, himself Italian-American, is an idealistic young man who earnestly wishes to help the village for all the "right" reasons-- to see justice done but with compassion, to help the villagers practice and see the benefits of democracy, American style--and a very American desire to be liked. He is, as the Prologue asks us to believe,

"a good man".

The village is shattered under the twin effects of over a decade of Fascist rule and the war. Joppolo's desire is to see the town get back on its feet as fast as it can.

So, instead of fast-paced action, we have a series of interwoven vignettes of just how that occurs. Early on, Joppolo discovers that the people of the town are both greiving and outraged over the loss of their 700 year old town bell. During the time just before thre allied invasion, the Fascists had removed the bell to have it melted down to make cannon. The bell was a part of the psyche of the village. It was the one that rang out the hours, it

"told us when to do things, such as eating. It told us when to have the morning egg and when to have pasta and rabbit and when to have wine in the evening."

It was

"the tone that mattered. It soothed all the people of this town. It chided those who were angry, it cheered the unhappy ones, it even laughed with those who were drunk. It was a tone for everybody".

Moved, Joppolo dedicates himself to finding another, suitable bell.

But meantime the bakeries have to reopen, the fishermen must be able to fish again--and food and water must be brought into the village by mule cart.

And there hangs the crisis of the tale. The late 20th century-early 21st century American idolatry of the military does not take into account the common soldier's experience--that most general officers are narrow-minded, rigid egotists who have no business in any sort of position of authority. We meet one such, General Marvin, who bewilders the village by ordering the killing of the mule of a poor carter and forbidding the entry into the village of any carts--all because one cart was in his way as he made his self-important way down the road. Joppolo, in an act of common sense, rescinds the order--and lays the foundation for his own undoing.

And so the story unfolds--of good acts by the major, of whom the village becomes quite fond, of the hard-headed common sense displayed by the cynical Sgt. Borth, of well-intentioned but disastrous acts on the part of 3 drunken M.P.s. Joppolo uses ingenuity and a sound knowledge of the psychology of his countrymen to get things done--while falling in love with one of the beautiful Sicilian young women in the town, who has lost her fiancé in an insane act during the recent invasion.

In the end, Joppolo's common sense is his undoing, and he is removed form the village by order of General Marvin. But not before he sees the replacement bell--a bell for Adano--hung in the bell tower and hears its clear tone ringing out as he makes his way out of the village.

Hersey's simple, direct style conveys beautifully the view that Americans had of themselves at this time--direct, uncomplicated people with common sense values who knew how to get things done. An idealistic people who really believed in democracy and that The American Way as embodied in American values would work for everyone. Yes, there are stupid people such as General Marvin, and the acts of American soldiers were sometimes embarassing but still, overall, the G.I.s behaved well and sincerely.

That was the rock-solid belief. The truth, as in all wars, no doubt was different, but that's what Americans believed.

It's a gentle book about good but far from perfect people struggling to survive in the aftermath of war--both the conquered and the conquerors. People die but accidentally. The truth was no doubt different, but Hersey's book captured the beliefs and ideals of the American people who had just come through a horrendous war but could still feel compassion for the unwitting victims of that war. The Marshal Plan was probably the perfect embodiment of that spirit and generosity.

It is a book that could not be written today.